Cordelia

I bought the Electric Quilt Program about a year ago and had LOADS of fun designing quilt patterns.

I designed this (so I thought) a year ago and will make it eventually. However, I naively thought that I invented the pattern. (I had never seen it before.)

I was quite proud of it and named it "Neptune's Whimsical Starfish."

Well, I showed it off to my mom and she pulled out some pattern book and showed me a pattern called "Monkey Wrench" or some thing. Then I saw a beautiful quilt just like it at the Quilt Show in Lancaster yesterday.

Alas, this is not my original idea after all, but shows how new I am to the quilting world. Like any brilliant idea I've thought I had, I always find out someone else has already thought about it.

Anyway ... I have several designs that I've come up with and can't figure out how to make them.

I came up with this baby quilt design and tried to sew one of the blocks and couldn't figure it out. I picked the block from the library of blocks in the program, but it doesn't have sewing directions. So, I can't make it because I don't know how to sew the blocks.

Alas, it was fun picking the colors, etc.

This is a paper pieced pattern I came up with that I call "Stone Washed Tiles."

jacquemoe

You can sit for hours and hours playing with one of those programs. I played around with a trial program and came up with this and actually made one block.

Whoops, sorry. I guess the picture file is too large. Can't seem to change it.
NEVERMIND :oops:

Cordelia

Love it!

ksusan

Neat ideas!!! I must "remove" myself from this computerthis morning or I'll never get to my actual sewing.....Thanks for sharing

Piecefully yours,
Kay Susan

patricej

if you save it as a .jpg it will probably post as a photo instead of only-downloadable

patricej

Dear Cordelia,

A significant percentage of the quilt patterns for sale are NOT 100% original designs. They're based on traditional (public domain) blocks, occassionally in clever settings, and named according to the author's whim. (because of the fabrics, or the colors, or the intended use of the quilt.)

This is not to imply that the pattern designers/authors are cheating their customers. They usually include fabric estimates, cutting instructions, piecing diagrams and instructions, and sometimes extra layout variations. That's often where the true value of a not 100% original design lies.

You applied your vision of fabrics, colors and arrangement to the quilt. It is therefore, uniquely yours. :P

Solve your piecing dilemna with the twisted squares-in-diamonds by using the EQ software to generate a paper-piecing foundation pattern. (if you don't want to paper piece, you will still know the order in which you should attach the pieces to each other to achieve the look you want.) if the odd angles make rotary cutting complicated, use the EQ again to generate templates. you don't have to use them to fussy-cut individual patches for the block. print them on freezer paper and iron them to your strips to use as cutting guides.

The only remaining step is to have more faith in yourself. You CAN do it. :P

Cordelia

Thanks, Patrice. I didn't think about paper piecing. The block came from the "log cabin" variants. I also thought they were put together a lot like my "crazy patch" quilt I've made before.

So, when I started with the center block, and wanted the finished block to be 10 inches or 8 inches, (can't remember dimensions I had in mind) I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to sew and trim the other pieces on.

I'll go back and look and see if the program has a template for that. I didn't think of that.

Thanks.

RuthiesRetreat3

For your unsewable baby blocks, try paper piecing. Make a pattern of the block, then xerox enough copies on light-weight paper that you can sew thru, sew and flip then trim each block according to your color scheme, then sew the blocks together.

ceegee

all these quilts are beautifl.Stop knocking yourself out.
ceegee

sandpat

You can make any of these quilts..they are simply beautiful designs..very creative by the way.

Just stop...take a deep breath and tackle them 1 block at a time and slowly so you think it through. You can do it!