Interviews

INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINE PORTER
How many quilting hats can one person wear? We talk to editor/teacher/author Christine Porter who has done it all. Find out why Christine sometimes feels she “lives in the air.”

EQ the MOUSE DIGS INTO STASH FALL 2009
The Mouse interviews staff-member Jenny Novinsky to see what goes into creating our STASH CD full of the new fabric just beginning to appear in fabric stores.

Lessons & Classes

KALEIDOSCOPE COLLECTORS
All 12 fun free lessons involving EQ and the Kaleidoscope Collection CD are now up. This is a TERRIFIC way to learn more in EQ5 or EQ6! Try Months 1 - 12.

PREVIOUS MYSTERY QUILT STORIES AND LESSONS
Learn EQ5 or EQ6 by working through our two different Mystery Quilt series: If you are just joining us, start here with Skylights Episode 1 and Skylights Lesson 1.

Then work through the EQuinox mystery, starting with EQuinox Episode 1 and EQuinox Lesson 1.

Show us your quilts! Have you made one of our Mystery quilts? We want to see your quilt or top. Email us a photo and we'll post it in our mystery gallery: Skylight mystery quilts, EQuinox mystery quilts

GIVE THANKS FOR EQ ONLINE CLASS SIGN-UP TIME
Be ready to sign up for Quilt University's January 2010 classes this month. You can enroll for Fran Gonzalez’s EQ6 Sampler (the first in Fran’s 4-class series) and Patti Anderson’s EQ6 Appliqué Design. Enrollment begins at Quilt University the day after Thanksgiving (November 27). They fill fast! You have been warned.

ARE YOU TEACHING EQ?
If you are teaching EQ classes, don't forget to let our webmaster know the date, time and location of your classes so we can list them on our website.

EQ CLASSES
Want a hands-on EQ class? See who's teaching, what's being taught, and where. Find classes from Staffordshire, UK to BC, Canada, as well as Florida and California.

News

AMY BUTLER SOFTWARES UPDATE WILL ADD NEW LOVE FABRIC
Coming soon: New Amy Butler fabrics. A new Amy Butler quilt project. Your cost: FREE! We'll have a free downloadable update for Amy Butler Softwares which adds her beautiful new Love line of fabrics, plus gives you a free project from Amy. Watch for this in the December EQ Newsletter.

BARB VLACK SURPRISED WITH QUILT
Barb Vlack's 10 years as clubEQ challenge leader was celebrated with, what else, a quilt! The quilt contained blocks contributed by clubEQ members from all over the world including New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, France, England, Canada & the U.S. Thank you Barb Vlack for the clubEQ challenges you have led for a decade of fun and learning!

EQ6 REVIEWED IN GERMAN PATCHWORK GILDE MAGAZINE
We congratulate longtime EQ user Danka Kruszewska on her September 2009 article, "Die virtuelle Welt der Quilt-Software EQ - eine Einfuhrung." Thanks for sending us the Patchwork Gilde magazine. Danke Danka! We were thrilled to see your article.

DEAR SANTA EQ WISH LIST
We know you've been good. So we've made it easy to tell Santa just what EQ goodies you want beneath your tree. Just fill out our "Dear Santa" list.

ELECTRIC QUILT IS ON FACEBOOK
Electric Quilt has its own Facebook page now, as does EQ the Mouse. Become a Fan, and you'll get regular updates when we post something on our blog, or add a new video, or have other news.

EQ the Mouse adores his fans. If you're not yet one, he would love you to "fan him."

To become a fan:
1. Log into your facebook profile
2. Click this link, EQ the Mouse, to become a fan of EQ the Mouse.
3. Click this link, Electric Quilt , to become a fan of Electric Quilt.

FAB FAN FREEBIES
EQ the Mouse announces "Fab Fan Freebies." He explains: He loves his fabulous fans, and will choose a fan every now and again on a Friday, on his Facebook page, to receive a random prize. To be eligible, become his Facebook fan.

