I just can’t wait until tomorrow to post this. Inklingo Stars, one of the other designs I submitted to the Love the Lines contest, is in the Top 25. It was on both the EQ and All About Inklingo blogs today!
Baxter looks somewhat startled. He’s not quite sure what all the excitement is about but is happy as long as his toy is nearby.
Egads, 3 blog posts in one day? That’s a first for me!
Yesterday afternoon, the winners of the Inklingo Love the Lines contest were announced in this post on the All About Inklingo blog. Imagine how excited I was to find out I was one of the three runners-up! There are some beautiful designs shown on the announcement post, so I’m quite honoured. I already felt that I had won something as the contest had been the push I needed to finally learn my way around in EQ, at least to some extent.
Given my love of curved piecing, my design had to include curves. While I was playing with designs for the contest, Mr. Q.O. suggested a design inspired by a Persian carpet. Thus my design is named Persian Carpet. I am so glad I finally took the plunge and started to learn EQ and I’m very, very grateful to Inklingo, Electric Quilt and Northcott for providing such fabulous prizes!
Baxter’s markings are starting to really show up, although he had just been having a drink and his fur was still rather wet.
There was a little play time with fabric this weekend, although I have to admit to not getting back to the sewing machine. I will this week. But after seeing and thinking about the kaleidoscope stars on the All About Inklingo blog here, which contains a fabulous tutorial on how to place the freezer paper on the fabric to get identical diamonds, I couldn’t resist trying a few. I used the 2″ 60-degree diamonds. I’m so used to working with tinier pieces that those 2″ diamonds seem enormous!
These are irresistible to stitch. It’s such fun to see the effect as each star is put together.
The fabric I chose had a relatively small repeat and so was great for this technique, and I plan to print some more sets.
This is one of my favourites.
They press beautifully. I’m pressing each one the same way so that when I start putting them together, however I decide to do that, I won’t run into any difficulties.
Baxter was waiting for his nightly yogourt treat. Mr. Q.O. captioned this one, “Well, are you going to let me have that spoon soon?”
Rather boring picture, I know. But I’m finally going to make a new ironing board cover. I’ve been threatening to do this for next to forever and have found a couple of tutorials online that seem pretty straightforward so today’s experiment shall be making myself a clean new ironing board cover. My old one is so far beyond the pale I wouldn’t even dream of taking a picture of it.
For a fleeting moment or two I thought about dressing up the ironing board and using a pretty print fabric but, given the wear and tear my ironing board takes being shoved in the closet and dragged out again, I’d rather be a bit more frugal about it. Watch for tomorrow’s report on just how easy (or not) making this ironing board cover proved to be!
Last night Mr. Q.O. suggested a quilt be made for a friend. So out came the quilt books looking for some quick inspiration. I think I’ve settled on a design and, if the ironing board cover experiment goes well, I might even get the first block made today. It will be a machine-pieced quilt and one that I hope to put together quickly.
Baxter was draped over the arm of the chair looking at the quilt books too. He’ll be happy with whatever design so long as he has a chance to bite the fabric.
I played and played with EQ over the weekend. Hopefully I’ll get this out of my system soon and be back to playing more with fabric! But this design is one that I will make. How could I possibly resist all that curved piecing of Winding Ways and Drunkard’s Path blocks? This coloration of it I’m calling Tiptoe Through the Tulips. Some of you may remember Tiny Tim singing Tiptoe Through the Tulips. I was giggling the whole time I was working on this design thinking about that.
Playing with designs in EQ has quickly become addictive. Saturday night I had to have an MRI and, as I am claustrophobic, took a rather strong tranquilizer. So as the machine made its infernal racket, rather than feeling like the walls were closing in, I was dreaming up this design. As soon as we got home, I started playing with it in EQ.
I guess you could say I am now well and truly hooked on Electric Quilt. I love that I can try out my ideas and see how they’re going to look before I start printing shapes on my fabrics. It’s just another great tool to have available. What’s perfect about it for me is that I can design a quilt using Inklingo shapes and then play with colours.
Baxter was very intent on getting to the yogourt on the spoon. If we don’t hold the spoon close enough, he’ll reach out with a paw and hook it around the stem of the spoon to drag it closer.
Aside from playing around with EQ, this is what I’ve been working on. I need 4 long strips like this for one of the pieced borders for Scrappy Star. At this point, it seems like an endless bit of stitching for a border that finishes at only 2.25″ wide but I’m almost three-quarters done and I know I’m going to be pleased with it once it’s finished and attached to the top.
