All About Inklingo

Rose Dream in Electric Quilt

Linda — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:30:41 +0000

I’ve been fooling around with Inklingo Rose Dream in EQ5.

I think I may need an intervention. LOL This is addictive.

THREE SIZES!

There is at least one way to use all three Rose Dream sizes in a bed quilt.

This setting uses 4.5, 6, and 9 inch units in 9, 12, and 18 inch blocks.

Same quilt, different colors. . .

. . . and the same again.

I want to color the squares to be more prominent.

Q. How will I know when to stop?

I’m going to have another look at the Storm At Sea, Drunkard’s Path, and Winding Ways layouts which use two or more sizes to see what else would work for Rose Dream.

However, Rose Dream is a special case. For the design to be symmetrical, Rose Dream requires an even number of units.

It’s a complicating factor.

Of course, I could use Rose Dream 6 inch units with any other 6 inch blocks (list on the website), or 12 inch Sunflower, or . . .

Help! I’ve fallen into EQ5 and I can’t get out!**

Electric Quilt Project File for You

You can play with Rose Dream in Electric Quilt too, and create quilts that are better than mine.

Click to download the EQ5 file with Rose Dream blocks and quilts.
Play with settings and colors and fabric from the libraries.
Enter a quilt in the EQ/Inklingo Love the Lines Contest!
Win! (See the prizes!)

More Ideas

We don’t want to leave anyone out. Rose Dream is amazing even if you don’t have Electric Quilt because there are worksheets included in the Inklingo shape collections. There is a gallery of sample layouts on the website too.

Best of all, you know that any design you create with these shapes will be easy to cut and sew with Inklingo.

Hooray!

Linda & Monkey

** “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Quilters outside North America might not recognize this common ad slogan for a security bracelet for people who live alone. It has slipped [pun intended] into common use in comedy routines. Canadians like to be thought of as exporters of humor/humour.

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

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Sew a Rose Dream Quilt with Inklingo!

Linda — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:49:04 +0000

3 SIZES ! ! !

There are new Inklingo Shape Collections today!

You have a choice of 3 sizes of Rose Dream.

This design is sometimes called True Lover’s Knot, Lover’s Knot, or Endless Chain.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name
would smell as sweet.” (Shakespeare, of course.)

There are infinite, rosy possibilities with 4 simple shapes!

This design has Rose Dream blocks set in the traditional manner in horizontal rows.

When the Rose Dream blocks are set on point like this, Quarter Square Triangles are required around the edges. They are available in the Inklingo On-Point Shape Collections for 4.5 and 6 inch blocks (not 9 inch yet).

Inklingo Log Cabin Shape Collections (0.75 inch and 1.0 inch) can be used for sashing and cornerstones on 4.5 and 6 inch Rose Dream blocks. You may prefer to rotary cut the squares and rectangles without printing.

Some of the worksheets use 4.5 and 9 inch Rose Dream together.

This one uses half petals.

If you decide on a curvy edge, my famous instructions for a scalloped binding will help. They are free on the website.

Worksheets

There are more than a dozen different worksheets in the shape collections, including all of the designs above.

The Shapes to Print on Fabric

Shapes for 4.5 inch units. See the website for the other sizes.

Machine Piecing

I recommend sewing Rose Dream by machine, but of course you can hand piece if you need a portable project.

The collections include illustrated instructions for sewing curves and insets by machine. With Inklingo’s matching marks and crosshairs, you can be confident that everything will fit together beautifully!

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.**

3 Roses and a Nose

Beauty AND a nose for value!

The special prices are for the first week only, okay? Click here!

Enjoy!

Linda & Monkey

**A Thing of Beauty (Endymion, John Keats)

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Rose Dream Quilt

Linda — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:28:13 +0000

Let me start at the beginning.

Ronda at Momma Made This downloaded the Inklingo Smart Shopper’s Idea Book (free PDF download) last November.
Rose Dream caught her eye.
(Also called True Lover’s Knot)
At 2:37 AM that night she sent me 6 pictures of Rose Dream variations she had drawn in Electric Quilt software.

I was gobsmacked.

Isn’t it beautiful? If you click on the quilt, it will take you to Momma Made This.

Dream or Nightmare?

Ronda’s timing was cruel because I was stuck working on dreadfully dull behind-the-scenes stuff to make Inklingo even better, and I wanted to drop everything. Just. Stop. And. Sew.

