EQ6 and Rouenerries, Take One

I’m totally in love with this fabric line, and so even though most of the quilts I make these days require the barest smidgens of fabric to make, I indulged and bought a fat quarter of each of the ones my local quilt shop had in stock.  Now, what to DO with them? 

EQ6 makes it very easy to import images of fabrics into the program.  And Moda has made it very easy to get the images.  From the Moda website you can download a zip file of the fabric scans.  Easy peasy.  Once I import the fabric scans into EQ6, I can play with designing quilts using the exact fabrics I want and end up with a pretty good preview of what the finished quilt will look like. 

I taught a class in EQ6 just a couple weeks ago and one of the blocks that I discussed as an easy Serendipity block was this framed nine patch. 

And then because I often like to work with blocks that are similar in design, I modified the block to omit the nine patch in the center.

And put them together in an on-point layout using one of the automatic borders.

I’ve got lots more design play in mind before I decide on a pattern but I do rather like this as a beginning point.  I’m not real happy with the thick strips in the corners though.  I’ve got all new ideas in mind as well but clearly this one still needs some tweeking.  Of course, these fabrics are so pretty, I don’t believe it’s possible to go too far wrong.  And now?  Enough time on the computer for one Sunday morning.  I’m off to go for a walk (even though it’s snowing, though nothing like it is back East for which we are grateful) and then it’s time to get into the sewing room and start playing with real fabric instead of virtual. 

Black, White, and a Wee Bit of Red

That’s what Kimmie wanted for her swap blocks.  I love working with this color combination.  It’s so dramatic.  This first block design comes from the Kaleidoscope Collection from EQ. 

The second block some of you may recognize.  The center 6 inch square uses the Square-in-a-Square foundation from Miniatures in Minutes.  I had made up the block as a sample last summer and it has just been sitting around since.  The color combination was perfect for what Kimmie wanted.  I needed a block that would finish at 12" for Kimmie so I added the outer strips.  (Click here to go to the blog entry where I showed how to adapt the foundation from the book to make this block/quilt).

To see other blocks that have been made in this exchange, click here. 

One of my quilt groups is about to start a round robin.  I’ve been thinking hard about what to do for my center and what kind of theme to set up.  The red/black/white combo is certainly on the list! 

Swaps and All

Oh, so much sewing yet to do.  But here’s a little that’s been going on.  Ruth received her Valentine sampler for the 6" to 12" swap so I can display it now.  The hearts on this are two inches square each.  I challenged myself to restrict myself to the fabrics in a charm pack (except for the white background) which is why the border is pieced – I really liked the effect of the slightly scrappy border.

For the Bee Pieceful block swap I made up a wonky star with the fabrics Jennifer sent to me.  Such an easy technique.  I can’t believe I haven’t made one of these before now.  I’m thinking a wonky star quilt done in batiks might be rather nice in my tv room (not that I have the time to throw in another project right now).

And then there’s the January S.T.U.D. swap.  Here’s the lovely little quilt that came to me from the Netherlands.  I simply couldn’t get a good picture on this one I’m afraid.  The fabrics are really luscious – it’s like looking through the leaves of a rain forest.  Thank you, Wendy!

And here’s the January quilt I sent out.  I’ve been in an Amish mood of late.  Can you tell?

I once again drew the entire quilting design on Golden Threads paper.  The straight lines are just there to help me orient the design.  (I do quilt in the ditch first to stabilize the little guy).

Here’s the paper set over the quilt:

I used the EQ quilting motifs library (again, of course) for the designs.  I love how easy that makes it to size my motifs exactly to the fit I want (which is otherwise a bit of a challenge with these minis).

Now I am off to the sewing room to sew up some blocks for another swap.  With any luck, I’ll be posting pictures tomorrow.