Last week I shared how to create your self-portrait hexie motif using Electric Quilt 8.  Many of you shared your self-portraits on the Learning EQ Facebook group.   These women are so creative.  I just needed to share their play time with you.

There were some questions on what to do with the hexie self-portraits (other than letting me share them on my blog).  I thought that it would be fun to combine them with the pieced hexagon blocks from the Easygoing Hexagon challenge.

This particular quilt was done in custom set.  All of the motifs (yes the pieced hexagons are also motifs) were set on Layer 2 and positioned in a circle around the hexie portrait.  I have a fun trick that I share for quickly getting those hexagon blocks evenly spaced around the center.

Here is my hexie showing off eight different hexagon blocks from the Easygoing Hexagon Challenge.

Feel free to share your own "Show Off Your Hexie Quilt"  in the Learning EQ Facebook group.  If you can't post, it means you are not yet a member.  Request membership to this free group on Facebook.

We just finished day 8 of the challenge (although many are playing catch-up this weekend).  ​Participants are adding their personal touches to the blocks.  Here are just a few blocks created by participants in the challenge.  You can check out more of their designs in the Learning EQ Facebook group.  

Many of you signed up for the Easygoing Hexagon Challenge and are learning how to create hexagon blocks in EasyDraw and then convert them to applique.  This will make them much more quilt friendly when designing and auditioning fabrics for a hexagon quilt.  You can see some great designs from the the first fiew days of the challenge below.

Here is Hexi Kari -- straight from the video.

Feel free to share your own hexi portrait in the Learning EQ Facebook group.  If you can't post, it means you are not yet a member.  Request membership to this free group on Facebook.

We are three days into the Easygoing Hexagon Challenge and I've enjoyed seeing some of the early blocks.  

I received an email from Janet today.  She noted after watching the video on day 2 that "your method is so slick, I am blown away." 

Here are just a few blocks created by participants in the challenge.  You can check out more of their designs in the Learning EQ Facebook group.

A few extra creative participants already began exploring new options for their blocks.

It's not to late to join us.  We can get you caught up with past emails in under 24 hours.

In August Tech Know Quilter's Masters members were challenged to identify a stained glass design and use it as inspiration to create a stained glass quilt in Electric Quilt.  Their classes during August focused on drawing Stained Glass quilts along with ideas for converting the designs to production.

Tech Know Quilter Masters members have completed at least 12 months of classes in Tech Know Quilter and are some of the more advanced members in the group.

The following virtual quilt show is a small collection of EQ designs posted in the Tech Know Quilter private membership group during August. 

Tech Know Quilter's is a paid membership program for quilters who wish to master using Electric Quilt 8.  Membership is only open a few times a year, so ​sign up for the wait list to be informed of the next open enrollment period.

Hint:  There just may be a flash sale later this month to those on the wait list.

If one of you plans for this fall is to finally get comfortable using Electric Quilt 8, then this upcoming challenge is for you.  Or maybe you have lost some of your motivation during the quarantine and are looking to get back into using EQ.  If so this challenge is for you as well.  

​The challenge starts Wednesday, September 9, 2020.  

For two weeks I will be providing you over 10 videos on creating a series of pieced hexagon blocks in EasyDraw.

If you are new to drawing your own blocks, this will get you started in using EasyDraw, PolyDraw and Applique tools in Electric Quilt. These are the three main drawing block worktables in the software.  You will also be introduced to Custom Set, the layout option in Electric Quilt that gives you total freedom to place blocks that are not squares and rectangles on your quilt. 

For those who have been using Electric Quilt for a while, you will have an opportunity to learn a super easy technique that I have discovered to create a pieced applique hexagon motif from an EasyDraw block. 

There is a small fee ($12) that I am charging to handle the extra administrative expenses associated with the challenge.  I also have found that enrollees are much more engaged when they pay to participate.  And when they are engaged, their skills grow at a much higher rate.  

If you haven't signed up for the challenge, please make sure to do that today.

I've put together three short videos to give you a head start for the challenge:

1. Video 1 discussing setting up your EQ file and importing a fabric collection to use in your project.
2. Video 2 shows you how to use directional fabric to color your blocks.
3. Video 3 shows you how to export an EQ Image to Facebook..I love to see pictures of your progress.

Video 1:  Setting Up Your Project File and Adding Fabrics

​Do you enjoy the fabric and quilt inspiration on the Do You EQ website? Each month Electric Quilt gifts us with a free fabric download that contains a perfectly cropped and sized fabric library with one of the latest fabric collections.

In this tutorial, I will share with you how to set up your project for the ​Easygoing Hexagon EQ8 Challenge.   You will also learn how to select a new fabric collection from a library in Electric Quilt plus how download one of those free fabric collections from Electric Quilt  and bring it into your EQ project,

Video 2:  Coloring with Directional Fabric

I know that many of you like working with directional fabrics and with large scale prints.  You may have even noticed that there is no rotate fabric feature available in the block worktable. 

