Square in a Square is my second favorite quilt from my book Machine Quilting with Style. (Click here to find out which one is my favorite.) I really tried to play with alternate grids and negative space when I designed this quilt. I combined two of my go-to motifs when quilting it: free-motion boxes and walking foot square spirals. I love that it includes a bit of both methods I teach in the book.
Square in a Square is currently being exhibited in the modern category of the Pacific International Quilt Festival and it hung at Road to California earlier in the year. I love entering my quilts into shows so they can be seen by a wider audience. 🙂
Square in a Square 60″ x 60″ by Christa Watson. Photography by Brent Kane for Martingale.
Imagine the Possibilities
My BQF (Best Quilting Friend) Stacy from Farm Road Quilts made this fun version which is is just perfect for Halloween! During the original blog hop a year ago, a bunch of my friends each remade one of the quilts from the book. Click here to see all of the variations – they are so fun!
Square in a Square made by Stacy Cooper of Farm Road Quilts.
I design all of my quilts in EQ7 and I have embraced my inner control freak that needs to know exactly what it’s going to look like even before I begin, LOL!! So here are a couple more fun variations that I came up with, using Amanda Murphy’s playful Sewing Room collection for Benartex.
I think using the light gray background is probably more my style, but I wanted to push the envelope and see how fun and it would look using the sewing machine fabric as the background combined with funky bright solids.
Click here to get some of this fun fabric!!
Do you recognize what kind of sewing machine that is? Amanda is a BERNINA ambassador just like me, so I’m sure that influenced her artwork. Hmmm. maybe a smaller version of this would make a perfect sewing machine cover for my BERNINA!! 🙂
Giveaway Time! Win EQ Mini!!
Speaking of designing in EQ7, my good friends at The Electric Quilt Company recently released their latest software, EQ Mini. It’s a scaled down, less expensive version of EQ. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to get their feet wet designing their own quilts, but isn’t sure where to start.
One winner will receive either a boxed physical copy or an email code to download directly from the website, so that means this giveaway is open to everyone! To enter, leave a comment letting me know if you’ve ever designed your own quilt. For a bonus entry, share a picture of it in my Facebook group at Quilt with Christa.
And now it’s time to congratulate last week’s winner’s, Bec B. and Sharon T. who each won a copy of 180 Doodle Quilting Designs. It’s been so fun to read all of your comments each week and see the quilts you are making!
Click here to purchase a signed copy of Machine Quilting with Style.
Click here to see all of the quilts from the book.
Christa Quilts 
I have never designed my own quilt, though I would love to!! I recently borrowed some graph paper from my daughter to try designing, but found it frustrating. It would be amazing to design with a program!! I would be thrilled to win this! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have designed my own quilts on graph paper… The old fashioned way. But I would love to win EQ mini to try it out!
I’ve designed-as-I-go a few small quilts, a couple of them still WIPs, but would love the chance to play with EQ7.
No I haven’t ever designed by own quilt before but I want to.
I would love to win EQ7! I’ve color photocopied fabric and cut up the photocopies to see how it would look in different squares and layouts, but EQ7 would be much better! I started quilting 3 years ago and have made a few quilts, but none of my own designs yet – although I have ideas, and look forward to working on them!
yes I have 2 of them and I loved doing it
I’ve designed my own quilt once called Beach Balls In the Sand. I used tropical florals , sandal and sunglass prints and appliquéd large circles to a whole cloth. I then quilted the sand wavy and each ball had a different design.
Christa, thank you for this awesome giveaway. I’ve wanted to try EQ software for years, but couldn’t justify the cost. This new light version may be just what I need. I’ve drafted many quilts by hand after seeing inspiration on various websites or at quilt shows. I rarely make a quilt exactly as the pattern instructs, as I like to make the quilt my own. Thank you for your wonderful blog, tutorials, and books.
I’ve designed four or five quilts. Glad you asked the question, because I hadn’t realized I’d done so many.
I’ve designed my own quilts, usually using Photoshop. I’m sure EQ7 would be easier.
I haven’t designed any of my own quilts but am interested in trying.
I never designed blocks. but I designed the arrangement of simple blocks to make a design in itself. I Would like to experiment with EQ.
This would be a wonderful addition to the project I have planned to have done by Christmas, (this year). Thank you for the chance of winning this addition software.
