Mixed Up Flying Geese EQ8 Tutorial

Mixed Up Flying Geese EQ8 Tutorial

The Free Fabric of the Month (available on the Do You EQ website) for November 2022 is Stars and Stripes 10th Anniversary by Linda Ludovico and Deborah Edwards for Northcott.

This seemed like a great collection for a quilt to honor veterans -- either through a quilt to a friend or family members or Quilts of Vallor.

Click on the picture to access the collection from doyoueq.com.  You will be able to add this to your fabric collections in Electric Quilt 7 or 8.

The video today will use the  Stars and Stripes 10th Anniversary fabric  collection with a diagonal flying geese block that you will be able to draft in Electric Quilt 8.  I decided to use two different colorings of the block since there were so many great options in the fabric collection.

Mixed Up Flying Geese Block drawn in EQ8 - Coloring 1

Mixed Up Flying Geese Block drawn in EQ8 - Coloring 1

The quilt I drafted to feature this block used an On Point layout.  It was set up with 3 horizontal and 4 vertical blocks. 

I changed the block size to 10-1/2" x 10-1/2" as that will allow the flying geese units to have a finished size of 5" x 2-1/2".    That is a great size for many of the rulers in our collections.  However if size of the flying geese units is not important to you, this would also be a great block to foundation piece.  You could make it as large (or small) as you want.

After placing the blocks in the quilt, I worked with Serendipity to experiment with different rotations/flips for the blocks.    There are so many fun ways to work with these blocks.

If you are interested in learning more about either Shoot for the Stars with EQ8 or Tech Know Quilters click on the links below.

Purchase Shoot for the Stars with EQ8

Learn More About Tech Know Quilters

After completing the video, I experimented with a second coloration and then with a different Serendipity option.  And then replacing half the blocks with unpieced blocks.  This option will allow for some fancy quilting.

Mixed Up Flying Geese Quilt from Video

Mixed Up Flying Geese with same background fabrics on all blocks.

Mixed Up Flying Geese - alternate symmetry option

Mixed Up Flying Geese with unpieced alternative blocks. A great option for a fun quilting design.

This is a block that has so many options regardless of the quilt layout.  It was hard to stop playing.

All of these quilts finish at 58" x 73".  This would be a perfect size for Quilts of Valor.  

To date Quilt of Valor have delivered over 325,000 quilts.

Click on the photograph on the right to learn more.

My friend Char Wenger's Quilts of Valor group awarded 17 quilts to Vets at the Hopkins Activities Center.

I would love to see your quilt with this block.  Or maybe you created a different Quilt of Valor design in Electric Quilt 8.  Feel free to share what you have  done in the Learning EQ Facebook group.

Learning EQ Mixed Up Flying Geese Facebook Post

I talked with EQ this week and learned that EQ has teamed up with Quilts of Vallor. It was part of the reason they chose the collection that I had featured above.

If you make a QOV that you designed in EQ, you can submit images of both and automatically be entered to win some great prizes, including that Stars & Stripes fabric!

Click on the picture to learn more.

Using a .webp Image with Electric Quilt 8

According to Wikipedia,  WebP is an image file format that Google has developed as a replacement for JPEG, PNG, and GIF file formats. WebP yields files that are smaller for the same quality, or of higher quality for the same size.

I have been seeing a fair number of websites that have been converting their images to this format.  While these images can be downloaded to your computer, there is not a way to directly include the images in Electric Quilt.  This matters:

• when we wish to import the image for tracing (for example, Accuquilt has now converted to this method along with Studio 180 Designs)
• when we wish to import the image and use as fabric.  (I've noticed that Free Spirit has transitioned to this format and suspect others will follow.)
• when we wish to include the image as a photo in a quilt. (This could be from anywhere on the net.  I've noticed that some museums have converted to this format.)

The good news is that there are ways to transition a document from .webp to either a .png or a .jpg image on your computer.  However the process is a bit different if you are on a MAC or on a PC.  Let me walk you through both.

Converting from .webp on a MAC

Preview will allow a MAC user to open the file and export it as .png or .jpeg. 

• On the webpage, double click on the image.  Right click your mouse for a dialog box.
• Select Save image as.  For the location you can select Desktop to make it easy to locate the file.
• Locate the file (Finder can assist if you are having trouble locating it).
• Click on the .webp file
• Mac should open the file in Preview.
• Select File -> Export
• In the Format drop down select either png or jpg.
• You can also change the "where" to My EQ8>Images folder.
• Select Save.

