Using Electric Quilt 8 to Look at Fabrics in a Quilt Design

This new quilt for new quilt I’m planning is totally outside my comfort zone! It’s orange and it has large loud flowers! I don’t know what got into me. I clearly fell down the proverbial rabbit hole looking a fabrics online!

Here are the 3 fabrics I chose: Left to Right

• “Magic Forest” by Sarah Watts, Cotton + Steel, a division of RJR Fabrics

• “Front Yard” from Home Sweet Gnome line by Sarah Watts, Cotton + Steel, a division of RJR Fabrics

• “Enchanted” Kaffe Fassett Collective for Free Spirit Fabrics

I designed the quilt at top in Electric Quilt 8, using a Courthouse Steps version of a Log Cabin block. It’s such a traditional block, that I really can’t say that I actually did any designing.

The most challenging part of the design was importing the fabrics into EQ8. I hadn’t imported any fabrics for a long time and so I was basically starting from scratch. First I imported my fabric photos into the Image Worktable of the project I was working on. The photos come in HUGE— at the width of yardage. So each fabric photo needs to be “scaled” to match the actual fabric design using the icon in the Edit Options Box. Finally the fabric can be added to the fabric library for the quilt worktable you are working on by using the “Add as fabric” icon in the Worktable Tools Box located just below the Edit Options Box (NOT just clicking the add to sketchbook icon in the left margin). Once I understood the process and the sequence, it was easy to do. But it took me a while to figure out how to do that.

Inputting the fabric was definitely worth doing. The fabrics lined up next to each other look like they play very well together. in real life, they look like thy are light/medium/dark and should have ample contrast. But once I added the fabrics to my quilt design, I’m really not seeing that contrast. The quilt just look muddy. This is clearly not the right pattern for these three fabrics.

Here’s what the quilt design looked like with using colors/fabrics build into EQ8. This design really dances using fabrics with better contrast.

The good news is, I do have another fabric collection that will work with this courthouse steps pattern.

As to the fox/flower/gnome fabrics, I need to add some more colors to that set to give more contrast. I’m currently thinking it might be a good improv quilt….maybe with some portholes. Time will tell.

While I’m mulling that over, I’m going to go cut out the other fabric I’m using for this pattern.

Fox and the Four Seasons Wall Hanging

This "Fox and the Four Seasons" wall hanging was made from my "Fox and the Four Seasons" quilt panel available for purchase as a fat quarter on Spoonflower.com. 

The bonus apple print strips on the outer sides of the panel were cut to make the central sashings.

To make this wall hanging, fussy cut the fox blocks 8 x 8 inches, (finishing 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches) and the apple print sashing1 1/2 inches wide.  Cut one of the apple strips to match your fussy cut fox block. Use the second strip as a single piece.  With careful planning, the borders, backing and binding can be cut from 1 yard of coordinating fabric.

This could make a great pillow cover too!  Purchase more backing fabric if the pillow is to have an envelop closure.

Want to make 4 small fox pillows, one for each season?  The "Tossed Apples and Dots" fabric fat quarters and yardage.

I'll post a quilt made from the "Fox and the Four Seasons" quilt panel soon!

Surface Design: "Fox and the Four Seasons" Fat Quarter Panel

I took a course offered by Spoonflower.com during December 2015 which focused on beginning fabric design. It started by having us collect images on an inspiration board on Pinterest. I had fun taking photos of the late fall colors in the woods in my neighborhood and looking at fox photos online.  Christmas projects diverted my attention so I didn't sit down to work on my designs until this month.  Here is the result!

This is "Fox and the Four Seasons". I drew the designs in pencil, inked the line drawings with a black Pigma Micron 05 pen and then using the copier to transfer it to watercolor paper. The apple design was colored with Koi Watercolor Brush Pens and the fox panels were painted with guache paints.  The design was finished in Adobe Photoshop and the uploaded to Spoonflower.com. 

This design is printed on an affordable fat quarter (FQ) panel available at Spoonflower.com (click the design name link at the beginning of the last paragraph).  The FQ can be cut into 4 quilt blocks finishing at 8" if you are careful or a bit smaller if that's easier to do. Each panel shows a fox looking up at the apple tree in my yard during Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. A cardinal is in the apple tree in the Summer and Winter.

There is also a coordinating "Tossed Apples and Dots" fabric.

There was a some unused space on the FQ panel so I added a couple bonus strips of the "Tossed Apples and Dots" design.  The bonus "Tossed Apples and Dots" strips are 1 3/4 inches wide. Cutting the strips with an additional 1/4 inch of white on the outer edge will make it possible for the strip to finish at 1 1/2 inches wide.

This panel could be used to make wall hanging or as 4 blocks in a crib or lap quilt. I think the design blocks would look great paired with log cabin blocks.

The panel could also be used without being cut into blocks.  Bias strips could be used to create window panes. The seasons could also be separated by quilting. Lots of possibilities! 

Please do let me know if you make something with these fabrics!