Behind the Mouse: The Electric Quilt Blog

Our EQ users are always designing with fun and unique blocks of their own and lucky for the rest of us, they like to share them! Annie Unrein is an EQ6er who loves to share her charming patterns and blocks on her web site. Annie also posts a “Block of the Month” so be sure to check her site often for the latest updates.   Also, check out her blog at, www.byanniecom.blogspot.com.

Visit Feed Dog’s blog to learn how you can simulate a satin-stitch in your quilt designs! “I used three different thread colours, each a shade or two darker than the patch it surrounds. This gives me a pretty good idea of how my lemon slice would look appliquéd with a satin stitch.” ~ Feed Dog

Kate McComas from Charleston WV shared the Tiny Photo Quilts she has made using EQ Printable Fabrics. Kate/everyone, We’re so glad you are enjoying them, because we’re enjoying your creations! The tiny photo quilts Kate showed us are a great example of some fun weekend projects with EQ printable fabric. She printed photos onto the fabric sheets and then blended them with really fun prints to complement the colors and textures in her photos. This technique is great for journal quilting when you find a photo that really inspires you. Check out Kate’s quilts. My favorite is the Tunnel Tiny Quilts made from photos of a mystical tunnel in Shanghai. The colors are just so warm. Thanks for inspiring us, Kate!

Did you know that most of the Auto Borders are either square or at a 2:1 ratio? Next time you go to use an Auto Border, try this: 1) go to the Borders tab first 2) change your border to “Tile Squares” 3) Increase or decrease the number of blocks horizontally in the border to suit the center of your quilt. (Tile Squares always has square blocks. If your quilt center doesn’t work with the number of blocks it will add a spacer.) 4) go to the Layer 1 tab and use your Set Auto Borders tool to put a border on your quilt. (Read the gray box on page 302 if you haven’t added it to your toolbar.) If they are square, they will look perfect. If they are at 2:1, then just halve the number of horizontal blocks on the Borders tab. Pretty neat, eh?

Is it our water? Three staff members are pregnant with four babies on the way: Sara Woodward, Sara Seuberling (pictured on right – due in July) and Heidi Kory (pictured on left – due tomorrow). Who’s having twins?

Marla Whalen wrote to share her exciting news: Two of my quilts, both designed in EQ, will be in the Paducah AQS show! If that first one looks familiar…that’s because it’s my design included in the EQ6 User Manual! [p.231]

There are only a few more weeks to enter our STASHtimation Contest. It’s your chance to win a new STASH. Our hard-working staff have scanned their hearts out month after month (for 18 editions) to produce this CD packed with fabric. CONTEST: Guess how many fabrics, total, we’ve scanned for STASH (for all versions together from Fall 1999 through Spring 2008). The eighteen people who guess closest (but not over) will win a free copy of STASH Spring 2008 (retail value: $24.95). To submit your answer, send an email before June 1, 2008 to: To: eqnews@electricquilt.com Subject: ##### (only put the number of fabrics you guess) Message: Name, Mailing Address, Phone, and number of fabrics again. Enter as many times as you like. Eighteen different winners will be chosen from the closest answers. Contest ends June 1, 2008.