I actually started out with Electic Quilt 5 and upgraded to version 6 earlier this year. I had the program for awhile but got frustrated because the buttons and screens were confusing at times. I purchased Fran Gonzalez’s EQ5 Simplified and it opened up a whole new world in quilt design for me. I can’t recommend it enough. She walks you through creating some pretty amazing quilts using the programs features and extensive block library. Each lesson builds to the next and by the time you’re done you are anxious to create your own.

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A couple of months ago I joined a wonderful online quilters’ group at AllOurQuilts.com. The site has been online a relatively short period of time and is growing by the day. Sue created this wonderful stopover for quilt lovers. Webmaster and designer, Mike stays busy keeping the site up and running and is adding new features almost daily. It costs nothing to join and the folks participating are great! You’ll find some of my quilts posted there as well as many other wonderful creations. Sue designed a star wall hanging and is currently providing lessons for its completion for members who have uploaded at least 2 quilt projects to the site. With Sue’s permission, I’ll post my progress (minus specific instructions) as I complete each lesson. You can also view my progress in my Quiting Diary.

The image above reflects the completion of Lesson 1 of Sue’s tutorial. The center blocks and star points are fussy cut from a fabric with a symmetrical design pattern. This is my first time using fabric in this manner and Sue does a wonderful job at explaining this procedure. I chose a white background with a paisley pattern to compliment the paisley pattern used in the star.

Want to see more? Join us at AllOurQuilts.com.

This is one of my all-time favorite quilting magazines. Each edition contains at least a half a dozen quilt projects. The magazine also features sewing techniques for all sorts of quilting procedures. If you enjoy Fons and Porter’s PBS show, you’ll love their magazine!

My Rating:

I enjoyed reading my first issue so much that I have to add it as a recommendation. It’s not your normal quilting magazine.  It’s a very down-to-earth, tongue-in-cheek written publication. I laughed out loud at some of the comments and loved some of the “cheat” suggestions. Whether you’re an advanced quilter or a novice, this is a magazine to enjoy!

Round 3 added to quilt and stablized.

I’m down to quilting the last 2 squares of this round. Seems to take forever….so much going on….so little time.

I’m relatively new to the world of quilting having only been at it for a couple of years. As time goes by my quilting library has grown almost as fast as my fabric stash. This book was one of the first acquired and is still one of my favorites.

If you’re new to quilting, you’ll find this one invaluable. The illustrations and explanations are great and I found some great time saving tips in additon to basic instruction. Fons and Porter are the best…I love their PBS show, their website, and, of course, this book. I highly recommend it!

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