RED AND WHITE CHALLENGE FOR ELECTRIC QUILT

Barb Vlack has chosen a perfect theme for Inklingo quilters for the May Electric Quilt Challenge–Red and White quilts!

She was inspired by the astounding Infinite Variety quilt exhibit in NYC. Your design should not copy any of those, but be something new.

About the Club EQ Challenge

Barb Vlack has been running a ClubEQ Challenge since 1999. It is all free, and you benefit.

Barb sets a theme, and quilters design and submit one or two quilts in an EQ project file. The files are featured on the EQ web site and everyone who participates is given access to ALL of the files submitted that month!

There are always some amazing designs–and you get all of the project files! No kidding! You cannot have the files unless you submit one yourself, but if you join, you get a windfall of great designs. Genius!

If you join in the fun, you will also learn something about EQ, get your name on the EQ web site, AND you will inspire yourself and others.

Past ClubEQ Challenges are displayed on the Electric Quilt web site. Your quilt, your name, and your web site are included in the listing.

The ClubEQ Challenge Rules are simple, but remember the deadline—May 31, which makes sense since this is the May challenge. See Barb’s sample Red and White design on that page too.

YOU HAVE A HEAD START WITH INKLINGO

I hope you will want to design with Inklingo shapes. There are three project files (so far) to give you a head start.

Sunflower EQ7 Project

School House EQ7 Project

Winding Ways EQ7 Project

It would be wonderful to see Inklingoable quilts when the results are posted this summer.

If you use Inklingo shapes (and I hope you will), please make a note of the Inklingo Shape Collection on the notecard in your project file. The notecard feature in EQ is indispensable.

You name your quilt for the ClubEQ Challenge, and if you include Inklingo in the name, it will make it easier for Inklingo quilters to identify which quilts they want to make.

FABULOUS EQ SUPPORT

If you are thinking about buying EQ, or are learning to use EQ, you really need to belong to the Info-EQ list hosted by Planet Patchwork. http://www.planetpatchwork.com/info-eq.htm

Sign up for the EQ Newsletter too.  This month it even mentions Inklingo!

Inklingo quilters have a head start with the Inklingo Design Books and these project files. You can create amazing designs—and sew them—thanks to the cutting and stitching lines printed on the fabric!

Soooooo. . . School House, Sunflower, and Winding Ways blocks are already at your fingertips. If you need help drawing blocks for other Inklingo Shape Collections like Storm At Sea, Dresden Plate (dozens of different blades), Double Wedding Ring, Feathered Star, Appliqué Designs, or other shapes,  you can get help on-Info EQ. I will try to help too, and if I can’t, I will try to find someone who can.

This is the first time I have prepared a blog message on my new computer (delivered yesterday). Moving into a new computer is hard work but the EQ7 installation was flawless.

Got any ideas? Ready to learn EQ? Ready to inspire? Is your EQ open yet? What are you waiting for?

Linda & Monkey

PS Don’t forget to leave a comment HERE to have a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate on Mother’s Day!

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.

Do you love the curves and circles of Winding Ways and Wheel of Mystery? 

There are three new Inklingo shape collections and a Design Book to tempt you!

The Winding Ways Design Book is at least a $20 value, but it is free right now.  It is packed with information and worksheets to help you design your own quilt or use any traditional pattern with Inklingo.

Combinine the 6 and 9 inch blocks for a stunning custom design. . .

. . . or use all three sizes in one quilt.

The curves are easier to stitch with Inklingo’s matching marks and stitching lines printed on the fabric, and you can cut the fabric with either a rotary cutter or scissors. 

The instructions for cutting, sewing, and pressing are included in the free book, so you can design your own variation, or for follow any existing pattern using Inklingo.

We think you will especially like the handy one-page reference with simple tips for stitching the blocks. 

Monkey and I need a nap. You have the  difficult task of deciding whether you want to sew 4.5 inch blocks, 6 inch blocks, 9 inch blocks, or all of them.  (There is a special combo price until February 7th.) We hope you will love Winding Ways as much as we do! It is irresistible.

Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey

It is starting to look very wintery here in Burlington. We’re thinking about Christmas, and that means gifts.

As you probably know, there are several male Inklingoists, but lately there has been a little uptick in the number of orders from Rick/Bob/John and they are clearly meant for someone other than Rick, Bob, and John. That should be pretty nice for some of you on Christmas morning. Monkey and I are very pleased when anyone chooses Inklingo as a special gift.

Did you know that there are Gift Certificates available on the site? It works well for everyone. You can set any amount for the gift and the recipient can choose anything she wants from the site and use the certificate towards the purchase.

If you know a friend is hankering for more Inklingo, you can give her a little treat, even if there is a Secret Pal limit on spending, like $5 or $10.

Free Gifts?

Even without a Gift Certificate, Monkey and I think you can give a nice present to a friend just by telling her about the free shape collection. Aren’t you glad someone told you about Inklingo? You can do the same favor for someone else, by giving her the link to the Quick Start page.

I haven’t done any decorating yet, other than this happy little snowman on my desk, because I have been hard at work on the web site, trying to make it more useful for everyone. Some of the changes are:
•  updated Index of Shapes (including 10 new collections since October 1)
•  new, expanded Info PDF for the free shape collection (at the bottom of the product page)
•  new page for a “Quick Start” (A great intro for Inklingo newbies)
•  new menu arrangement (How did you ever find anything before?)

There are more changes coming, but I am especially pleased with the new info file for the free collection because it includes instructions for sewing and pressing LeMoyne Stars. Even if you have the instructions in The Inklingo Handbook, you might want pages 4 and 5.

Side note: I wanted to replace the free shape collection with an expanded version in September (the one-year anniversary of the downloads), but a server upgrade is required. When it is ready, you will be able to open the existing collection and use it, but you will have the option of downloading the new version. As it is, if a collection is updated, you would be forced to stop to download the new version even if you had only opened Inklingo to print a few more triangles. I would be annoyed if that happened to me. That is the reason for waiting for the upgrade to the server, and for updating the Info PDF instead.

I am embarrassed by how messy the web site became. I just kept dumping new collections on it every few weeks this year, and Monkey says it is a miracle that you managed to find what you wanted! A web site is never finished but inklingo.com is in better shape now than it has been for a long time, so I hope you will have a look. (Monkey: Some of the best stuff is hidden under Support, where no one looks.) If you have any suggestions, let me know, okay?

<drum roll> Yes, Dresden Plate is next because it is the most requested, by far. I am excited about this one. It took all my self discipline to leave it alone this week while I worked on the site.

As you know, I don’t normally announce in advance, but if possible, Dresden Plate and Winding Ways will both be ready for you by January 1.

A few hints about the Dresden Plate collection: 9 inch (quarter block is 4.5 inch); several different blades and centers; Basic and Deluxe (like Orange Peel); Deluxe includes some unusual, special designs for 12 and 15 inch blocks. Monkey says that might be enough detail for you to ask Joe/Mike/Dave/Fred for an Inklingo Gift Certificate, in anticipation!

Please give me your feedback about the web site—good and bad. I hope you are enjoying the season wherever you are, and still finding time to spend with fabric. Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey