Wow!  All I can say about this week is that it has been quite an adventure.  Those that are part of my Catch the Waves program or are seeing my posts on Facebook know that Monday was the inaugural launch of the program.

Over 1,500 people signed up to learn the basics of Electric Quilt in small size bites (10 minutes a day).  Reaction to the video series has been gratifying.  I truly love seeing the light bulb go on as people begin to understand and see the possibilities with Electric Quilt.

Would you like to join the fun?  You may enroll in this free two week training at any time.  The first video will be sent the day after you enroll with additional videos sent each day thereafter.  Read more and enroll here.

Somewhat problematic was the number of e-mails that I "successfully" sent from my e-mail provider that were stopped by receiving e-mail providers and spam filters.  Although my delivery rates were within industry standards, I knew it needed to get better.  At the suggestion of Mail Chimp, I purchased a domain specific e-mail which means all future newsletters will be coming from [email protected].

Please add this e-mail to your address book or safe list.  This will ensure I can continue to send you valuable content each week.

Many of you have learned how to clear your fabrics in a project and replace those fabrics with other fabrics from the Electric Quilt library.

Once that was mastered, the natural follow-up question has been:  "Can I create a personal fabric library that loads into all my new projects?"

See how to do it in this weeks video tutorial.  Along with what to do if you want to go back to the Electric Quilt original default library.

Also, if you are unsure of how to add fabrics external to Electric Quilt into the program, check out this blog post from last June.

Are you ready to delve into this powerful software.  I know that it can be scary getting started -- but Kari will guide you through each step of the journey as you become comfortable navigating and using the primary features of this program.

Check out the various online learning options, class projects and class agenda for this six hour class.

Part five of the Dressed Up Half Square triangle series is presented below.  I think you are going to love the Shrink and Flip option within Electric Quilt.

Are you signed up yet?  If so, you should have received an e-mail from me earlier this morning reminding you that the class starts Monday morning at 8 am Central time.

FYI - This two week challenge is free. 

This summer I have been presenting a Electric Quilt series on my blog I've entitled Dressed Up Half Square Triangles.  This week we are going to explore using the Shrink and Flip feature within Serendipity.

In order to create the blocks in my quilts, I did go back and use the technique in Session 2 on creating some combined blocks.  I will be reviewing this in the video tutorial as well.

If you missed the previous sessions you can catch up here:
Session 1 - Create your Dressed Up Half Square Triangle Block
Session 2 - Combined Dressed Up Half Square Triangle Blocks
Session 3 - Pyramid Setting for Dressed Up Half Square Triangle Blocks
Session 4 - Clip and Flip your Dressed Up Half Square Triangle Blocks

Since they have been playing Christmas on the Hallmark challenge I decided to work in Red and Grey for the fabrics in my quilts.  Most of the fabrics are from Timeless Treasure's the Forever Collection by Judy and Judel Niemeyer.  They were included in Stash 2017 Download 01.

Here is a slideshow of the blocks featured in this weeks Electric Quilt video tutorial.

Here are the quilts:

In talking to people in my classes and online, one thing I hear is "I haven't really learned how to use their EQ software".  Or a variation on the theme -- "I haven't used my software in (insert number) of months (or even years)". or -- "I've tried the software, but it wasn't intuitive".

Can you relate?

There are lots of classes and aides to learning the program.  I offer a number of them through my website and through Electric Quilt University.  But sometimes it is hard to find the time to just get started.  

Note:  This challenge is designed for beginners and those that have not used Electric Quilt for an extended period of time.  My goal is to encourage users to learn the basics so they are comfortable starting to design on their own.

Purchase the individual webinars for $25 or purchase a series of all four for $80.  Classes start Monday, July 10, 2017.

Four 90 minute session class for $100.  Class starts Thursday, July 13, 2017.

Today we are going to get really creative with our half square triangle blocks.  We are going to explore using both the Tilt and Clip and Flip features within Serendipity.

If you haven't explored these particular features, this weeks video should be added to your must watch list.  And check out just a fraction of the blocks I was able to create with this tool.

If you missed the previous sessions you can catch up here:
Session 1 - Create your Dressed Up Half Square Triangle Block
Session 2 - Combined Dressed Up Half Square Triangle Blocks
Session 3 - Pyramid Setting for Dressed Up Half Square Triangle Blocks

Here are some of the examples from the video.  These would be super easy to paper piece.

Here are a couple of quilts from these blocks.  Both are using a basic horizontal layout with two alternating blocks.

Clip and Flip variations.  Fabrics used are Susan Emory's Hello line with Michael Miller.

Enrollment is now open for two new online Electric Quilt classes.  My new T Shirt and Panel Quilts class will be offered in a webinar format allowing you to take only the pieces of the class you are interested in learning.  Read more below.

If you want to see how to draft the blocks in this quilt, check out part 1 of my Dressed Up Half Square Triangle challenge.

Here is the Electric Quilt layout I used.

Love the designed half square triangle blocks that readers are sending to me.  Here are the new ones.

You have just been asked to make a t shirt quilt for someone special graduating from high school.  Or you just picked up a spectacular panel at your local quilt shop and don't know what to do with it.  This class will provide you with the information you need to successfully design any t shirt or panel quilt using Electric Quilt 7.

Information will be presented through four separate mini-classes.  Pick the sessions that interest you (or that you need to learn).  Or pick all four for a deep dive into the topic.  Classes will be presented in a webinar format that will provide demonstration of the techniques along with time for questions and answers.

Can't attend the classes (or even just one or two of the classes)?  All enrollees will get a full video of the class plus detailed step by step instructions to recreate items demonstrated in the video.

Class Starts July 13, 2017.  Four 90 minute sessions.  Price $100.