BlockBase & Classic Appliqué Add Ons - Why buy?

I just received an email from a quilter looking to purchase The Electric Quilt Company's BlockBase program. I've known for sometime now that The Electric Quilt Company has not re-produced the program. Actually the message on their website says, "This product is on permanent back-order until further notice." Now, I am not quite sure what it means when something is on "permanent back-order" but I have a feeling it really means, "We aren't planning to release it again unless the demand is so overwhelming we would be stupid not to."

I have thought a lot about The Electric Quilt Company as I was winding down my business and I began to wonder how they would respond to today's rapid changes in computer technology. As "Cloud" computing gathers steam and as people turn to smartphones and tablets, the view is desk top computers with their gigabytes of memory will be history. This is why I believe EQ7 will be the last full blown quilt design program released "for purchase" by The Electric Quilt Company. Instead, I see quilters subscribing to use any future program release on The Electric Quilt Company's own servers - yep, in the cloud!

Three Ducks Shopping Cart - Officially Retired!

I have just flicked the switch on the Three Ducks Shopping Cart - it is now history! It is a sad, but I have had months to prepare myself and now I am more than ready to move on.

I am grateful to one and all who took advantage of the great sale prices during this last week's liquidation sale and I can see those orders beginning to arrive through my Canada Post delivery notices. You have some beautiful Jo Morton fabrics coming your way. I, too, have a nice collection as what remains now goes into my own fabric stash - bonus!

EQ 7 & EQ6: Part I - Designing a Block

(This tutorial was originally written after the release of EQ6, however it can be applied to EQ7 since this newest version of The Electric Quilt Company's quilt design software is built upon EQ6. The tutorial first appeared on the Three Ducks 'Home' website.)

The Electric Quilt Company does a thorough job of listing all the wonderful features of its new Electric Quilt 6 design software and I see no need of repeating that information here on the Three Ducks site. Instead, I thought I would take you on a tour of EQ6 while I design a small quilt. In my pre-EQ days, I made a wall hanging that I was quite pleased with and I had the chance to visit it recently and I still like it very much. So, please grab a cuppa and join me as I reproduce that quilt using EQ6.

A new feature in EQ6 is the 'Tip of the Day' that appears after the opening splash screen. A new tip appears each time you open the programme. Don't skip them. They may not make sense right away but will as you use EQ6.

EQ 7 & EQ6: Part II - Designing a Quilt

(This tutorial was originally written after the release of EQ6, however it can be applied to EQ7 since this newest version of The Electric Quilt Company's quilt design software is built upon EQ6. The tutorial first appeared on the Three Ducks 'Home' website.)

I am ready to begin designing my quilt now that I have constructed its main block. To start, I clicked on my EQ6 desktop icon, read and closed the 'Tip of the Day,' clicked the 'Open an existing project' tab on the project helper and clicked on my 'West Coast Blues' project and clicked 'OK.' What immediately appears next is my project sketchbook above. Every project that you start in EQ6 will have its own sketchbook that will hold your block designs, quilt layouts, fabric choices, etc for that particular project. The buttons on the left are the different sections in the sketchbook with the bottom three being new to EQ6. The programme now has a large library of embroidery images from Cactus Patch, Pfaff and Viking. These are only images though and you still must purchase the patterns from the manufacturers. With the 'Photo' section, EQ is addressing the popularity of using photo images in quilts. You can now import your photos and store them in your sketchbook or use a small selection of photos in EQ6's library. The 'Thread' section will hold your colour choice of embroidery and quilting threads that you choose from the thread library. All the major thread manufacturers and their most popular lines are available.

EQ's BlockBase

This is BlockBase user interface when you use the programme on its own outside EQ's quilt design software (EQ7/6/5). Here you can research a name or a block's printing history, look for a block that you vaguely remember from your grandmother's quilt, seek blocks within a theme or patch size, or explore and then dream of a quilt to be.

EQ's BlockBase - Linked to EQ7/6/5

(First posted on the original Three Ducks website, this tour of EQ's BlockBase was written using EQ5 design software. However, the information will also apply to both EQ6 and EQ7.) 

The beauty of the BlockBase programme is that it can be used on its own or it can be linked to the EQ5 software programme. When linked to EQ5, BlockBase is accessed through the Block Libraries and the screenshot below shows you where BlockBase appears within those libraries.

Once linked, you can now use BlockBase as any other library within EQ5 and I will now show you how I found a perfect block for my imaginary doll quilt. I needed a block to fit with a four patch already in my sketchbook and so that is the category I went to in BlockBase. From the subcategories, I decided 'Block is a Star' might offer up something interesting and the block I chose is highlighted in green. According to Barbara Bachman's research, this block appeared under the name 'Optical Illusion' in the Farm Journal, a publication established in 1877.