There are loads of opportunities for continuous stitching when attaching the QSTs to the diamonds and I’m taking full advantage of those opportunities. That is helping make the stitching of the border strips fly along but I’ll still be glad when this part of Scrappy Star is finished!
Playing with designs in EQ has now taken on a life of its own. The laptop is now plugged in over by the couch, rather than at my desk. The last few nights I’ve been designing and listening to TV rather than stitching and listening to TV. I think I’m on a designing binge of sorts.
Baxter was, I think, posing for this photo.
While precious little stitching has been going on around here the past few nights, after I finished playing in EQ last night I couldn’t resist stitching two more of the Dreaming in Wedgwood blocks.
I’m trying to decide on a layout, as I think I’m going to add something else to the mix even if it is just plain 12″ squares. That would lend itself to some wonderful quilting.
One more night of intense EQ play and then back to my normal stitching time. I’m glad I’ve taken the time to work with EQ as much as I have over the past week, as I think it will help in the future when I’m playing with ideas. That said, it also has the potential to take much too much time away from actual stitching.
Mr. Q.O.has been busy playing with photo effects. Baxter is definitely not opposed to having his photo taken.
While I spent most of the weekend concentrating on learning EQ, Mr. Q.O. was playing with some photo filters and applying them to various photos that have been taken recently. First up, a watercolour version of the Winding Ways blocks.
Then a cartoon version of my Rose Dream Pinwheel block.
Of course then a cartoon version had to be done of the Winding Ways blocks.
As well as a cartoon version of the bow tie quilt.
Finally, a grey version of the Winding Ways blocks. This filter is definitely one I can see as being extremely useful for quilters. I know that when I get all the blocks made and am sorting out placement, this will be a really helpful tool.
There was a light-bulb moment on the weekend when I finally got comfortable with EQ and was then off to the races. A big bonus to designing in EQ is that I can play with the newest fabrics downloaded from the various manufacturers’ websites and see how my design ideas work before committing to cutting and printing fabric. That said, I really do wish there was a Mac-compatible version of it.
One “normal” photo in this post and that is of Baxter. We had an extremely cold weekend and he was taking full advantage of his kitty bed, as well as staying very close to his toys.
Yesterday I was talking to a friend about thread. It got me thinking about the different threads I use. There are five threads that I will use for any hand piecing or appliqué project. The only criteria for me is whether the colour matches the fabrics I’m working with. MasterPiece, Mettler 60/2, YLI Heirloom, Madeira Heirloom and DMC are the five. I love the heirloom threads as they are so fine they melt into the seams. That said, if I need a black thread the only one I’ll use is the MasterPiece one. It is the only black thread I’ve tried that doesn’t break after five or six stitches. Yet it’s fine enough that it doesn’t add any bulk to the seam.
The DMC thread is amazing. It is stronger than it may appear. I’ve used it both for appliqué and piecing. It melts into the seams almost as well as the heirloom threads and, of course, comes in many more colours. I spent some time here, drooling over all the DMC thread colours. I told Mr. Q.O. if we win a lottery, I’m ordering the one of every colour package!
This is a portion of one of the pieced borders I’ve been working on for the Scrappy Star top. Because there are so many fabrics that I’m using in this, the grey DMC thread has been my choice.
Baxter likes to sprawl on the floor right by Mr. Q.O.’s feet. When he does this, he’s wanting tummy rubs — and he’s not shy about asking for them.
Some wonderfully soft pastel circles.
Some circles in richer, darker colours.
I had a box full of charm packs in various lines. A few years ago I appliquéd circle after circle after circle. And then they sat. And sat. I’ve had them out before, trying to decide just what to do with them and, having no ideas, have put them away again. Now I think I’ll just put them into two quilt tops of whatever size they end up. Perhaps they’ll turn into covers for a few stitching books.
I have spent the past few days working on — struggling with — tearing my hair out over some designs that I’m trying to turn into designs using EQ. The designs are completely thought out in my mind, I can draw sketches on paper in seconds, and I know the designs work. But translating them from my mind or sketches into EQ designs? Not something I’m finding at all intuitive. That said, I will get this figured out before the week is over but I’d much rather be playing with fabric as I sort out a design than sitting in front of a computer screen. My EQ manual is full of Post-it notes and highlighted passages.
Baxter seems to find it all a big bore and decided to have a snooze. Notice how he makes sure he has a pillow in just the right spot!
Quilt Obsession 