As a quilter, I find that I can never have enough bags.  We all need a place to store those in-process projects.  And it is so convenient when we need to grab a project to work on during the next guild meeting meeting.  I even have a group of bags all set to go for my next quilt retreat.

If you can relate, I have a new bag idea for you.  It is quilt related -- but there is no quilting involved.

Two weeks ago, I created a design and  transferred a block I drafted in Electric Quilt 8 to Cricut Design Space.  If you missed that tutorial, you will want to catch it here.

The video tutorial this week shows my process for adding the design to a canvas tote.

The supplies used in my project are as follows.  Please note that links are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission on any purchases.

• Love to Quilt design (from previous blog post)
• Black Canvas Bag size 16.5 x 13 (link is to a white bag as the black is out of stock)
• Cricut Maker
• Home printer
• Blue LightGrip Mat for Cricut Maker
• JoLee's Transfer Paper - Dark
• Heat Transfer Vinyl Sheets Starter Pack 
• Iron
• Parchment Paper

In my video tutorial, I shared that I used my laser printer -- rather than the inkjet printer recommended for transfer sheets.  I only used the iron for 10 seconds in each area during the transfer to the canvas.  I did not notice any melting during the process and was pleased with my ending design.

I am thinking that this might be a good item for the boutique for my quilt guild -- and am already thinking about who I could gift with the bag.

Or maybe I should find another of my Electric Quilt designs for the next bag.  Lots to think about.

Tech Know Quilters is a membership of Electric Quilt 8 owners who are mastering Electric Quilt through online training.  At the end of their February class, they were encouraged to apply what they learned during the month of February. 

Tech Know Quilters is open to new members only a few times a year.  Thee will be an open enrollment offering next week -- but just for those on the wait list.  You can sign up for the wait list here.   

During February TKQ Masters Members had classes in Advanced Foundation Piecing.  They were challenged to take a photo and create a foundation friendly pattern inspired by their photo.  I think they did a phenomenal job.

Here are some additional projects created by Tech Know Quilter members -- they are a very talented group who are doing amazing things with Electric Quilt 8.  

Scroll down to see some new amazing quilts from Tech Know Quilter members as they share some of their favorite quilts completed in January.

I recently purchased a Cricut Maker and have been having fun learning how to use it.  This week I watched a tutorial on using Print and Cut.  With Print and Cut you can print an image on your home printer and then cut it out using a Cricut machine.  The light bulb went on and I thought -- this is how we could feature those complex EQ8 designs that we will never get around to piecing. 

Please tell me I am not the only one with a treasure trove of EQ projects that will never become a quilt or a wall hanging.

In this tutorial, I will share exactly how I modified and exported a design in EQ to make it cutting friendly.  Then I will take you through setting up a project using Cricut Design Space along with the rest of the process to create the love to quilt design that would be suitable for putting on a canvas tote.

If you would like to see the EQ tutorial for drafting the teeny, tiny heart block used in the video, click here.

The font I used in the Love to Quilt design was Angelica Script Font.  I obtained it from Creative Fabrica.  This website offers a free font every day and this was one of the fonts they offered for free earlier this year.   It is called a Modern Calligraphy Font.

If you are debating whether a Cricut is in your future, you can download a free copy of Design Space here and follow my process to create your own Love to Quilt design.

Tech Know Quilters is a membership of Electric Quilt 8 owners who are mastering Electric Quilt through online training.  At the end of their January class, they were encouraged to apply what they learned during the month of January.  We had a fair number of completed projects this month -- showing how they have moved from design to construction.

During January, I introduced a new class in which we drafted 12 different calendar quilts. Here are some of the blocks and quilts from the class.

Tech Know Quilter's Masters members have been in Tech Know Quilters for at least 12 months.  They are committed to expanding their use of EQ through design.  Their challenge for January was to create their own calendar block or quilt.

Tech Know Quilters will also post designs as they work through their monthly lessons.  Some will follow the design exactly as laid out.  Others will choose to exercise their creativity muscle and expand upon the lesson.

My current plans are to open enrollment to new members at the end of March.  Invitations to join will be sent out to those on the wait list. Learn more about Tech Know Quilters and sign up for the wait list here, 

Last week I shared about cutting my applique patches using a Cricut Maker.  This week I decided I needed a new Mug Rug and decided that with the ease of cutting out designs with the Cricut Maker, I would create a mug rug that featured some seasonal applique.

The penguin in my mug rug came from the EQ library -- so this was a fun and easy project for Electric Quilt 8.

Problems:  After writing the tutorial last week on transferring designs from EQ to my Cricut Maker, I ran into a couple of issues. I found out that designs resize when moving from Inkscape to Cricut Design Space.  (They also resize when bringing them into Silhouette Studio as well.)    I also discovered that when I imported designs into Cricut Design Space, the patches did not always show up on the import.

