Have you met Lori from Lori Miller Designs yet? She is delightful, and has a brilliant line of block designs that combine two of my favorite quilt gadgets – EQ8 and Accuquilt! I was lucky to see that Lori was seeking testers recently, and I was able to test her block libraries, and I love them. I’l be sharing more about that soon, but for now, I wanted to introduce Lori to you.
You can find Lori’s products on her website and on Etsy.
How long have you been an Electric Quilt user?
I started with EQ7 in late 2014. I was designing quilts and submitting to magazines and pencil and paper was not cutting it. I had a background in Information Technology, so when I discovered Electric Quilt Design Software, I was all in. The next spring , The Electric Quilt Company held their first EQ Academy in Ohio. It was so close to me in Michigan that I signed up and drove down. I loved it and I learned so much. I kept returning every year to learn as much as I could.
What are your 3 top tips for EQ beginners?
Tip 1 If you can swing going to EQ Academy in Ohio, it is a great environment to immerse yourself in learning and have all the help you need right there. You get out of your routine and can just focus on building your skills in the software. I will be teaching classes there this fall.
Tip 2 Do beginning lessons. There are lessons that are free online with the software, do those first, they are a great introduction. Then get the EQ8 Lessons for Beginners book and work through all the lessons.
Tip 3 Browse doyoueq.com, they have several groups of free lessons from Design and Discovery to some by yours truly, EQ8 Lessons with Lori. There are lessons for beginners to advanced users. Most can be done in a short amount of time and you learn something new or get a chance to refresh your skills.
How long have you been an Accuquilt user?
I have only been using Accuquilt for about three years. I was introduced to the GO Cutters in my Stitching Sisters Quilts of Valor Group. I was definitely a late adopter as I thought I was fine with just my Rotary Cutter. However, once I cut out a whole quilt in a little over an hour, I was hooked. I view it as another tool in my Quilters toolbox. I was sold on the precision of the cut pieces and the versatility of the Accuquilt GO! Qubes to create traditional blocks. I loved them so much, I decided to apply to become an Accuquilt GO Getter and I was accepted. So now I share projects, tutorials and patterns for Accuquilt.
What prompted your brilliant series of block libraries?
I started out selfishly creating the Add-on EQ8 Block libraries for myself. I wanted to design in EQ8 with blocks that would work with my Accuquilt to cut them out so I could try out different color ways. I looked around for the 216 four patch blocks in the Accuquilt GO! Qube Brochure. A few people had drawn a few blocks, but I could not find a library anywhere. So I hunkered down and re-drew all of those blocks in EQ8. Then I had the crazy idea that maybe there were other quilters like me who might like the convenience of not having to draw all of those blocks. I worked with Accuquilt and Electric Quilt and got permission to create and offer them to other Quilters. Since then, I have created more libraries of blocks, all GO Friendly.
How did Accuquilt respond when they heard about your product?
The Accuquilt Team was so supportive. I was getting ready to teach a class at EQ Academy on how to design in EQ8 for the Accuquilt GO! Qubes and wanted to promote my new library. When I reached out, they were excited and offered their help. When I decided to add more libraries, they wanted to offer them on their website too. It is a great partnership.
What is your favorite Accuquilt die?
It seems unfair to make me just pick one, but I would say my first love are the Accuquilt Qubes. My designs are rooted in traditional blocks and the Qubes allow me to create those easily. I also love the Pineapple die because I would not want to cut out those pieces by hand. It is also versatile by just changing out the fabrics used. For applique, I still love that oldy, but goody, the little Owl.
What project is exciting you now?
I always have about 10 projects going at one time. I usually have an Accuquilt Blog post I am working on. I am going through my patterns and converting them to be Accuquilt friendly. I have a couple of new original patterns I am trying to get written up. There are a few friends who are having grandchildren, so a few baby quilts are in the hopper. And I am trying to quilt a few UFO’s.
I just released two new Add-on EQ8 Block Library files, the second set of BOB blocks and a new set of Five Patch Blocks. I am dreaming up ideas for the next releases in the fall.
Thanks so much to Lori for spending the time to answer my questions. I will tell you that I have been using EQ for years, and I upgraded to EQ8 last year. It is by far the easiest version I have tried, and I’ve had at least three different versions. Almost every quilt I have had published in a magazine has been designed in EQ8. In my studio, EQ8 is nearly as useful as my longarm. You can see my EQ8 mock-up for Color Catcher in this post.
Lori’s Qube block libraries are so much fun, but my favorite ones are for the BOB dies. Especially the curved ones that I can’t figure out how to draw properly. (I need to follow Lori’s tips and take some classes!) It just makes it so easy, and for an incredibly reasonable price.
Do you EQ? If you do, definitely check out Lori’s website. She is a great resource, and so nice!