Friday Fabric Refresh - EQ8 Edition

Happy Friday!  Often on Fridays, I share refreshed versions of some of my patterns by recoloring them in new fabrics.  Sometimes I feature a specific pattern and sometimes I feature a specific fabric collection.  Today, I'm going to do something a little bit different and share a little about how I create those refreshed mockups.  

Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase.

I use Electric Quilt 8, also known as EQ8, by the Electric Quilt Company.   I use EQ8 to design all of my patterns and I use it to recolor those patterns in lots of different fabric collections.  

I've actually used EQ8 (well, it was EQ7 back then) long before I ever thought about designing my own patterns.  I had a ton of fun recreating other designers' quilts using the instructions in their patterns and then trying out different fabrics.  Unless I was using the same fabric as the pattern cover, I almost never made a quilt without "making" it in EQ8 first.   

While I enjoy sharing my refreshed patterns in other fabrics every now and then, you might want to try out your own fabric ideas before jumping into making one of my patterns.  

With EQ8, you can try out almost any fabrics you'd like!

Metro in Stay Gold

 

Stars & Stripes Bonus Quilt

There is a quilt along happening right now on Instagram using the Stars & Stripes quilt patterns by Thimble Blossoms.  Click HERE to read all about it!  Thimble Blossoms has two Stars & Stripes patterns and you can make either for the quilt along.  You can head to her website to check those out. 

I'm making the original Stars & Stripes because I already had a kit that I had purchased last summer.  The fabrics in that kit, shown below, are Mackinac Island by Minick & Simpson for Moda Fabrics.

EQ8 - Discover New Designs Quickly

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Hello!  I'm back today with another quick tip for EQ8 users. Using EQ8 has allowed me to design quilts that I probably otherwise wouldn't have. I have sometimes "accidentally" discovered new designs just by playing around in EQ8. Keep reading to find out where you might have seen the result of this and not even realized it!

EQ8 Tip - Flip Flop Fabrics Quickly

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 Hello!  I'm back today to share a quick tip for quickly flip flopping fabrics in EQ8!

EQ8 - Only Edit Images Once

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Previously, I posted about editing fabric swatches in EQ8. If you missed that post, you can find it here. You might be thinking that's great and all, but those edited fabrics are only in whatever project I was working on. Do I have to edit them again if I want to use those same fabrics in another project?  

Luckily, the answer is no! Today I am going to give you a quick tip on how to get edited fabric swatches from one project into another. Let's get started!

EQ8 - Editing Fabric Swatches

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click a link and make a purchase. 

Hello! Today, I'm back with some more tips for using Electric Quilt 8. Previously, I talked about importing fabric images into the software. This week, I'm going to give you some tips on editing those fabric images.

 

 

You might be wondering why you would need to edit the images you want to import. Well, you might not. I used EQ8 for several years without editing my imports. It's only been over the past year or so that I started playing around with the Image Worktable and it was the result of a new problem I was trying to solve.  

EQ8 - Importing Fabric Swatches

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click a link and make a purchase. 

Hello! I'm back today with some more tips for using Electric Quilt 8. Previously, I shared some basic instructions for creating a quilt top and drawing a block. Today, I will be showing you how to add fabric swatches so that you can use the same fabric that you plan to use in real life.  

 

EQ8 - The Basics Part 2

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Hello! Today I'm back to show you some more of the basics of Electric Quilt 8. In my previous post, I focused on how to create a quilt top using quilt blocks preloaded in the software. If you missed it, you can find it here. Today, I am going to show you how to create your own quilt blocks.

EQ8 - The Basics Part 1

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Hello! If you have read my previous post about Electric Quilt 8, you might be intrigued about the software. If you're like me, you probably like to know what you're getting yourself into before you commit to making an investment in something new. Today I am going to show you some of the basics of how to create a quilt top to give you a feel for how the software works.

EQ8 - Not Just for Designers!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click a link and make a purchase. 

 

Hello! Today I'm talking all about EQ8! Electric Quilt 8 is the software that I use to design my quilt patterns. I've teamed up with the Electric Quilt Company to bring you tips for using the software and some projects made in EQ8.

You might be thinking that you don't need EQ8. You quilt as a hobby. You own more patterns written by others than you'll ever have time to make. You have no desire to design your own. Well, I'm here to show you that EQ8 is not just for designers!