I've signed up for a class/membership on using both Cricut Design Space and creating SVGs in Inkscape from Erica Martin.  I had watched a number of her free tutorials in December and knew Erica would be super helpful in finally moving my Inkscape skills beyond basic hacker -- and to be be able to confidently use Cricut Design Space.  She very graciously responded to questions on my problems and assisted me in identifying the best way to address them.   I would highly recommend her membership if you are interested in mastering Inkscape and Cricut Design Space.  Here website is svgandme.com if you would like to check out her tutorials and membership.

 In my bonus tutorial, I will walk you through my updated process for transferring designs from Electric Quilt to Inkscape to Cricut Design Space.  This will also work if you are using Silhouette Studio or Brother Canvas Workspace.

Today was Day 1 of a quilt retreat.  In addition to catching up with friends and lots of great stories and laughing, I managed to sew up the Penguin mug rug as shown here.  The background squares are cut 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" and the "ice" is cut 9-1/2" x 1-1/2". 

For the applique, I ironed SoftFuse on the back of my fabric.  Removed the paper and with the fusible size down, placed on a Cricut Green Mat.  I cut all the pieces using the rotary cutter blade on my Cricut Maker with the material setting Fused Fabric.  

After fusing the applique to the background, I used a blanket stitch on my machine to stitch down the pieces.  

For quilting, I did some stitch in the ditch around the applique shapes and cross-hatching through the grey background squares. 

The mug rug finished 9" x 6" (before binding). 

Background:  I owned a Silhouette Cameo (first edition) and had pretty mixed results with cutting fabric.  I had some nice cuts but wouldn't have achieved that without some great advice from my blog readers.  Check out my paper snowflake project last year -- which was done on the Silhouette Cameo.)

​Given my fairly frustrating learning curve on the Cameo, I will admit to being a bit gun-shy.  However, I have a retreat coming up next week, and realized that if I actually wanted to make my snowman project, I needed to cut it out -- NOW!

I experienced a couple of glitches with Cricut Design Space  including designs not showing up in the import and modifications to design in Inkscape not carrying over to Cricut Design Space.  But once my design was loaded, the cutting process was a dream.  Not one bad cut in my first time cutting fabric with the Cricut Maker.

Here was the block I created for the TKQ Calendar Quilts class.  I want to piece the block at the size 20 x 15.

If you would like to join the wait list for the next open enrollment for Tech Know Quilters, you may sign up here.

Here is the video describing my process.  Not sure if I figured out the most efficient way to do everything -- but I figured I needed to start with the basics.

In the video, I explain that I printed my block to a pdf writer.  In the video I used Cute PDF Writer.  However the actual pdf writer is not important.  Feel free to use what you have available to use on your computer.

Look to see if you have a setting for your pdf writer called Post Script Custom Page Size.  I just discovered this setting a few months ago -- but essentially it lets you pick a page size (even one that is larger than any of your installed printers).  This is particularly useful for larger sized blocks. 

If you don't have this option, just pick the largest paper size you have installed on your computer.  You make have some tiling which will require multiple Inkscape files.

The intermediate software I used to convert my design from the pdf format to an svg format is Inkscape. Inkscape is a professional vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It's free and open source. 

Inkscape can seem overwhelming to use when you open it for the first time. However you only need to use a couple of tools within Inkscape -- so this really is a piece of cake. You can download Inkscape here.

Inkscape will allow you to create an SVG file which may be used in any electronic cutting system (Cricut Design Space, Silhouette Studio, or Brother Canvas Workspace).

So what is an SVG file?  An SVG file is a graphics file that uses a two-dimensional vector graphic format.  Unlike raster formats such as JPG, GIF, and PNG, an SVG image remains crisp and clear at any resolution or size.

In Inkscape, ungroup your image and select and delete any patches that you don't want to cut with your cutting system.  Then save as an SVG.  (Update:  Make note of the size of the svg objects.)

In Cricut Design Space, select Upload Image and navigate to the SVG file.  Select Save.  Select the Image and select Insert Images.  (Update:  Resize the grouped images to match the size noted in Inkscape.)

Make any modifications.  I chose to remove the circles for the mouth as I think it will be easier to use a decorative stitch on my sewing machine rather than appliquing 1/4 inch circles on my block.

I chose to back my fabric with Soft Fuse Premium.  I love the soft hand of this fusible -- it actually feels like there is none.  I ironed the fusible to the fabric (3 seconds with a dry iron), removed the paper and placed it fusible size down on the Cricut mat.  I used the green mat -- but after I was all done found that they actually recommend the pink mat. 

Cutting with the rotary cutter blade was an absolute dream.  I had absolutely no problems with shifting material and there were no snags in the cut (both issues that I had with my old Silhouette Cameo).  (Note -- I had the first version of the Silhouette Cameo and based on conversations with others who have upgraded, I think the later versions are less troublesome.)