Behind the Mouse: The Electric Quilt Blog

Welcome to the EQ8 Block Spotlight series! Each month we highlight a block from the EQ8 Block Library with a few design ideas. Then we want you to show us what you can do with the block. If you’re a brand new EQ8 user, I hope you’ll join in the fun! This monthly series is great motivation to dig into the software and practice your new EQ8 skills. And if you’ve been using EQ8 for a while, I hope these posts will inspire you to try something new! This month’s block: Triple 3-D Zig Zag Border Where to find it: 09 Border Blocks > Triangular Design ideas to get you started Even though this block comes from the Border Blocks section of the library, it doesn’t limit your ability to use the block however you’d like! Because it’s an asymmetric block, it’s fun to set this block in a horizontal layout

You asked, we delivered! EQ At Home is a series of online classes for EQ8 owners and we are excited to announce that the first class in the series is now available! Watch the video below for an introduction to this new class. This series of classes will inspire you to take the quilt in your head to the quilt on your bed! As owners of EQ8, you have a powerful design tool at your fingertips. Make the most of this software and learn how to navigate the design process with confidence. These on-demand video classes will guide you through every step of creating your own quilt design. The videos are divided into easy-to-watch segments, so you can take breaks and come back to the class whenever your busy schedule allows. About the Beginner Class The EQ8 Beginner Class has over three hours of video content that you can work through at

Thanks to everyone who submitted to June’s design challenge! It bring us so much joy to see everyone’s creativity each month! Check out all the amazing entries we received here. Winners Two winners were selected, one by Brett Lewis and the other was chosen randomly. Congratulations to…. Winner 1 (Brett Lewis’ Pick): Jan Beckert “I absolutely love the medallion, and it reminds me of the northern lights.” – Brett Lewis Winner 2 (Random Pick): Curryanne Hostetler Thanks again to all who participated in this challenge. If you’re looking for another chance to win fabric, check out July’s design challenge!

This contest is now closed. Winners announced here. It’s a new month which means it’s also time for our next design challenge! July’s Fabric of the Month is Stitchy by Christa Watson for Benartex! This collection captures the joy of making beautiful things with fabric and thread while the day is young and full of possibilities! It includes 25 SKUs with five modern, geometric prints in five rich colorways of fuchsia, orange, turquoise, olive and grey. Christa loves sharing her makes on social media, and you can too using #stitchyfabric. A bundle of these fabrics will be given away to two lucky winners! Submit your EQ design featuring Stitchy below…all instructions and contest details are in this post. Good luck! To enter In order to enter for the giveaway you must submit a quilt using the current Fabric of the Month AND comment on at least one other person’s quilt you like by the end of the month. If

Welcome to our new blog series, Do You EQ Too? Each month, we will spotlight a different EQ user and their quilts! If you haven’t already, you can read our introduction post here. The first quilter we’d like to spotlight is Carol Rubin! Carol currently uses EQ8 but first started with EQ6. Last month, she shared her experience sewing a Dear Jane quilt during the Covid-19 pandemic and we knew we had to share her story! For Carol, sewing became an extra source of comfort and provided helpful distraction from her anxiety. “While locked down at home during Covid 19,” says Carol, “I saw that EQ8 came out with computerized patterns for the famous Dear Jane quilt, and I thought that if I decided to do one block each day it might be the thing to get me out of bed in the mornings. This worked very well as each evening I

There are lots of different ways to change the colors or fabrics in your quilts. Let’s start with a Quick Quilt to show some of the options. Click Start with a Quilt Quilt project Click Log Cabin Quilts.PJ8 > OK Scroll to the end or change the size of the quilts with the display buttons to see all five quilts. Click on one of the quilts in the project > Edit Click Fabric Tools > Swap Color Choose a fabric/color and click on any piece in the quilt. The Swap Color tool paints changes patches of the same color in the entire quilt with just one click. Click Add to Project Sketchbook    when you are done. When you start with a Quick Quilt project it is a named however, once you open it, it becomes Untitled. If your project is unnamed EQ8 will prompt you to name it. (To

Over the years, many of you have had the pleasure of interacting with our cofounder, Penny McMorris, either at quilt shows or when you called in to our support line with a question. And many of you also know the story of how Penny and Dean created the first version of Electric Quilt (if you don’t, you can learn more about it here). But did you know how Penny helped to support contemporary quilt artists and about her contributions to the creation of the International Quilt Museum? The International Quilt Museum is home to the world’s largest publicly held quilt collection with the mission to build a global collection and audience that celebrate the cultural and artistic significance of quilts. The IQM was established in June 1997 when Ardis and Robert James donated nearly 1,000 quilts to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is celebrating their 25th anniversary this month! Penny