Quilt pattern design service with EQ
 

Hi everyone,
Do you know any quilter who would offert a quilt pattern design service (for a fee, of course)? I have EQ7 and I use it very often to create simple quilt's pattern. I've been asked to create something a bit more complex but can't figure how to do it in EQ7. I did a Google search and couldn't find any shop/designer offering quilt pattern design service.
Thanks!

Do you have an example or website of what you are trying to create? I don't create for money, but sometimes can help.

Edited to add: Just a suggestion - The EQ Blog has many free patterns there. I have played with these and modified the blocks to suit what I wanted more. I never have sewed any of them.

There are some people who are great with EQ on the boards here, I only have EQ6 myself.

What area are you having problems with or can you describe what you are trying to do? Is it a medallion quilt or a variable set/row? Sometimes it helps to have someone tell you that yeah, you can't do what you want -- but here's what you can do.

You can ask EQ for help doing it in EQ.

Thanks everyone; here's the pattern I'm looking to create. My customer would like to have one of the star shape (any of them) recreated as the central star of a queen size quilt. It's not that complex, but I just don't know how to create a layout for this in EQ. I use mostly the block librairy and haven't draw many blocks myself.

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So something like a lone star quilt?

Yes, indeed, but it's important to replicate exactly the shape of one of those specific stars.

Good to see the inspiration piece.

Ok, so is it one great big huge star like the ones shown, or would it start out the size of the block and then radiate out larger a few more rows? It looks to me like there are just two variations of stars, one with longer skinnier diamonds and then one with chubbier diamonds and the rest is color placement.

And the point is to have just one? I think that would be best done as a large but not huge center and then maybe some smaller related blocks separated by space and borders might work better or at least would be easier for me to design in my mind -- lol but then it would have to come out in EQ.

Yes, you are right, there is only two kind of stars. I like your idea of putting a big one in the center, then to have smaller ones around - depend on how hard or easy it is to make those :-) But anyway, the initial problem is to create this star block in EQ.

Do you have a larger picture of the blocks?

I've asked her for one, she'll send it to me tomorrow.

Draw or pull your first star from the block library.
Then color it like you want it.
Next, go to your quilt tab.
Do your quilt layout as Horizontal
Change your layout to 1 x 1 block
Change the size to be the inches you want your center, single block.
Now go to your border tab and add everything else in layers or blocks or strips.
Then put your chosen block in the center.
Then add any others in the next borders.

This isn't exactly like the star you want, but you might be able to alter it to create your own design. http://blog.morningglorydesigns.net/...downloads.html

Sometimes color placement in a block creates illusions.

Imagine the block creation section of EQ as graph paper you don’t have to erase. There is a box to enter in the size of the block you want to create. Then on the left there is something to click that lets you connect lines between the dots. It’s lots of fun. If you don’t have enough dots to create the block you want; there is a place at the top to increase how many of them are in the grid.

Quiltworx, Judy Neimeyer's site, has several paper pieced patterns that may interest you. http://www.quiltworx.com/patterns/?sort=az

http://www.quiltworx.com/patterns/diamond-wedding-star/ This might could be used as inspiration.

Ok, I have a better view of the star. It's nothing really fancy. I might try to do it with all the helpful comments and instruction of the wonderful members of this board. Still, I wouldn't mind hiring someone to create this pattern for me, as I'm so busy at this time of the year and can't say I'm trilled to spend a few hours playing on EQ... :-)
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I don't know if this helps, I would do a few modifications to make it easier to sew.

Have you considered appliqueing the design instead of piecing it?

Applique would be the easiest way I think to get the white space. As a large block it wouldn't be bad so if those little floating diamonds were 1" per side or so.

I was definitely thinking about doing the small outside floating diamonds shape in applique rather than piecing them. But for the main part, since there would be some very large pieces (we are looking for a double bed size here), I would rather find a way to piece it.

Iceblossom, this definitely help. You are very smart. Now I'm seeing several way to separate the star in individual blocks.

It's probably paper piecing to the rescue then if you don't want to applique. Doesn't help particularly in drafting it in EQ although I believe there is an option for printing for paper piecing, I'd probably just blow up the picture until you get a 1/8 wedge the size you want. I spend quite a bit of my quilting time doing stuff on the copiers at my local office supply store!

Edit: One of my upcoming projects is going to be a lone star sampler with 9 large but not huge stars using blue and white snowflake fabrics and I will make the stars look like snowflakes (except of course lone star is octagonal and snowflakes are hexes...). Anyway, I've been playing with how to make the blocks in my head for the last year or two on how to move the background fabric in and out to make the design less radiating and more snowflake-like, if that makes any sense!

Another drawing - it could be assembled in wedges - lots of seams, though.

Even after reading your edit note about playing with this in your head for some time, my jaw is still dropped open to see how quickly you have come with a complete deconstructed drawing. Some brains are waaaaaay ahead mine :-)

I would not mind paper piecing at all - but I was thinking on doing the model in EQ because you can print your PP templates...

I think I could do some minor modifications to make it easier to assemble/create. The idea is to have it look like the picture as close as possible.

Another drawing - which I think would look better - especially with larger pieces.

Bearisgray, that's very clever. Thank you so much!

My attempt is a quarter star of 6", similar to Bearisgrays'. You can do this in EQ and print whatever size you need. eg- 18" for a 36" star, or smaller/larger.

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This version would be easier to piece - no Y seam around the center square.

This version has the seams by the pink diamonds pointing to the outside edge of the unit.

It is actually starting to look "possible" - when I first saw the graphic - I thought "no way" that would be easy to do.

Gay and Bearisgray, I don't know how to thank you ladies. Here's the model I made in EQ7. It took me only one hour to create. It's far from being perfect (it's not symmetric!) but it would be an easy fix if I print the templates from one side of the wedge and replicate them for the other side.
I bow very low to your wonderful brain. I would Never have been able to figure this by myself.
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Eventually - you did figure out how to do it yourself - with a little help from your friends! :o

I felt the same way about never figuring EQ7 out when I first got it. In order to create or replicate a block you have to be able to see the segments of the block. Understanding that concept and being able to see the blocks in a quilt I want to make is learned much more quickly than you would think. When I can't figure it out, I bring up the picture of the quilt into Paint and mark off the blocks. Usually with a grid. Lots of times I am surprised at what the actual block is. The secondary patterns created by the blocks being sewn together creates confusion in finding the actual block(s) and is simplified with using the Paint method. I'm glad others stepped up with this pattern. I didn't even think about drawing it in quarters. That simplified the block tremendously. I would still think about paper piecing it. Matching all those points could get interesting.

Yay Profannie! Don't you love the help you can get even if it isn't quite the help you were looking for?

Indeed, this is a very enlightening experience. Thanks for your help (and for sending me the designs, they are beautiful and very inspiring). Since I'm a bit of a sloppy piecer I am absolutely considering PP it :-)

I would never be the quilter I've grown to be without this board. You never leave from here empty handed! And sometimes getting not exactly the help you wanted is the best thing that can happen :-)

In this case, I think the seam lines enhance the pattern.

On your model, distance B is slightly longer than distance A, which gives the design a slightly squared look.

Play with it a little bit - if you elongate the B lines, the design will look more square, if you shorten the B lines a bit, the design will look more circular.