Behind the Mouse: The Electric Quilt Blog

Welcome to the EQ8 Block Spotlight! Each month we highlight a block from the EQ8 Block Library with a few design ideas. Then we want you to show us what you can do with the block. We hope these posts will inspire you to try something new and expand your EQ skills! Don’t forget to comment on other quilter’s designs too. Let’s build each other up! This month’s block: Lion Where to find it: 05 Contemporary Applique > Jungle Animals Design ideas to spark your creativity This quilt is a 3 x 3 horizontal layout with sashing. I grabbed a bunch of the blocks from the Jungle Animals section to make this adorable quilt. I was having trouble coming up with an interesting border on my own, so I used an Auto Border to finish off the design. For my second quilt, I wanted to feature the Lion block on its own. The

Thanks to everyone who participated in last month’s design challenge! You can view all the quilt designs submitted here. Winner One winner was selected by Maywood Studio! Congratulations to…. Winner: Meg Wortley Honorable Mentions Don’t forget to look at all the amazing submissions to this challenge. Here are a few honorable mentions! More Chances to Win Coral Reef from Northcott is April’s Fabric of the Month! Download the collection and enter our design challenge for another chance to win some fabric!

We can’t believe we’ve been hosting EQ Academy for ELEVEN years! It sure is fun getting to meet users from all over North America and help them use and love EQ. This year’s highlights include welcoming a brand new teacher, Adam Rateliff (who lived up to his nickname, Adam Sew Fun!), giving away terrific prizes to some lucky students, enjoying lots of laughs and “aha” moments, and experiencing Ohio’s lovely spring weather!  If you were there, leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you! Interested in EQ Academy? Sign up for our emails to be notified! Don’t want to wait? Take an online EQ8 class right now! Looking for in-person classes at shows? See the list here. Thank you to our fantastic instructors, generous sponsors, local quilt shops, and all students for making EQ Academy such a successful and fun event year after year. We can’t wait for the next

It’s time for another design challenge! April’s free Fabric of the Month is Coral Reef from Northcott. Created by design duo Deborah Edwards and Melanie Samra, Coral Reef is a magical undersea adventure. The collection is characterized by an exquisite palette of navy, teal, purple, green, and turquoise ranging from deep mysterious tones to pale watery hues creating dynamic contrast in every project. The panel and full-width running yardage border steal the show while the many coordinates highlighting turtles, tropical fish, coral and intricate textures play a supporting role. A bundle of these fabrics will be given away to two lucky winners! Submit your EQ design featuring Coral Reef…all instructions and contest details are in this post. Good luck! To enter In order to enter for the giveaway you must submit a quilt using the current Fabric of the Month AND comment on at least one other person’s quilt you like by the end

Are you going to the debut of this new show in May? We are! In January of 2025, Koelnmesse announced, “the launch of the Fiber+Fabric Craft Festival, an exciting new consumer-focused extravaganza set to ignite the crafting industry.” According to their press release, “this festival is poised to become the ultimate destination for craft enthusiasts across North America.” The show takes place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention & Conference Center in Rosemont, Illinois. It’s a quick trip from the airport and about 19 miles from downtown Chicago. Classes and workshops begin on April 30 and continue throughout the weekend. The show is open May 1-3. We are excited to share that we will exhibiting! The festival features 200+ classes across quilting, yarn arts, garment making, mixed media, cosplay, mindful making, and more, along with hands-on learning, industry-leading machines in classrooms, and a packed exhibit hall full of inspiration. You can

Welcome to the EQ8 Block Spotlight! Each month we highlight a block from the EQ8 Block Library with a few design ideas. Then we want you to show us what you can do with the block. We hope these posts will inspire you to try something new and expand your EQ skills! Don’t forget to comment on other quilter’s designs too. Let’s build each other up! This month’s block: Cross Roads Where to find it: 01 Classic Pieced > Nine Patch Design ideas to spark your creativity My first quilt is a 5 x 5 horizontal layout. I colored the Cross Roads block two different ways, and alternated those two colorings in the quilt. The fabric is Rosie by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda. It can be found in the Stash 2025 Download 3 add-on. For my second quilt, I wanted to play up the woven look of this block. So I took