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. Whether you’re a brand new EQ8 user or a seasoned pro, come join in the fun! This month’s block: Honeysuckle Where to find it: 03 Foundation Pieced > Flowers A couple design ideas to get you started My first quilt is a light and springy design! The original Honeysuckle block is in the middle and I made a quarter-block variation to set in the four corners. I especially love the sweet scallop border! For my second quilt, I started by using Create Serendipity > Frame Block to add a frame on two sides of the Honeysuckle block. Then I set the framed block in a horizontal layout and used Symmetry for the rotation

Welcome to the new DESIGN AND SEW 2–LESSONS WITH YVONNE.  In this series of lessons, we will be concentrating on using the built-in elements of EQ8 to create our designs.  We will not be drawing, but rather will be using what is already in the program and editing the designs to work for us in our new layout.  Each session we will look at a different style and function of the tools for each style.  You have two weeks between lessons so you will have time to sew your designs if you choose between each lesson.  At the end of the lesson, you will find a video that shows me creating a design that follows the written lesson.  You may prefer to watch the video first and then follow the step by step written lesson so you have a better idea of what direction we will be going with.  You

Have you seen the fantastic entries submitted to the Stag and Thistle challenge?! (See them in the original post here.) Thanks to everyone for participating! Winner The winner of the challenge was chosen by Brett Lewis, the fabric designer himself! “I am amazed with April’s EQ8 Stag and Thistle Design challenge. Thank you to everyone for all the beautiful entries. I can’t wait for the the fabric to arrive in stores and see some of these designs come to life. Choosing just one quilt design was a challenge in its self, but after reviewing all the marvellous entries one design stood out: Barbara Bittinger’s ‘Stag and Thistle Labyrinth.’  The movement and secondary design that emerges from Barbara’s design took me on a journey through her Labyrinth, discovering fussy cut stags, hidden birch groves and sewing notions. Congratulations Barbara, and to all quilters that entered, thank you for your design inspiration. Happy

Did you know you can place your stencils (we say “stencils” but we’re actually talking about how it represents the actual quilting) in EQ8 and design with them? And then recolor them with threads from the EQ8 Thread Library (which contains over 4,000 thread colors – these threads are from 12 of the most popular thread manufacturers!)? Did you also know that you can change the style and weight of the stencil’s thread? Whether you did or not, you can still learn more from this month’s Design & Discover! Let’s get started! Click Design a quilt from scratch Make sure you’re using a Horizontal layout, then click the LAYOUT tab For NUMBER OF BLOCKS enter 1 x 1 For FINISHED SIZE OF BLOCKS enter 10.5 x 10.5 Click the BORDERS tab Choose Tile Squares The size will already be set for you. Here is more information on how Tile Square

How about another design challenge featuring some fabulous fabrics?! Perfect for spring, download this fun, colorful collection by EQ user, Cherry Guidry (of Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio) called “Planted with Love”.  Submit an image of your EQ quilt using the fabrics by the end of the month. TWO lucky people will win… scroll down to see the prize!   EQ Design Challenge & Giveaway To Enter Design a quilt in EQ using the “Planted with Love” fabrics then submit an image of it by 11:59pm ET on May 31, 2020. (Instructions for how to submit an image are at the bottom of this post.) Download the free “Planted with Love” fabrics for EQ here Note: The “Planted with Love” collection contains a 24″ x 44″ panel (not included in the download). It is NOT required that you use the panel in your design, but if you’d like to, you can save the panel image below to

The new Dear Jane Add-on for EQ was released earlier this month and we’ve offered a great introductory discount all month long! This 35% deal ends Thursday, April 30th! If you haven’t purchased your Dear Jane Add-on for EQ yet, you better act fast! You don’t want to miss these savings. No code required! Get it now! > Undecided? Check out what others are saying! Barb Vlack says… “For anyone seeking a user friendly add-on for EQ8, you’ll be delighted with this one. It’s easy to navigate and offers tips and tricks that will help anyone taking on this project. The design tools in EQ8 make it simple to create your own variation if you desire. The blocks can be used as is or edited to create a variation. Fabrics can be added from the vast EQ8 fabric library, EQ8 Stash add-ons, or scanned fabrics from your own collection. I

I love to design my quilts with EQ8, it saves me so much time and let’s me really be creative before cutting into that fabric.  I am finding more and more folks are using the Accuquilt GO! Cutting system of dies to cut out their quilts.  Some love the accuracy, others like the speed of cutting out a quilt and many quilters with physical limitations find that die cutting their fabric solves some of their cutting issues and get them back to doing what they love. What you may not know is that the GO! Qube set of dies is based on the most popular type of quilt block, the FOUR PATCH!  based upon a simple 4 x 4 grid.  Electric Quilt is full of blocks that use the 4 x 4 grid and that makes them perfect for adapting to be cut out with your GO Qube dies.  You can