It was a nightmare. Rose Dream shot up to the top of my list.

All this from a few petals that caught Ronda’s eye—and Electric Quilt, of course.

Coming Soon

This picture of Rose Dream in the Idea Book kept Ronda awake in the wee small hours of the morning.

COMING SOON!

Other publishers and authors tell you months and months in advance what they have planned.

Inklingo is different. We’re digital. I’m giving you a few days’ notice at most—sometimes none.

I bet you’d like to know the sizes and what else you can do with these shapes. Maybe an EQ5 file to play with? More designs? Some tips?

We have more to say on this tomorrow.

In the meantime. . .

While you’re waiting, Monkey recommends the Smart Shopper’s Idea Book but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. After all, look what happened last time.

If you don’t want to be tempted, skip the Idea Book!

Other ways to pass the time:

Design a quilt with Inklingo shapes in Electric Quilt for the Love the Lines Contest.
(February 14 deadline, no purchase necessary)
Clear your agenda and prepare to amaze yourself.
Visit Ronda’s blog and listen to Louis Armstrong while you look at Ronda’s other designs and Inklingo-able patterns.

Yes, it’s a wonderful world.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.**

Will you be dreaming or designing with the colors of the rainbow at 2:37 AM in the dark sacred night?

Linda & Monkey

**Music and lyrics by George David Weiss, George Douglas, Bob Thiele

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Quilt Blocks with FREE Shapes – Part 3

Linda — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:29:26 +0000

There are dozens of different Inklingo shape collections you could use to design quilts for the EQ/Inklingo Love the Lines Contest. We are looking at them one at a time.

This time it’s the free Inklingo shape collection with Diamonds, Triangles, and Squares and

Monkey has a free EQ5 project file for you!

Part 2 was all about designing in Electric Quilt with blocks from the FREE Inklingo Shape Collection.

I’ve re-colored that quilt in a dozen different ways. The three quilts here are the same except for the colors!

This is just one of of many fun things you can do with Electric Quilt.

With a few clicks, I can love or hate it!

Experimenting with EQ gives me confidence that I will be thrilled with the quilt when I buy the fabric, print it with Inklingo, cut and sew it.

EQ5 PROJECT FILE

Monkey and I want you to have as much fun as we are, and to enter quilts in the EQ/Inklingo Love the Lines Contest!

Our gift is a new EQ5 Project File.

It gives you a head start with some of the blocks you can make with the free Inklingo Diamond/Triangle/Square Shape Collection. Be sure to check the notecards to see the block sizes!

We drew the blocks in EQ5, so you can open them in EQ5, EQ6, or EQ7. (Entries for the contest must be in EQ6 or EQ7 format.)

DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE FREE FILES!

Part 3 – EQ5 Project File – click to download
Part 1 – PDF of Blocks with the free shapes
Part 2 – PDF Sample Quilt step-by-step
Love the Lines Contest
Win great prizes from Inklingo, Electric Quilt, and Northcott Fabric!
Contest Rules

Once you have a design in EQ, print perfect shapes on fabric with Inklingo, cut, and sew.

MORE SHAPES?

Of course, there are hundreds of other blocks and shapes you can use to design quilts for the contest.

You don’t have to stick to the free shapes or buy anything.

There are also several more blog messages related to the contest with tips for designing with other Inklingo shapes and sizes, PLUS other project files you can use in Electric Quilt —Double Wedding Ring, Sunflower, Joseph’s Coat and more!

I can hardly wait to see what you are designing.

If you have questions, or need suggestions, please ask! Otherwise, we’ll guess what you would like to see next.

Do you want a monkey to make all the choices? Really?

Linda & Monkey

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Quilt Blocks with FREE Shapes – Part 2

Linda — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:13:05 +0000

We’re back!

Click on the image for a PDF with the step-by-step for this quilt with the free shapes. We used EQ5 this time.

Or, click here.

The long rectangles in the inner border are not Inklingo-able, but everything else is, so it would be a good quilt for the contest. The EQ/Inklingo Contest Rules are here.

The PDF should help you no matter which shapes you want to use. If you don’t have EQ (yet), it will show you how simple the software is to use.

PRINTING?

If you want to print the PDF (8 pages), it might only work if you use the print icon which appears when you hover near the bottom of the window (instead of using File >Print). You can also save the PDF on your computer.

