Do you EQ? I do! I’ve been a frequent user of Electric Quilt since I started quilting, way back in the last century. (Oooh. That was funny until I typed it. Now I need some carrot cake.) I use EQ8 to mock-up ideas for submissions to magazines, and to design ideas for my AccuQuilt projects. It isn’t the only software I use, but it is the easiest. One thing I have always struggled with is getting fabrics into the software. I’m blessed with a deep stash, but trying to find digital files of old fabric is so hard. When the affiliate program offered up their new book on importing fabrics, panels and photos for me to check out, I was excited. They gave me a copy for you guys, too! The giveaway info is at the end of the post. (EQ links are affiliate links. If you use them, I will make a small commission. Thank you!)
The book is called Fabrics, Panels & Photos and is filled with such helpful information! From how to best get my fabrics into the software, to how to work with t-shirts, and how to keep it all organized so I can find it again! This book is going to be a game changer for using up my stash. There is so much great info in here, with specific info on scanning vs photographing fabric, how to scale it properly, and how to identify repeats so your fabric fill looks right.
Why does this matter? Well, I use the software as part of my job. Clients like AccuQuilt and McCall’s (or any magazine) prefer to see project sketches in the fabrics you are planning to use. Obviously, they know everything I make is going to be fantastic, but sometimes they have a vision, and they want to make sure my ideas line up nicely with theirs. Seeing it in the planned fabric keeps the process cleaner. While all of this has been possible for a long time, having written instructions makes things easier for me. I’m old, and I still prefer my instructions to be on paper. I write in my books, so if something is still unclear, I give myself notes for next time. It makes my life easier.
Some projects I’ve designed using EQ
I think the idea of scanning in t-shirts is really interesting. I’ve made a few t-shirt quilts, and didn’t love the process. No matter what I do, they always look kind of the same. The beauty of t-shirt quilts is in the meaning to the owner of the shirts, but wouldn’t it be nice if a little bit of design could go into it and make them a little more artsy? I’ve secured a box of t-shirts from a friend to try – I’ll be working with them later this year. I’ll have to scan them in and see if I can use the software to make a compelling composition.
I was particularly intrigued by the panel information. I’ve got two panels I’m really excited about playing with. The first is the Ephemera panel from Alison Glass. The second is the 10 Years of Magic panel from Ruby Star Society. Both are designed for fussy cutting, and are stuffed with adorable images. I also have a panel fanatic in my house. I know Mom will appreciate it if I play around with some interesting border ideas for her next panel project.
The Ephemera panel comes in both warm and cool, and I was thinking it would be the perfect fussy cut center form a new version of Rotation. I was able to cheat on that a bit, and download an image of the panel from the manufacturer website. However, the image wasn’t scaled correctly, and I was able to adjust it. Having instructions for scaling the images was enormously helpful. Then, being able to move the image around to highlight the bit I wanted in the block was so satisfying. In the past, I’ve just ignored how bad the images looked, or switched to solid colors.
Scaling the image properly showed me that I had to re-size my blocks from my original pattern, because the images are just a bit too small to fill in the 5 1/2″ center block. EQ8 made that pretty easy. In fact, it was a snap, and looks so good, we decided to offer kits at Gotham. The kits are available in 2 options – cool panel and warm fabrics, or warm panel and cool fabrics. The kit includes an adjusted set of cutting instructions, so that you can use the blocks in the panel without having to cut into adjacent blocks. The finished quilt will be a bit smaller than the original, coming in at 54″ x 68″ instead of 60″ x 75″. If you are an Alison Glass collector, as I used to be, I have exciting news! I’m planning to do a Rotation sew along in January. I’ll be using one of each panel, both warm and cool, and attempting to use up some of my old AG prints. There is something so satisfying about a mostly stash quilt. Get your panels from Gotham Quilts now!
Ok. Have I sold you on this Deep Dive into importing Fabrics, Panels and Photos yet? You can get a copy directly from the folks at Electric Quilt here. You can sign up for my newsletter and be entered to win a copy for yourself. If you are already a subscriber, consider yourself entered! I will do a drawing on November 9th. Good luck!
Thanks so much for the chance to win a copy of the new EQ8 book about Importing Fabrics, Panels, and Photos! I’ve recently started using EQ8 after taking a class at my local community college. I felt like a real dummy until the teacher made it seem so simple to figure it out! 🙂 Any help I can get in learning more and making it easier is a step in the right direction!!! Thanks again!! Vivian wvoaks at comcast dot net