Select the export option of your choice under Format.

A special thanks to Tech Know Quilter members and MAC users Kathleen McCormick and Adelina Sumida who provided the information shown above.

Converting from .webp on a PC

• Save the .webp image on your computer. I typically will put in My EQ8>Images.
• Open Paint.
• Select File>Open and navigate to the saved .webp image.  Select Open.
• Select File>Save As.  From the drop down select .png or .jpg.
• Select Save.

(1) Select Save Image as or Save Picture as from website photo. (2) Navigate to desired save location on your computer. (3)Select Save.

Select File>Open and navigate to the saved .webp image. Select Open.

Select File>Save As. Select PNG or JPG. And select Save.

Tech Know Quilter Showcase

Tech Know Quilter members shared some of their favorite projects (along with their own designs) from their September class.  You can learn more and sign up for the wait list to join this amazing group of designers here.

Lee Wiencki This is a hexagon PolyArc quilt I designed.

Nancy Kiley I participated in the Intro to Poly Draw Lessons. The final lesson was my favorite where we learned how to use an actual picture frame, calculating the dimensions using Kari's formulas, and build the quilt after drafting compass block and flying geese.

Nanne Panne this is from my Polly Draw lessons and little more, I love the flying geese.

Julie Pedersen From the Isometric Grid class. This class was a challenge, but fun.

Shawn Spjut From Introduction to Applique. I couldn't choose between them.

Connie Bradley Bobcik I have been working Introduction to EasyDraw and Easy Draw Kaleidoscope in September. My favorite in Easy Draw was the V Block Quilt. I learned many things drafting different sized blocks for this quilt. I just love the way it turned out. I changed my color scheme, size and the corner stone blocks in the border.

Connie Bradley Bobcik I loved everything about drawing Kaleidoscopes! This was a really fun, yet challenging class. I added an extra border around my Kaleidoscope Table Topper quilt.

Julie Bermel This is my design for your Sept Challenge. I am actually going to make this one. This was a challenging lesson for me but finally understanding what works and how it does it.

Helen Bagnall Mix and Match Medallion Centers. Learned how to get beyond the Polygon error.

Cathleen Conrad

Cathleen Conrad

Wanda Jewell Here is the drawing in my EQ8. EQ makes designing my quilts so much easier for me. I can play with colors which is so much fun. I sometimes have 50 different colored quilts on the same base design and they all look very different because of the color placement. I love my EQ8. I also love Kari for teaching me how to use it. She is still teaching me new things and I have been in the program for a little over 3 years now. EQ8 has so many facets that who knows if we will ever run out of new things to learn about how to use the program.

Wanda Jewell I pulled ideas for this Dr Who Panel quilt that I made for the nursing home so my husband can have his favorite character with him. This is the quilt top that I made.

Patricia Hansen Here is a quilt design from the Isometric Grids class. The darkest blue represents empty spaces as the rectangles are not all the same height. It is called Isometric Rectangles.

Mary Alice Reisse My first quilting love is foundation piecing, and this my first designed block using skills I learned from the summer challenge and intro to easy draw. This is also the first foundation square I made up using EQ8’s pattern, and I was so pleased with how it came together.

Zdenka Nemethová This is from my Modern Quilts 2 Class. Enjoyed all lessons

Carol Mayhew I just finished the Isometric Grid Designs from the Masters Class. I have attached the finished Fall quilt that is in Lesson 7 and the 3D Design from Lesson 6. These were a lot of fun to do and I learned a lot of how to make my own 3D designs. Thank you. I really am enjoying your classes.

Dianna Carter This is something that I was working on in September. I could not have done this in EQ8 if I was not a TKQ member. Thank you for teaching me how to do this. I am a TKQ member and I am learning so much.

Mary Groesbeck Soooo...I have two assignments to work on and I just combined them. So this will be posted twice. For the Masters Challenge of a pumpkin block, I made an applique pumpkin. I also used an Isometric Grid to get the perspective right, so it will be my application of what I learned in September. I wanted to use a grid to give it a squatty, squarish shape. I feel like I will use isometric grids a lot.

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Happy quilting.

​Kari
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