MORE VIDEOS ON ELECTRIC QUILT'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Watch Andrea work her EQ Magic on YouTube. See a new short EQ segment from Pokey Bolton's Quilting Arts TV on YouTube.
www.youtube.com/ElectricQuilt

Show us your work

EXHIBIT IN OUR NEW EQ QUILT GALLERY
We've added a page of new quilts to our "EQ Quilt Gallery" and invite you to exhibit too!

Send us a photo of your quilt, along with your EQ project containing the EQ design for this same quilt. Tell us a bit about you, your quilt, your designing, whatever. List your website or blog if you have them. Help us show off your designing whether you're a quilting professional or this is your first quilt. Send them to penny@electricquilt.com. We love seeing what you're making and knowing more about you.  

NEW ON OUR BLOG
Send us info about what EQ stuff you're up to. We love to brag about you! Send an email to penny@electricquilt.com and tell us your EQ news.

Inspiration

ANNE MAUNDRELL’S BUTTERFLY
We love seeing what Anne makes from designs traced from her own photos in EQ6. Her latest quilt features a butterfly on a flower. Read all about it.

DAILY EQ-DESIGNS BY JUDY BUTCHER
We like visiting Judy Butcher's blog often just to see what new EQ quilt she's designed for the day.

DAILY EQ-DESIGNS BY GLYNIS THOMPSON
Want more inspiration? Glynis has a blog too where she posts daily EQ designs. Check out some of Glynis's latest work.

Clubs

WANT TO START YOUR OWN EQ CLUB?
Download our "Planning an EQ Club" PDF file. See what you need to get started, how to organize and get topic ideas. The Mystery Quilt would make a great club project.

ClubEQ REMINDER
ClubEQ is a free monthly challenge organized by EQ-author, Barb Vlack. To participate, send in a project with 1-2 quilts to penny@electricquilt.com that follow the challenge theme and ClubEQ rules. Imagine getting 50 to 100 quilts for just submitting one.

Support

ASK EQ THE MOUSE!
Long-time mascot, EQ the Mouse, invites you to submit EQ questions for his column "Ask EQ." Email questions to Tech Support. Put "Ask EQ" in the subject line. He'll answer your question, and perhaps you'll make his monthly Q & A column. Read this month's Ask EQ questions & answers.

MAIL-LIST FOR MAC EQ-ERS
Are you running your EQ on a Mac? Then you may want to subscribe to the free EQonMacs Yahoo group, run by Sheila Williams. For more information, contact Sheila at Sheila@SheilaWilliams.com.

EQ FORUMS
Visit the EQ Forums and register, then you can ask questions and get answers from EQ staff, authors and other EQ users right on the EQ website.

TECH SUPPORT
A reminder that you can see answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions right on the EQ website. See EQ6 questions here. See EQ5 questions here.

EQ6 UPDATE
If you own EQ6, download and install the free EQ6 Update which makes EQ6 run faster and smarter. You'll know you're updated if in EQ6 you click
HELP > About EQ6 and see "Build 2."

Contests

EQ6 ROSE OF SHARON CHALLENGE -- ONLY TWO MORE WEEKS TO ENTER
Design now and you may win some of the over $22,000 in prizes offered in the Rose of Sharon EQ6 Block Challenge.

No drawing. No sewing. SO EASY!

See how to download an EQ6 project with pre-designed motifs and fabrics for making Rose of Sharon blocks.

Entry deadline: November 15, 2009. Send your entry in now!

ENTER NOW - QUILTMAKER MAGAZINE VIRTUAL QUILT CONTEST
Win a chance to appear in Quiltmaker magazine. Announcing a virtual quilt design contest sponsored by Quiltmaker magazine and The Electric Quilt Company. No sewing. Just design a quilt in EQ6 using designs from any of our Quilting Designs: The Quiltmaker Collection CDs.

Click here for details. Entry deadline: December 1, 2009. Enter now!

TERRI NICE WINS THE GREAT PUMPKIN HUNT CONTEST
121 people found the hidden picture of EQ the Mouse rolling his pumpkin on the EQ website, for our October contest. The winner, chosen at random, was: Terri Nice. Congratulations, Terri! You will receive a copy of Mary Ellen Kranz’s book, Blending Photos with Fabric 2.

