Behind the Mouse: The Electric Quilt Blog

With EQ8 you can import fabric, photos, and more. But, images with transparent backgrounds can also be imported and used. If you don’t have software that can remove the background from images, there are free websites that can do it, too. One example is www.remove.bg/upload Once you have your images saved as a PNG and the backgrounds removed, it’s time to import them into EQ8. Please note: If you plan to print the image onto paper or Printable Fabric, make sure your images are 150dpi. If you are using it in EQ just for visual reference and have no plans to print it, then 72dpi is fine. It’s always a good idea to print your images on paper as a test, before Printable Fabric so that you are sure you’re getting the results you want. Open a project in EQ8 that you would like to add images to or design a

This contest is closed. Winners announced here! Do you love batiks?! April’s Fabric of the Month is Tranquility by Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design for Island Batik! Full of beautiful batiks and warm natural tones, this collection is sure to spark your creativity! A bundle of these fabrics will be given away to two lucky winners! Submit your EQ design featuring Tranquility below…all instructions and contest details are in this post. Good luck! NEW! To Enter: Let’s build each other up! 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 you’re the first person to submit a quilt, make sure to come back and comment on someone else’s quilt before the contest ends. To enter NEW! To Enter: Let’s build each other up! In order to enter for the giveaway you must submit a quilt

I love my EQ8 program. It is the most important tool in my sewing room. I have been in love with EQ since I first began using it when it was version EQ4.  In teaching lessons on how to use the program to create quilts, I noticed two different mindsets with the students.  One is that they just want to accomplish what can be done to create quilts/blocks with the program. Another is how to interpret the designs into something unique for themselves.  This goes much further beyond the design process alone.  Individual interpretations of the designs are what make our work come to life. Launch your EQ8 program from the desktop by double-clicking on the icon.  On the opening screen, click on the New Project icon and the project helper screen will open.  Type in the name of the new project to be ‘Interpret Designs’.  Click the OK at

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: Shamrock Where to find it: 03 Foundation Pieced > Holidays-Other Design ideas to get you started You don’t have to be a St. Patty’s Day fan to enjoy designing with this block! In my first quilt, I ignored the default green coloring and used a totally different color palette for the block. I used the Symmetry Tool to find

February’s design challenge was definitely one to remember, we were blown away by all the amazing quilts that were submitted! Thanks to all who participated, we love seeing what you design each month. Be sure to see all the entries we received here! Winners Two winners were selected randomly. Congratulations to…. Winner 1: Lezley Zwaal “Thank for such rich beautiful fabrics! The DP24715-64 is a whole cloth quilt in itself. It’s temping to design a one block wonder with it and DP24720-64 or 24. I felt the ocean waves and used the arc drawing feature – stretching my limited experience with curves. It was fun! I am more comfortable with curves and joining points now.” - Lezley Zwaal Winner 2: Amanda Kelly “This pattern is perfect for fat quarters and fussy cutting!” - Amanda Kelly Thanks again to all who participated in this challenge. If you’re looking for another chance to win fabric, check out March’s design

This contest is now closed. Winners announced here. With the start of spring only a few weeks away, what better way to celebrate than with March’s Fabric of the Month! This month’s featured collection is Hand Picked: First Light by Nicholas Lapp for Maywood Studio! This collection features textured solids paired perfectly with the colorful florals, giving contrast and highlighting the uniqueness of each individual bloom. A bundle of these fabrics will be given away to two lucky winners! Submit your EQ design featuring Hand Picked: First Light below…all instructions and contest details are in this post. Good luck! NEW! To Enter: Let’s build each other up! 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 you’re the first person to submit a quilt, make sure to come back and comment on someone

This month we’ll be copying and pasting elements from one block to another. Most of the examples show part of a block being copied to another existing block but elements of blocks can also be copied to new blocks. There are six different types of blocks in EQ8. The type of block you are working with determines whether or not you can copy the elements and if so, how to do it. You will see what type of block it is listed above the Drawing Tools or at the bottom-right corner of the worktable. In the example below you can see that it is currently an EasyDraw block. Click Block > New Block to see all six of the different types of blocks to choose from. Click Block Worktable Pieced Blocks EasyDraw is the easiest and fastest way to draw a pieced block. You just drag the mouse to draw