Behind the Mouse: The Electric Quilt Blog

Thank you to everyone who participated in November’s design challenge! We say it often, but we love to see how you each take the same fabrics and create so many different designs! Winners Two winners were selected randomly. Congratulations to…. Winner 1: Beth M “My husband is a veteran, serving in both the USMC and Army between 1975 and 1984. I was especially touched when he saw me working on this quilt and commented on it. I was staring at it, thinking it needed something ‘tweaked’ when he walked over and said ‘wow, that’s awesome, you should make that’. I figured if he liked it enough to comment then it must be done.” - Beth M Winner 2: Brittany Fisher “Went for a patriotic burst this round!” - Brittany Fisher Thanks again to all who participated in this challenge. If you’re looking for another chance to win the Stars and Stripes fabric, check out EQ’s collaboration

Can you believe it’s already December?! As the year comes to an end, December’s Fabric of the Month is Forest Chatter by Maywood Studio! This stunning collection was created with care specially by the Maywood Studio team: “Every image and shape used in Forest Chatter was drawn, carved, and printed by hand. A forest filled with activity emerged as we filled the wall in our design studio with prints We collaborated as a team to sketch, stamp, and get our hands dirty. Our creativity came together to bring you Forest Chatter, the newest Workshop collection.” A bundle of these fabrics will be given away to one lucky winner! Submit your EQ design featuring Forest Chatter 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

This month we’re playing with different ways to make wreaths in EQ8! EQ8 comes with some wreath blocks already installed. Let’s check those out first. Open EQ8 and click Search for block patterns Click Search > By Notecard Type in wreath Check all 3 boxes. Make sure it reads Find at most 300 items. Click Search Click on a wreath you like and click Edit to Block Worktable This is a Polydraw + Applique block, with everything drawn on the Applique tab. If you want to edit here is a lesson about applique blocks. Otherwise, click the COLOR tab and recolor the block, if you’d like. (We’ll be changing the block and recoloring it again in a few steps, if you want to wait.) But, even a spring wreath can look more wintery with some new colors or fabric! One option is to use fabrics from the Fabric Library > Themes

My favorite colors are Blue, Purple, and Fuschia.  Most of my fabric stash is in these colors.  When I design a quilt or block in EQ8 I often start with grayscale colors and add my favorite colors later.  I prefer to have all my favorite colors in one project that I can return to with future projects and import the fabric library I created with my favorite colors. Open your EQ8 program and create a new project named ‘My Favorite Colors’. I start making my favorite color project by removing all the blocks and fabrics in the EQ program by default.  This way I can create a clean sketchbook with only the blocks and fabric colors I like. In the sketchbook under the blocks heading, click on the three little dots on the upper right side.  Click on the option to ‘clear all unused blocks.   In the pop-up box, click

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. We hope these posts will inspire you to try something new and expand your EQ skills! This month’s block: Goose Frame Where to find it: 02 Contemporary Pieced > Frames Design ideas to get you started The blocks in the Frames section of the library all have a larger center square. This square can be used for something special like a photo, fussy cutting a special fabric, or merging with another block (Create Serendipity > Merge Block). I choose to edit the Goose Frame block to the Block Worktable and draw some new lines in the center square. I alternated this variation block with another block from the Frames section (which I also

Thank you to everyone who participated in last month’s design challenge. Leather and Lace and Amazing Grace is a very special collection, and we were so moved to see all your designs and read the stories you so graciously shared. Designer Cathe Holden also expressed her sincere appreciation: “My sincerest thanks to all who participated in the EQ Design Challenge featuring my ‘Leather & Lace and Amazing Grace’ collection. The entries were beautiful and touching and quite difficult to choose only 3. Reading through the descriptions and responses, I was so moved. My condolences to all who lost a precious one to cancer, and my hope for healing for all going through treatment and to those living with the difficult effects that follow.”  – Cathe Holden Winners Three winners were selected, each chosen by Cathe Holden. Congratulations to…. Winner 1: Amberlie Beenfield “As I spent time viewing all the very beautiful submissions,

Today we are announcing the start of an 8-month collaboration with the Quilts of Valor Foundation® (QOVF), and we couldn’t be more excited! If you’ve designed a Quilt of Valor® in Electric Quilt software, we’d love to see pictures of that design and the sewn quilt! From now until July 4, 2023, we’re asking for pictures of your finished Quilt of Valor® (QOV) and an image of the accompanying design you made in EQ software to help us highlight this great organization! We want to know why you made the quilt, including if it was for a specific veteran.* If the picture of the finished QOV features the deserving veteran, that’s even better because we also want to show our appreciation to all those who have served our country! Your submission will automatically enter you to win some fabulous prizes (see Prizes below)! Quilts of Valor® If you’re not familiar with QOV, you’ve got plenty