EQ's Classic Appliqué - Folk Art Blocks

(The following EQ software product tour was posted to the original Three Ducks website. Since then, The Electric Quilt Company has released the EQ6 and EQ7 versions of its quilt design software; however, the software works with these newer versions, too. Although Electric Quilt has discontinued Classic Appliqué add-on software series, they can still be found through independent retailers. Also, many of the patterns on the CD are being reissued through The Electric Quilt Company's "My EQ Boutique" website).

This EQ Classic Appliqué CD offers 200 patterns dating from 1850 to 1900. According to the Electric Quilt Company, "this was a period known for red and green appliqué, appliqué samplers and quilts featuring four large appliqué blocks." The possibilities with this CD are limited only by your imagination; from Civil War or late-Victorian reproduction quilts to modern quilts with a country theme.

Now, Folk Art Blocks is an EQ5 software add-on; in other words, you cannot access the blocks except through the software. When downloaded, these blocks are placed directly into your EQ5 Block Library.

EQ's Classic Appliqué - Baltimore Album

(The following EQ software product tour was posted to the original Three Ducks website. Since then, The Electric Quilt Company has released the EQ6 and EQ7 versions of its quilt design software; however, the software works with these newer versions, too. Although Electric Quilt has discontinued Classic Appliqué add-on software series, they can still be found through independent retailers. Also, many of the patterns on the CD are being reissued through The Electric Quilt Company's "My EQ Boutique" website).

It would not be a surprise to learn that today the most cherished and sought after antique quilts are Baltimore Album quilts. These intricately and densely appliquéd works of art were the ultimate testament to a quilter's design, composition, and needling skills.

This CD collection brings to you 160 Baltimore Album block patterns from 1846 to 1852, the span of years this amazing quilt style developed in Baltimore, Maryland.

As with the Folk Art Album, this EQ Classic Appliqué CD is an EQ5 software add-on and its blocks can only be accessed through your software's Block Library once the CD has been downloaded.

EQ's Classic Appliqué - 1920's & 1930's Blocks

(The following EQ software product tour was posted to the original Three Ducks website. Since then, The Electric Quilt Company has released the EQ6 and EQ7 versions of its quilt design software; however, the software works with these newer versions, too. Although Electric Quilt has discontinued Classic Appliqué add-on software series, they can still be found through independent retailers. Also, many of the patterns on the CD are being reissued through The Electric Quilt Company's "My EQ Boutique" website).

The blocks in this EQ Classic Appliqué CD represent an intense historical period in the early part of this century. On the whole, they cover the decades of Art Deco, include the First World War and reflect the early years of the Great Depression. According to the Electric Quilt Company, these blocks "represent a time of popular revival of quilt interest, and the birth of the quilt industry and quilt guilds." From this period on, "fabric companies, newspapers and magazines increasingly published old block patterns and invented new ones" and these are what you find on this CD of 140 patterns that are "mainly from the first quarter of the 20th Century but include blocks from the 1940's and 1950's."

As with my Folk Art and Baltimore Album web pages, I would like to take you on a small tour through the software. So, feel free to make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and I will wait for your return.

Electric Quilt's "Stash" Software

(The following Electric Quilt product "Tour" appeared on the original Three Ducks website in 2006. It is a good introduction to the Stash program which the Electric Quilt Company releases twice a year.)

Stash is a stand alone programme that can be linked to the Electric Quilt design software. When you download Stash it installs a desktop icon that you click on to open the programme. I am using an older version of Stash and have minimalized its workspace for this tour. When you open the programme you are greeted with the workspace above. The Stash tools are in the upper left corner and become active depending on what function you are performing. The fabric manufacturers are listed in the column on the left and when clicked will open up and display different fabric lines. There are three tabs on the workspace: 'Stash' which will display the fabric lines, 'Shopping Bag' which displays your selected fabrics from Stash, and 'Search Results' which is self-explanatory. You can move from one tab to another at any time.

Quilter Profile - Kimala Thompson

Kimala Thompson
Dragonfly Creations
Madeira Park, British Columbia

"I love the unlimited possibilities quilting offers as a means of expression; the ability to make a statement; to cause people to look at an idea from a different direction."    K.T.

I would like to introduce to you one of most dedicated and passionate quilters I know: Kimala Thompson of Dragonfly Creations. Kim’s home and studio are both located in a float house six miles from Pender Harbour up the Agamemnon Channel on BC’s Sunshine Coast.

Quilter Profile - Dolores MacKinnon

I am thrilled to introduce you to the first quilter I ever knew: Dolores MacKinnon, my mother. Mom discovered the joys of quilting during its great revival period in the mid-seventies; but, how she was first introduced to the concept of quilting is a story worth sharing.

One day at work, Mom saw a fellow 3M co-worker, Barb Corriveau, going through the machinery rag bag. Mom asked Barb what she was doing and learned that Barb was looking for new cottons to give to her aunt for her patchwork quilting. Mom asked Barb to explain further and was absolutely fascinated by what she heard. While Mom's own mother made tied woolen blankets from worn out trousers, it was done out of necessity and never was the word quilting mentioned.