STAY TUNED

Next time, we’ll share the EQ5 file. If you subscribe for email alerts (right sidebar), you won’t miss anything. There are other messages about the contest too, if you scroll down.

We’ll be back soon, okay? In the meantime, you can get busy with your own designs!

Linda & Monkey

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Quilt Blocks with FREE Shapes – Part 1

Linda — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:47:12 +0000

Monkey and I have more tips to help you design Inklingo quilts in Electric Quilt for the Love the Lines Contest.

Ready? Let’s go.

MY MISTAKE—A BIG BOO-BOO

First, I have a confession. I made a mistake when I named the free shape collection “LeMoyne Star 4.5 inch.”

Bad choice—too limiting! You can make sooo much more than LeMoyne Star!

The name is now Diamond/Triangle/Square. Oh dear. I’m not sure it is any better. I find it very hard to name the shape collections because they are so versatile. (It’s a good problem to have!)

ABOUT THE WEIRD SIZES

The 4.5 inch star is the same size as a block in Dear Jane® by Brenda Papadakis. It is a block which is traditionally made with templates because the measurements are odd.

To make this

You need 8 diamonds, 4 squares, and 4 QST, like this:

Don’t worry! With Inklingo, you do not need to measure 1.32 or 1.86 inches!

A block like this shows just how precise and simple it is when you print the shapes on fabric—no matter how weird the measurements!

The triangles are Quarter Square Triangles (QST) because they have straight grain on the long side. (Quilters always prefer to have straight grain on the outside edges!)

BONUS SHAPE

I also included a Half Square Triangle (HST, straight grain on the short sides) in the free shape collection because it makes even more block variations possible.

MORE SQUARES AND RECTANGLES TOO

For the LTL Contest, it is important to get the sizes right in EQ, so the quilt is actually Inklingo-able. However, Inklingoists sometimes use simple non-Inklingo shapes with Inklingo shapes, so we made an exception. You can use rectangles and squares too, if you wish, and your entry will be accepted.

NOT JUST LEMOYNE STAR

There are detailed design notes and sewing instructions included in the free Diamond/Triangle/Square shape collection, but it is easy to underestimate what you can do with these simple shapes.

FREE PDF

To get your creative juices flowing, I have prepared a new reference with a few of the many blocks you can make with diamonds, triangles, and squares.

Free PDF

Download PDF HERE (3 pages)

The PDF does not include every possible block, but it will get you started.

DESIGNING WITH THE FREE SHAPES

There is no purchase necessary to enter the contest, but the free shape collection is a great place to start because the shapes are so versatile.

MORE TO COME

The best is yet to come!

What’s in Part 2 and Part 3?

a new EQ5 project file!
a PDF with a sample quilt you can sew with the free shapes,
including step-by-step instructions for designing it in EQ5

Monkey hasn’t decided yet which is Part 2 and which is Part 3. We’ll let you know when you come back, okay?

Part 1, 2, and 3 will show you how easy it is to create your own design for the contest, whether you use the free shapes or any of the others.

We think you will be gobsmacked by how easy it is to design with 1.32 inch squares and 1.86 inch triangles! Who’d a thunk, eh?

You can trust Monkey and EQ Mouse on this one.

A NOTE ABOUT EQ5

The new EQ5 project file can be opened with EQ5, EQ6, or EQ7.

I used EQ5 this time in order to include more quilters. I hope you appreciate it because it was hard to go back to the olde tools. I have been spoiled by EQ7.

Electric Quilt has come a long, long way since EQ5 was released 10 years ago.

ARE YOU TEN YEARS OUT OF DATE?

A couple of quilters have told me that they only have EQ5 and can’t upgrade right now. Oh! No! The contest rules require EQ6 or EQ7. Don’t worry, there’s still hope.

If you design a quilt in EQ5 and want to enter it in the contest, all you need to do is find a friend who has EQ6 or EQ7, email the project file to her and have her open it and save it in EQ6 or EQ7 format. She can then email it back to you, so you can email it to me for the contest. You won’t be able to edit it or open it in the newer format, but you could win the top prize!

STAY TUNED

I hope you will come back for Part 2 and Part 3. If you subscribe for email alerts (right sidebar), you won’t miss anything. There are other messages about the contest too, if you scroll down. The rules are here.

See you soon, okay?

Linda & Monkey

Inklingo for Beginners

Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge

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