Fabric

DOWNLOAD MORE FREE FABRIC
Hot stuff! This month's download is "Hot Chili Colors." Choose either to download a Library file or a Project file. Be sure to follow the easy steps provided. Then vote for next month's fabric. We take suggestions for future voting options; email penny@electricquilt.com to let her know.

NEW CONNECTING THREADS FABS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD
Connecting Threads has made some of their own fabric collections available especially for EQ6 users as Library files. Find the collections here.

1) Download the file to your Desktop. Extract the zipped file (right-click, then click "Extract All").
2) Place the .FAB file in your My Documents\My EQ6\USER\ folder on your hard drive.
3) Open EQ6 and your fabric library. The collection will appear in your "MY LIBRARY" folder.

NEW MODA FABS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD
Moda has new fabrics available to download as jpeg files, ready to be opened in EQ6.

1) Visit Moda's site, click any brown dot in front of a fabric name, download to your computer (remember where it goes).
2) Go to LIBRARIES > Fabric Library > Import > From Image Files and import the fabric.
3) Add the fabric to your Sketchbook and use it, or save the fabric in My Library (see pages 143 and 144 in the EQ6 User Manual) to use in future projects.

If you need complete steps, EQ the Mouse addresses them in one of his Ask EQ columns.

Freebies

FREE HAPPY THANKSGIVING PROJECT
Mr. Turkey is an easy bird to cut and sew, and could use a button for an eye. Download him as an EQ6 project.

FREE PHOTO PURSE PROJECT
We featured this last year. We're re-running it since it’s a perfect quick & personal holiday gift to make. EQ staffer, Andrea Bishop, created this easy purse made with tiny photo squares. All you need is printable fabric (naturally we like our EQ Printables Cotton Satin), and photos. Your unique "I spy" photo purse could picture your dog's eyes, garden details, anything! Print our PDF pattern for instructions on making this printable purse.

NEW FREE MOTION QUILTING TUTORIAL BY GETA GRAMA
Geta Grama uses printed quilting designs from EQ6 in her quilts. See her great illustrated tutorial.

HOLIDAY PATTERNS FROM SINDY RODENMAYER
Sindy has new holiday patterns on her site.
Also see her pieced Chocolate Stars BOM which started in August. Find the new blocks for her appliqué Baltimore Bliss BOM here.

FREE PROJECTS FROM REGINA GREWE
Regina’s easy-to-sew Magic Mushrooms continue to grow. Download them as EQ6 projects.

FREE MYSTERY BOM FROM GUDRUN
Gudrun, from Belgium, has started a Mystery Block of the Month for 2009 that she would like to share.
Block #1     Block #5     Block #9
Block #2     Block #6     Block #10
Block #3     Block #7
Block #4     Block #8

FREE QUILTED DESKTOPS & CALENDARS
Carolyn Laukkonen offers you a series of quilted desktops to choose from. Choose a favorite, or switch them monthly. Download onto your computer desktop. Find complete instructions on her site.

Or check out the beautiful calendars Diane Anderson designs just for you.

FREE VIEWERS
Want to see a self-running show of your own EQ projects? Download a free project viewer:

Download "EQ6 Show" if you have EQ6. It will show any EQ3, EQ4, EQ5 and EQ6 projects you've made.
Download "EQ5 Show" if you only have EQ5. It will show any EQ3, EQ4 & EQ5 projects you have made.

FREE EQ6 WEB BUTTONS
Show your EQ spirit by adding an EQ6 button to your website!

DO YOU HAVE FREE EQ PROJECTS OR PATTERNS TO SHARE ON YOUR WEBSITE?
Let us know and we'll list you on the Project Sharing page. Just email our webmaster with the necessary links and information and ask for your site to be considered for inclusion on that page.

Next Month...

COMING NEXT MONTH
*A holiday tradition: Barb Vlack’s Homemade Marshmallow recipe.

*An interview with Gail Kessler.