One of my favorite things about quilting is that two people can take the same pattern and come up with completely different looks, either through choice of fabric or by the way they set, or lay out, the blocks. It’s the interpretation of a particular pattern, or block, that makes it unique. It’s what gives the quilt character, and what reflects the personality of the person who made it. Unfortunately, it’s also the one place that so many people seem to fail at quilting.

I cannot count the number of times that someone has said to me, “I had this great idea, or at least, I thought it was a great idea, but when I actually tried it … well, it didn’t come out the way I thought it would.” Boy, do I know that feeling! Almost every quilter has experienced it, or will experience it, at some point. It’s inevitable, when one starts to depart somewhat from using patterns and begins to venture off into that brave and wonderful world of design. There’s usually a process that takes place as a quilter begins to venture into the wide world of design …

The first phase is the ‘easy’ quilt – the one that’s just a few block sewn together, or maybe a pieced block that doesn’t need a fancy setting. This is simple, and most quilters can do this without a lot of trouble and almost no assistance.

The second phase happens when the quilter realizes that the design she has in mind is slightly more complicated. Out come the graph paper and colored pencils, and a slightly more complicated, but still fairly simple idea is turned into reality. A quilter might find herself surrounded by crumpled sheets of graph paper, but in the end, she figures out her design and finds success in this method.

The third phase – or as I like to call it, The Beginning of the End – occurs when the design is far too complex to easily render on graph paper, or when it has so many lay out options that the colored pencil method is no longer practical. Enter Electric Quilt.

Electric Quilt is this great program that’s been in production for probably 15 years or so – it’s long been used by people around the world who want the flexibility of changing things in their design without having to worry about causing eraser holes in their graph paper. But the truth is, the learning curve is not insignificant, at least, not up through version 5.0. That’s the version I have, and I won’t lie – I have had it for about five years, but I’ve used it little, until recently.

Confession: I love computers, software, gadgets – anything that can be considered electronics. So when I heard that there was a new version of Electric Quilt, I decided immediately I wanted it. I can’t really tell you why, except that it seemed really cool and I wanted it. Then reality set in and I thought, It’s crazy to spend that much money on a program that I don’t even know how to use and have put little effort into learning. Not one to be deterred by such minor facts, I pulled out my copy of EQ, installed it on my new computer (after making sure it was gone from the old one), and set about learning to use it. You see, I won’t be beaten by something as minor as not knowing the software.

Over the last several days I’ve had the opportunity to play with it, extensively, and I keep asking myself one question …

WHY DIDN’T I DECIDE TO FIGURE THIS OUT BEFORE NOW?!?

It’s still quite daunting, learning to use this program, but all in all, I am loving it. I designed a quilt block in the colors I wanted to use, then “set” the block in the predetermined layout that EQ offered. I could turn the blocks however I wanted them turned, I could add or remove borders, I could change colors throughout the quilt in a single click … I am, in short, addicted to EQ.

But I’m still not ready to upgrade just yet. Instead, I fully intend to attempt to purchase as many of the “stash” collections as possible, which will allow me to choose actual fabrics from a wide variety of designers. Fortunately, it will work with either 5.0 or 6.0, so when I upgrade EQ I won’t lose the stash. Two stash collections are produced twice a year – once in the spring and once in the fall, at a suggested price of just $25 each. Yeah, I think I can swing that!

My first trial was a log cabin block in black and tan … I have set the blocks in a large, king sized quilt in a variety of ways, giving me and my husband the chance to look at them all and consider many different looks. It’s much easier than trying to visualize or verbally convey an idea before even having the fabric in hand.

One thing I haven’t figured out yet is how to export my designs to a picture form. When I do, however, I will be sure to post the different variations for folks to see … I’d like to hear what people think about the choices we have!