The International Quilt Museum currently has an exhibit of Red and White Quilts that were donated by Joanna S. Rose.  In 2011 her collection of 651 quilts was displayed in New York in an exhibition entitled "Infinite Variety:  Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts".  

The Stars and Bars quilt was made between 1860-1880 and is a gift of Joanna S. Rose to the International Quilt museum.  IQM 2022.001.0098

"The printed Turkey red fabric of this quilt helps to date it. It was a popular choice for quiltmakers of the mid-nineteenth century, prior to the development of synthetic red dyes. A dye process known as discharge printing created the tiny yellow floral design set against the red ground. First, the fabric is dyed red. Next, a discharge paste, or bleach, is applied – often in a specific small-scale design – removing the red color. A second color is either included in the discharge paste, simultaneously filling the bleached areas, or added in a separate print process."

This is a great quilt to practice your EQ8 drafting skills.  The blocks are simple ones -- but the layout is a little tricky.  Can you figure it out before watching the video?

Here is my quilt from the video.

Here are a few key measurements if you are drafting the quilt.

• The quilt center was drafted at 24" x 28".
• Border 1 was 1".  There were 24 horizontal and 28 vertical blocks.
• Border 2 was 5".  Stars were added on Layer 2.
• Border 3 was 1".  There were 36 horizontal and 34 vertical blocks.
• Border 4 (binding) was 1/4" mitered.
• The quilt finished at 38-1/2" x 37-1/2". 

Making the Quilt Larger
You could make the quilt larger by adjusting the size of the small half square triangle blocks.  For example -- if that block was changed to from 1" to 2", double the size of the center and each of the borders (other than the binding).

Current Tech Know Quilter members were challenged to apply what they learned at the end of their June class.   As you can see they learned a lot! ​

You can learn more about the Tech Know Quilters membership program and sign up for the wait list for the next open enrollment period here.

The Masters challenge in June was to design a tumbling blocks quilt.   The tumbling blocks quilt could be built on a hexagon quilt layout, a baby block layout (that could include pieced blocks in each of the diamonds) or incorporated in a block or blocks in a standard quilt layout.  They were encouraged to make it traditional or make it modern.

Tech Know Quilters members are eligible for the Masters program after completing 12 months of Tech Know Quilter classes.  Masters members receive fewer lessons each month, with more time to devote to their own projects and challenges.

Drop me a note if you have completed over 12 months of Tech Know Quilters and are interested in learning more about the Masters program.
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You can learn more about the regular Tech Know Quilters membership program and sign up for the wait list for the next open enrollment period here.

One of my favorite uses of Electric Quilt is to draft a block in EQ using the technique I plan to use to piece the block and then create my own quilt layout for the block.
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The video tutorial this week was inspired by the Studio 180 Design Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star tool along with the Starburst Technique Sheet. 

I loved how easy it is to piece this block using Deb Tucker's over-sized piecing/trim down techniques.  No need for foundation patterns, templates or set-in seams.  My kind of block!

In this video I will cover drafting the block using PolyDraw, using Serendipity to frame the block for a fun complementary design and creating a quilt using an On Point setting.

Here are the blocks and quilts from the video.

Tech Know Quilters Specialty Rulers and Dies Class

There are a lot of tools on the market that can make cutting and piecing our quilts so much easier.  However when it comes to designing we need to develop our skill set to understand the best options for creating blocks and quilts that can utilize these tools.  Even if you don’t use the tools discussed in this class, you will learn that the techniques transfer to most quilting rulers and dies.  This class has a lot of fun bonuses built into the lessons that you are not going to want to miss.

There are sessions on Studio 180 Design tools, Hex N More, Wedge Rulers and Accuquilt Dies along with working with Electronic Cutting Systems like Silhouette, Cricut and Brother Scan N Cut.

Here are just some of the projects you will learn to create in the class.  

If you are a Tech Know Quilter member, you are welcome to select this as one of your monthly classes (or even add it on to your planned class).  Just send us a note if you would like to do either of these options in September.  Note that it is a more advanced class.

If you are currently not a member, you can learn more and sign up for the wait list here.

I have a few Deb Tucker rulers -- 15% off through August 2022 -- while quantities last.  Make sure to use the code STUDIO180 when checking out to receive the discount.

Have you heard of the Gees Bend quilts and their quilt makers?  Many of the leaders in the Modern Quilt movement, have considered their quilts a significant  influence on their work. 

Did you know that you can create a Gees Bend-like quilt using Electric Quilt?  Check out the video tutorial on a Gees Bend Postage Stamp Quilt.  And then be amazed by the latest designs from those in the Tech Know Quilters EQ8 Membership Studio.

Information from:
http://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/gees-bend-quiltmakers
 
 “The women of Gee’s Bend—a small, remote, black community in Alabama—have created hundreds of quilt masterpieces dating from the early twentieth century to the present. Resembling an inland island, Gee’s Bend is surrounded on three sides by the Alabama River. The seven hundred or so inhabitants of this small, rural community are mostly descendants of slaves, and for generations they worked the fields belonging to the local Pettway plantation. Quilt makers there have produced countless patchwork masterpieces beginning as far back as the mid-nineteenth century, with the oldest existing examples dating from the 1920s. Enlivened by a visual imagination that extends the expressive boundaries of the quilt genre, these astounding creations constitute a crucial chapter in the history of African American art.
 