​In this tutorial I will share how you can both fussy cut and rotate your fabric for a realistic block.

Video 3:  Exporting an EQ Image to Facebook

When exporting a block for a post you wish to share on Social Media, the process can be different than sharing a quilt.   In this tutorial, learn how to export an image of a block and then add it to a Facebook post.

Here is the link the the Learning EQ Facebook post that is referenced in the video.  For those already signed up for the challenge, you are scheduled to receive your getting started email (referenced in this video) on Monday.

If you haven't enrolled in the challenge, now is the time.  I look forward to working with you to  become more comfortable in drafting your own blocks.

I've received a number of inquiries from those that have been waiting to join Tech Know Quilters.  My plans are to open the doors to Tech Know Quilter at the end of the challenge.  The invite to new subscribers will be limited to those in the Easygoing Hexagon Challenge along with those who have signed up for the TKQ Wait List.

I've been asked by those that are in one of my classes or receive my weekly newsletter if they are automatically enrolled in the challenge.  The answer is NO.  So please sign up using the link above if you would like to participate in the challenge.

For those currently in the Tech Know Quilter group, check your emails for your special option for the challenge.

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

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.

My friend Sherry Perry recently posted a picture on her Facebook account of a Dear Jane quilt she did in the Jack's Chain layout.

Scroll down to see a tutorial on how to create this layout (with blocks of your choice) using Electric Quilt.

I met Sherry when we were part of a fledgling group that met monthly to talk about and work on our Dear Jane quilts.  The group was formed in 2000 by JoAnn Atkins at a local quilt shop.

The group ended up enjoying being together so much that we started doing Work Days and then annual retreats at a nearby college.

One of the activities the group participated in through the years were block exchanges.  Sherry reminded me that this particular quilt was how she used her blocks from our Holiday exchange.   

In 2009 each participant chose a Dear Jane block and a holiday (or season).  We then made 18 of the same block (in the original 4-1/2" finished size) but in 18 different holiday schemes.  The blocks were exchanged in May 2010.  

After wracking my brains and a search through old quilting bins, I located my quilt from the exchange.  My theme was "fall".  I was much more efficient than Sherry and just used the 18 blocks from the exchange.  No extra blocks for me.  :)

​Can you spot the block matches between my and Sherry's quilt?  I still am not 100% certain what block was my block for the exchange.  I think it may be the fifth block down on column 3.  That block is L-5 Chattanooga Charlie.

Here is a picture of Sherry with her full Dear Jane quilt (before quilting).  This picture was taken during one of our annual quilting retreats.

Electric Quilt recently released the Dear Jane Add-on for EQ.  Check out the blog post on my approach to using the updated Dear Jane software to create a progress report ( a new feature in the add-on software).   

In this tutorial, I will share will you how to create a Jack's Chain layout using EQ8 and then add the Dear Jane blocks to the quilt. 

You can use this tutorial without the Dear Jane software.  Feel free to use a favorite block collection instead of Dear Jane blocks.  If doing so, resize your blocks to 4-1/2" using the adjust tool on the quilt worktable.

Sherry Perry's Quilt

My Jack's Chain EQ design from the video.

In this blog, I will share with you how I turned my virtual quilt into a "real" quilt during a mini-quilt retreat..

I used 2-1/2" squares of five different ombre fabrics and some English Paper Piecing templates for the hexagons.  The background is a grey Kona cotton (Dove) .  I added a grey ombre for the binding.

With EQ and an electronic cutting system of your choice, you will never need to purchase English Paper Piecing templates again -- and you will be able to have complete control over the sizes. 
​
I printed the hexagon template from Electric Quilt to a pdf file. 

Then I used Inkscape to convert the pdf file to svg.  Inkscape is a professional vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It's free and open source.   You can download the most current version of Inkscape here.

Once I had an SVG file, I could import it into Cricut Design Space and cut out all my templates using my Cricut Maker.  This process would also work if you use the Brother Scan n Cut or Silhouette Studio.

This video will take you through the process of going from EQ to Inkscape to Cricut Design Space.

I used a number of new techniques (at least for me) to construct my quilt.  

This video will take you through the major steps of my process:

• Hand basting the hexagons
• Preparing a full-size backdrop (within EQ) for use in accurately placing the hexagons.
• Gluing the hexagons on the background fabric
• My quilting approach for this quilt

Here is an Amazon link to the glue products used in the video.

• Aleene's Fabric Fusion Permanent Glue 8 oz
• Precision Tip Applicator Bottle Four 1 Oz. Bottles and 12 Tips for Multi-Purpose Use

Note that these are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you purchase from the link.

Here is my finished project (100% completed at my mini-retreat).  It feels so good to have had some sew time along with a chance to catch up with some quilting friends.  And I could get really spoiled with the four tables per person -- to help us with social distancing.

Last week, some creative modern hexagon designs were shared in the Learning EQ Facebook group.  Great job ladies!