Behind the Mouse: The Electric Quilt Blog

Not too long ago I asked you all to tell me how you use EQ6 for projects other than quilting. Ellen Burleson replied about how she uses EQ to design her hooked rugs. I loved this idea and asked her to share some images with us and how she does it: This first rug was simple squares with a narrow sashing. EQ helped with choosing colors. The rug has a Belgian linen backing, and the since the pattern was simple squares, I used a permanent black marker and a yard stick to draw the design on the backing. I used 100% cotton t-shirts purchased at Goodwill, cut into ½” strips, and used a primitive rug hook to hook the fabric strips into the backing. First I hooked the borders and sashing, then filled in the squares. I started at the outside edge of each square, and hooked around and around

incredible. Check out this King Tut block! It’s outstanding! Heleen uses EQ6 to create her designs. She says, “Thank you for making this wonderful software. I almost use it every day for my work for many years. When I became a foundation pattern designer, this great software helped me to make my ideas come to live. I love to work with it. I also teach free workshops (at the shop of Wilma Karels in Ede NL) to ‘infect’ others with this great hobby.” Heleen Pinkster is a quilt designer from The Netherlands. Heleen recently released a new book about foundation-piecing 26 zoo-animal-patterns that she designed. Incredible. The book is in Dutch, so if you read dutch, you’re in luck! The rest of us will just have to keep up with Heleen through the beautiful images on her website!

How cool is this?! Scarlett Rose of ScarlettRose.com, wrote us to tell us about an EQ6 designed quilt she had created. She first designed the quilt in EQ, then made the quilt, and now it’s featured in Irish Quilting Magazine! Scarlett tells us: “I wanted to let you know that I’ve just submitted a brand new Celtic quilt design that I did in EQ6 for publication in an upcoming issue of Irish Quilting magazine… Besides designing the quilt, I also used EQ6 for all of the piecing diagrams in my instructions.” Love what you see? Visit Scarlett’s website to see more of her beautiful EQ6 designs and learn more about her. Thanks for sharing your accomplishment, Scarlett!

A few weeks ago Sally Robbins sent us some images of a quilt she submitted to the Machine Quilter’s Expo in Road Island (which kicks off today!) Sally designs her quilt in EQ6 and this quilt was no exception. Sally explains how she designed this quilt in EQ6: When I first got the EQ6 update (several years ago now) I went through the lessons in the user manual and one of them used the special effects preset quilt layouts. I happened to be working on a block that I could tell would look great in three dimensions and then worked that one up. I emailed it to Andrea and she used it in a TV segment on color value. It was called “Tilted Tiles”. When I got the NEQM challenge fabrics three of the six were 9″ by 44″ in a color gradation. I immediately thought of the previous quilt

If you are looking for some EQ6 design inspiration, Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times has tons to share. Judy has just started a new series of illustrated “how EQ6 designs developed” blog posts full of great design ideas.   Creating in EQ #1: See how Judy modified a block by deleting lines. [ Click the Pick tool > click line you want to delete > press your keyboard DELETE key.] Creating in EQ #2: Work on pieced border ideas. Creating in EQ #3: Fitting it all together. Creating in EQ #4: Deciding what to do with the borders after the pieced border. Creating in EQ #5: Making the quilt! Just for fun, I loved Judy’s blog about finding inspiration. It can be tough sometimes when you’re just in a funk. Judy found inspiration in her own own back porch. She grabbed her camera and soon after she had a stunning quilt designed. Judy

Announcing the first ever EQ Cruise! In honor of our 20th Anniversary we decided a Caribbean Cruise would be the perfect celebration! Sign up now to join us on a 10 Day / 9 Night Caribbean Cruise – January 28-February 6, 2011. You’ll have sun and EQ fun with top-notch teachers Barb Vlack & Mary Ellen Kranz and come home knowing more about EQ and with small sewn projects featuring your own cruise photos. BONUS: You’ll learn how easy it is to take better vacation (and quilt) photos with one of the quilt world’s best photographers and teachers: Gregory Case. See more details about this first-ever EQ cruise you’ve been asking for!

Another beautiful Kit of the Month from Sue Spargo using the Folk Art Dreams CD! This one is called Pin Wheel Pin Keeper. One can never have enough pin keepers. This one was designed from the center of the Uniontown Square quilt (which is included in the Folk Art Dreams CD.) It is made of hand dyed wool and finished with a taffeta silk cording. Visit Sue’s website to order it today!