Behind the Mouse: The Electric Quilt Blog

Fall colors are rich and vibrant. Fall to me means colored leaves, pumpkins, and cooler evenings with bright sunny days.  Looking around outside you can see that every color imaginable is represented in nature.  The colors blend, contrast, and define each other.  Therefore, anything goes!!  I design in fabric prints, solids, and a gradient palette of my own making.  All of this is possible to do in EQ8. When I am designing I may not necessarily be making a pattern to follow. Often, my design is simply a source of visible inspiration.  I can ‘see’ how the quilt will look when completed.  EQ8 is often a place for me to just test out ideas. The easiest way to stir creativity is to begin with an idea and build on that.  Often, I am under a time crunch so I will look in the huge EQ8 library first rather than try

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. Let’s get creative! This month’s block: Diamond Ring Where to find it: 02 Contemporary Pieced > Kaleidoscopes A few design ideas to get you started Fall is in the air! So I used what I like to call a “harvest palette.” The large square in the middle of this block was calling out for something special, so I set flower motifs on Layer 2 in the space. I also added quilting stencils on Layer 3. For my second design, I wanted to accentuate the star created in the corners where these blocks meet. This is an on-point layout (the second style) with the Number of Blocks set to 2 for both Horizontal and

Our Classic Applique add-ons are 20% off today! Use code APPLIQUE20 to receive the discount! There are three products in the Classic Applique series. Each add-on product features a different time period and style and installs a library of applique blocks to your EQ Block Library. The quick download and installation process will let you start using these blocks to design with and print patterns right away. Each requires EQ8, EQ7, EQStitch or EQ Mini software. Available only as downloads. 1920′s & 1930′s – These charming blocks represent not only a popular revival of quilt interest, but the real birth of the quilt industry and quilt guilds. From World War I on, fabric notion companies, newspapers and magazines increasingly published old block patterns and invented new ones to fan the growing flames of quilt fever. This period’s style favored appliqués of clear pastel fruit and flower colors, often set against

It’s been a wonderful summer and I wanted to add a cute throw quilt to compliment the pillow we designed last year.  I came up with this Nautical themed quilt with an interesting inset of scrappy diamonds.  And of course, I needed that cute red anchor to set it off.  Let’s get right into the design! Anchors Away Quilt Skillset: Beginner/ Advanced Beginner Size: 48″ x 60″ Skill Builders: Working with Vertical Strip layout Working with repeating block design Convert an applique block to a motif Let’s take a closer look and analyze this quilt.  I have designed it as a Vertical Strip quilt with applique.  First we are going to focus on the diamond insets. These are 45 degree diamonds that are lined up to form a chevron type pattern.  This is a repeating diamond shape that I designed as an individual block.  The block just had to be square

Let’s get to know the basics of drawing an applique block! Before getting started it’s important to understand how the Snap Points work and how they will effect your drawing. It would also be helpful to see what everything on the Precision Bar does and see all the options. When the Pick tool is selected you will see these options. They are pretty self explanatory (except for maybe the WreathMaker). But, notice everything that is available. When the Edit tool is selected you will see these options. Here is more information on what they all do. Drawing Lines Click NEW BLOCK > Applique > Block Note: ○ If you want to draw an applique block, EQ8 gives you two choices: Block or Motif. With the addition of the StencilMaker for a Motif, the tools and techniques are the same in both styles. The only, but big, difference is Block has

You all know that quilting is our first love here at Electric Quilt. But when we saw how Shaun from San Jose, California is using our EQ Printables Inkjet Fabric Sheets, we couldn’t help but share his projects with you! Shaun makes amazing model ships and uses EQ Printables for the sails. Here’s what Shaun says about his process: “I used to buy oil painting canvas and Goodwill shirts to use for my sails, but they just don’t look right. Having the option to design graphics on the sail is a huge plus. The other huge plus [of using EQ Printables] is the plastic backing which can keep the sails stiff, flat and smooth so I can add leech lines (the rope wraps around the entire sail). Once I’m done with all the things I need to do before rigging, I can remove the plastic backing without getting the sails

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. Let’s get creative! This month’s block: Flowering Snowball Where to find it: 01 Classic Pieced > Orange Peels A few design ideas to get you started My first quilt uses an on-point layout. It alternates the original Flowering Snowball block with a variation I created with flying geese in the diagonals. Below is the original block (left) and the flying geese variation (right). The second quilt uses a vertical strip quilt layout. I drew a simple rectangular block with a triangle patch to set next to the snowball blocks. What would you design with the Flowering Snowball block? Post a quilt or two in the comments below. It can be as simple or