Gee’s Bend quilts carry forward an old and proud tradition of textiles made for home and family. They represent only a part of the rich body of African American quilts. But they are in a league by themselves. Few other places can boast the extent of Gee’s Bend’s artistic achievement, the result of both geographical isolation and an unusual degree of cultural continuity. In few places elsewhere have works been found by three and sometimes four generations of women in the same family, or works that bear witness to visual conversations among community quilting groups and lineages. Gee’s Bend’s art also stands out for its flair—quilts composed boldly and improvisationally, in geometries that transform recycled work clothes and dresses, feed sacks, and fabric remnants.”

In 2006, the United States Postal Service issued Quilts of Gee's Bend commemorative stamps, which featured ten designs chosen by USPS art director Derry Noyes. These same designs would be featured in the Gee's Bend Quilt Mural Trail, which was created in 2007.

I selected one of the designs to draft using Electric Quilt 8.  The biggest challenge is the different sized patches in these quilts -- including those for the border.  As a result I decided to draft the entire quilt as a single block.

I did the coloring of the block in the quilt worktable as it allowed me to place a copy of the picture right next to the quilt.  The quilt appeared to be pieced with solids, so I chose to work with colors rather than fabrics for the quilt.  Although I could have drawn curved lines, I decided to stick with straight lines when drafting.

When I went to color the block, I did find a couple of errors in my original drafting.  The video also includes the process of fixing those errors.

Check out the final quilt along with my inspirational photo.

In the Modern Quilt class, Tech Know Quilter members were challenged to create their own quilt in the spirit of Gees Bend using Electric Quilt. This was a chance for them to think outside the box along with stretch their own EQ drawing skills.   

I did a blog post in 2018 where I shared a number of their quilts.  But as users have continued to take the class, I thought I would share some of their newer designs with you.  I think after looking at the quilts you will agree that they did an amazing job.

​And can you believe they did this without a formal "how to" video.

Learn more about Tech Know Quilters and sign up for the wait list to join this amazing group of designers and quilters.

Here are the EasyDraw blocks you will need for a "beach" quilt.  All of them have a finished size of 3" x 5".

Each month, Electric Quilt produces a new free fabric collection that we can download and use in our Electric Quilt projects.  The August 2022 collection is Island Vibes II.  It was designed by Linda Hahn for Banyan Batiks.  Just click on the picture and follow the instructions to download this collection to your computer and load it into EQ8.

Once the fabric collection is in your Electric Quilt library,  add it to your Block Alphabet project (the project you set up last week).

Of course these quilts would also work for a name -- maybe for a child or grandchild.  Here is the same quilt I did with my name.

I am looking forward to see what quilt you end up designing -- and what fabric you use for your quilt.  Feel free to post a picture in the Learning EQ Facebook group.

On a personal note, I am looking forward to retreating with my local quilting group at the end of next week.  It is so fun to be able to get away with friends as we work on our quilts.  I just cut out a quilt to work on at the retreat.  It only has a zillion half square triangles in it -- so we will see how much I get done.

​I hope you find some quilting time this week as well.

This week found me needing a pieced alphabet for a future project.  Ideally all my letters will be the same size which will make it very usable in a variety of quilt blocks.  A 3 x 5 size seemed ideal after a lot of looking at a variety of block letters on the Internet.

I started by drafting a couple of my pieced letters using EasyDraw, but then realized I wanted a bit more flexibility as I created the alphabet and applied what I learned in drafting one block to another block.  Ideally I wanted to be able to draft the entire alphabet on one page.  

Within EQ8, one way to approach this is to use the One Patch Quilt Layout as graph paper.  This gives us flexibility to color (and un-color) the graph paper squares during the design process. 

​By the second letter I realized that I needed to be able to add piecing to some of the squares in order to differentiate some of the letters.  I didn't want the "B" to look like the number "8" or the "D" to look like the "O".  To add the additional detail, I created a few very simple 2 inch blocks in EasyDraw and added them to Layer 2 on the Quilt worktable.

I was able to do the entire alphabet with only 6 blocks (in addition to the 2 inch squares).  And the blocks would be a breeze to do with the Deb Tucker rulers:

• Tucker Trimmer for half square triangles
• V Block Tool for the v block and half v block
• Wing Clipper for the flying geese units

If you would like to purchase any of the rulers from me, use code TUCKER when checking out for a 10% discount on all rulers in my store.  Offer good through August 7, 2022 -- while supplies last.

Watch the entire process in the EQ8 video tutorial.

You could copy my alphabet -- or create one of your own.  Feel free to set your own rules.

I am looking forward to seeing your alphabet and maybe even a quilt that incorporates some words in it.  Feel free to post pictures in the Learning EQ Facebook Group.

Have a fantastic week.