Do you EQ? I do!

What is EQ? EQ is short for Electric Quilt, and they're one of the most popular software developers for quilters. Electric Quilt is a quilt design software, previously just available for PCs but by the end of this year, it will also be available for the Mac platform. I first got EQ some time last summer, but didn't start using it heavily until late last year, when I figured out how to use it to build foundation paper piecing pattern templates.

Previously, I had used Adobe Illustrator mostly for templates and for virtual quilt mock-ups, but it was always a challenge for me. Illustrator is a big piece of software, with loads of tools and brushes and things that a quilter doesn't need. EQ, on the other hand, has everything you need, and no excess bells and whistles to confuse you. There is definitely a learning curve, especially in moving from Illustrator to EQ, but it's totally learn-able. Honestly, EQ was a lot easier to learn than Illustrator! I used lots of videos to help me get used to the way the software works, and these days I feel pretty confident that I know it quite well. There's also the Do You EQ website full of lessons and tricks for using the software.

There's lots of things I love about EQ, but one of my favorite parts is the way it lets me experiment with color and fabric selection, so that I can find the most effective color palette for my designs. It's as simple as a click to change a color or fabric, so it's infinitely easier than trying something out physically and having to unsew! I find that I am a lot more willing to think about colors and fabrics I wouldn't have otherwise tried in the virtual setting.

Take my Showstopper mini that I made recently for a swap and turned into my newest pattern. It started out looking like this...


And in my second attempt at coloring it, it turned into this, with a color palette inspired by Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee...

Then, I had the idea to give it the rainbow treatment, and it turned into this...


And when I sewed it together, it was just fantastic, and I knew it would be because I had EQ to help me visualize it.


The lovely people at EQ have given me a copy for you to win! This copy of EQ 7 up for grabs is for PCs only, so please keep that in mind. To enter, simply leave me a blog comment about how you design quilts now and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. A winner will be selected next Monday at 6am EST. The winner will be announced via the blog as well as via email.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

The show is at 4pm EST today and you can listen live by clicking on one of the photos on today's post, or you can listen after the fact if you're busy right at 4! You can find the show on iTunes, by searching for American Patchwork & Quilting, or on Pat's website. If you've never listened to a podcast, you ought to give this one a try - it's just like listening to a radio show, but this one's even better because it's about quilting! I love listening to podcasts while I'm quilting, so it's a real kick to think that I'm going to be on this one today. Wish me luck and I hope you'll listen!

You know that feeling when you get really excited about something that you're making? When you want to drop everything else on your plate so you can just keep working on it? This Showstopper mini has been that project for me this week. It's been a couple of long nights at my house, sewing away, but they have been oh so enjoyable working on this gorgeous mini!

I am just over the moon with how these blocks came together. I had initially planned to work with some small scale tonal prints for this block, but I'm glad I switched gears and went with the solids - it just makes the piecing so crisp and bold. Not that I dislike my original plan, I think that the solids just add that extra pow to these blocks.

Prints vs. solids

For the quilting, I really wanted the piecing to shine, so I took a very minimal approach to the quilting, simply quilting an orange peel in the center of each of the four blocks with my trusty 50 wt Aurifil, and then quilting some loops and pulleys in the white diamonds and triangles that come together when you repeat this block. That's one of my favorite parts about the block, so I wanted to accentuate it.

It was terribly hard to pack it up and send it on its way, but it's officially winging its way to its new owner, and I can't wait to see what she thinks of it. I'm hoping she'll love it just as much as I loved making it. Now if only I could knock the crazy notion I'm having of making another just for me :)

And if you're dying to make one of these for yourself, I'm thrilled to tell you that the Showstopper Block PDF Pattern is now available, both in my Pattern Shop and on Craftsy! The pattern is nine pages of full-color diagrams and thorough instructions every step of the way, with complete cutting instructions and templates for both a 10" and 12" block. I wouldn't try to go smaller than 10" on this block, just because of the extreme intricacy. But, this block pattern is written in such a way that even someone with little paper piecing experience can do! If you make something using this pattern, please do share it with me! You can share it with me on Flickr in my Flickr group or on Instagram by tagging me (@dontcallmebetsy) or using the hashtag #dontcallmebetsy. Check out some of the cool variations you can put together with this block, both with solids and with prints...


Quilt Stats
name: Showstopper
size: 24 1/2" square
pattern: Showstopper Block by yours truly
fabrics: assorted solids and Violet Craft's epic Memoir print in white from her Madrona Road collection
quilting: loopy FMQ, pulleys and orange peels in white (#2024) Aurifil 50 wt thread
binding: Kona white to match the bits of white in the piecing