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 Are you ready to take your Electric Quilt 8 skills to the next level? My early Christmas gift to you is a free Mystery project. I will be sharing how to draft a series of newly designed foundation friendly blocks that would be suitable for a Christmas themed quilt. You will be the first to see these new designs. This free challenge is designed for both beginners to Electric Quilt 8 and those that would like to expand their bock drawing skills to a whole new level. My goal is to encourage you to spend a small amount of time using Electric Quilt each day to allow you to become much more comfortable with the software. Although the mystery is FREE, you must sign up to receive the video tutorials. The mystery will start on Monday, December 7th. Tech Know Quilters Virtual ShowcaseTech Know Quilters is a membership of Electric Quilt 8 owners who are mastering Electric Quilt through online training. At the end of their October class, they were encouraged to apply what they learned during the month of October. Tech Know Quilters is open to new members only a few times a year. You can sign up for the wait list here and we will notify you of the next open enrollment period. I love having people at different stages of the EQ journey submitting designs. I am so proud of this group of quilt designers.
Tech Know Quilters Masters Letter ChallengeIn October Tech Know Quilter Master's members were challenged to create a quilt around a letter. The challenge was a month long process where they selected a letter during week 1, designed a block in week 2, and created the quilt layout in week 3. I am so impressed by the creativity of this group. Tech Know Quilter Masters members have completed at least 12 months of classes in Tech Know Quilters and are some of the more advanced members in the group. As you look through these quilts, try to figure out their letter (before reading the description). Some are obvious -- but others take a bit of work to figure out.
Would you like to learn two easy techniques for working with applique blocks.
See how to do both in this first tutorial.
The second tutorial will provide a quilt option for those reworked applique blocks. The blocks look great in an on point layout and are complemented with an on point tile square border filled with turkey track blocks.
These videos were originally developed in 2017 -- right after the release of EQ8.
Here is the quilt from the video. The Turkey Time quilt finished at 50.75" x 50.75". 
Turkey Time Designed by Kari Schell using EQ8
I know that there are those in the audience that don't reside in the United States. Feel free to swap out the applique images to reflect a favorite season or holiday. I would love to see pictures.
Black Friday Pricing (good all week)
Regular Price: $49 Sale Price: $30
What is a tessellation? According to Jinny Beyer, a tessellation is a shape or combination of shapes which will indefinitely cover an area without any gaps or overlaps. Tessellations are most easily identified as interlocking motifs. However, any quilt block that repeats itself can be considered a tessellation.
The block drafted in today's tutorial has a tessellation shape within the block. Four corners come together for a repeat of the shape in the center -- giving the illusion of the interlocking pattern.
Because the tessellating unit was designed in a block with a 6 x 6 grid (note that there are six even divisions going across and down), it will be super simple to piece -- no inset seams required.
In the EQ8 video tutorial, learn to draft a smaller unit (1/4 of the block), use serendipity to create the larger block, and use some advanced coloring features to recolor the quilt.
Here is a link to the free fabric collection used in the video and available on the Do You EQ website. The collection is Good Vibes. It was designed by Crysta Watson and manufactured by Benartex.
Jelly Roll Friendly Piecing
Folded Rectangle Construction
Combine with 6-1/2" x 2-1/2" strips (from the EQ8 Rotary Cutting Chart). The unit should measure 6-1/2" x 6-1/2". Combine and rotate four units for each block. Consider trying different rotation options for your block.
Merry Christmas Quilt
Last December, I presented an exclusive class to Tech Know Quilter's Masters members on designing their own folded corner friendly quilts. In the class, I shared with them how to draft Merry Christmas -- a folded corner friendly quilt that I developed. (Tech Know Quilter Master members have been in Tech Know Quilters for at least 12 months and are focused on applying their EQ knowledge to their own projects.)
Are you new to Tech Know Quilter's Masters Program? Masters members may purchase the series at a discount. Contact us for your discount coupon for the class.
Is Electric Quilt Jelly Roll friendly? (A jelly roll is a group of strips that have been cut 2 1/2" wide.)
My answer is typically "Yes, but....". Electric Quilt has a lot of flexibility. As a result you can easily design blocks that work well for working with jelly rolls or other pre-cuts. However, it is usually useful to apply some of our general quilting knowledge to make blocks we design in Electric Quilt jelly roll friendly. The EQ8 video tutorial today will be on creating a jelly roll friendly 12 inch block. I will then share my thoughts on piecing this block in a Jelly roll friendly manner.
Here is the quilt designed in the video. Every bit of it can be pieced with 2 1/2" strips. Really!
Reworking a Flying Geese Unit to be Jelly Roll Friendly
When designing a basic 2 x 4 inch flying geese unit in Electric Quilt, for rotary cutting purposes, Electric Quilt assumes you will use standard squares that are converted to quarter and half square triangles.
However that exact same unit can be produced with a jelly roll. To do that cut:
Or Alternatively, you could print templates in EQ and use them as guides to cut your jelly roll strips.
I would love to see your jelly roll friendly block (or quilt). Feel free to post pictures over at the Learning Electric Quilt Facebook page. Want to Learn More About Adapting EQ to Your Favorite Piecing Methods?
In the From Design to Production Class (available only to Tech Know Quilter members), we include a lesson on some simple rules to select an appropriate piecing method for your blocks. And even provide cheat sheets that can be used in keeping track of everything related to "making your quilt with fabric".
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