I have designed a few quilts for young relatives: one is a dinosaur quilt for my nephew, based on a center panel; the other is a comfort quilt for my niece with a Minkee backing for comfort while her mother was dying from breast cancer. I am still a beginning quilter…and very slow. The piecing is easy since I started sewing at an early age. I’m drawing on your books to help me improve my quilting…thanks!
What a spectacular giveaway! I would love a mini version of EQ software, because it would make it easy to visualize different ways to assemble quilt blocks and to try different colors. I use a graph paper notebook, which is labor-intensive and, given my so–called skills, not always very reliable!
Yes,I have designed several quilts myself. They have been very simple and I would love the chance to use the software. It looks like fun. It also gives one an opportunity to become creative. Thanks.
I have never created my own quilt but I would love to. Thank you for the giveaway!!!
Yes, I’ve designed two quilts of my own. But never with software!
I have designed a quilt back…. baby steps… I’ve enlarged a pattern twin to queen sized that felt like i was ‘designing’ as i went. Happy to see a new smaller version of EQ, as I’m not very computer capable, I see baby steps again.
I design most of my own quilts but I do not have a computer design program. Pencil and grid paper are my tools but I would love to learn this software! cotten.gloria@gmail.com
During the last two years I started to design my own quilts. Because of the prize I could never overcome to by EQ7 and I am still using paper and pencils.
The second quilt I made I designed myself but it was very simple with pinwheel blocks. I kind of made it up as I went along. Then I just followed patterns until last summer when I designed a block for the new bloggers block hop. I’ll hare that quilt top in your facebook group. I’ve never designed with EQ7…I’ve used pen and paper and Quiltography. I’m still taking baby steps but I’m sure I’ll design more of my own quilts.
I am a beginning quilter, so I have not designed anything on my own from the start. I did modify one of your designs by moving the quilt blocks around to create a different look.
I’ve just recently started doodling designs on graph paper and have started to bring one to life – it’s in my WIP pile! I’ve been wanting to try EQ7 but can’t get over the price tag…if I don’t win this I’ll have to check out their ‘mini’ option…
EQ7 Has been on my wishlist for a couple years. I’ve never designed my own quilt but I do think about it. I think having the mini version would be a great introduction in designing my own quilts.
I love the black background behind the primary blocks!
I have designed my own quilts, mostly of the “art quilt” variety. It would be fun to work with software to design more in a different way. Thanks for the giveaway.
I haven’t designed a quilt completely but I’ve combined or altered patterns to achieve the results I wanted.
No, I’ve never designed my own quilt. But I do support quilt designers by buying their patterns! 🙂
I often design my quilts rather than follow an existing pattern. What fun to do it in EQ rather than the graph paper and colored pencils method!
It was “just” a rag quilt for my infant grandson, but I knew a I spy would be neat as he grew and it is. But what I am pretty happy about is that I was able to make the back into a simple checkerboard with a stripe and dots and make them all go the same way. Look good!!
I always thought that designing quilts was for the really talented and creative people!
Have a Blessed Day
Carmen President St Theresa CWL Sent from my iPad
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I’ve never used a pattern for a quilt, LOL. I would LOVE to have something that would make designing a little easier! Thank you so much for the chance to win!
I’ve never designed my own quilt but would love to give it a go!
Yes, I have designed my own quilt but only on graph paper. I would love to learn how to use the EQ Mini.
I have been quilting for 35 years and I have designed a few quilts. I’m not very good at documenting them and most have been gifted. I do have one that has no other quilt inspiring it. I had seen a photograph of a Japanese garden that had all fallen gingko leaves with just a few random Japanese maple blown in. The color combo was very striking and I designed my own version.
Lovely quilts, Christa.
I’m fairly new to quilting and, at first, didn’t realize that there were quilt patterns I could purchase. I would draw out my ideas and sew. Not much was square or even. EQ Mini sounds like a good fit for me. I could design on the computer, first!
I always thought that EQ was for designing traditional quilts. Following you for the past few years, I now see that modern quilts are designed on EQ! love your blog and your quilts ❤
I have been making mini quilts for babies at a neonatal intensive care unit . My goal was to do one per week this year. I have designed many of these using improv piecing and several other design ideas. EQ mini would be a great assist to take my ideas to a larger scale! Thanks for the chance to win.
I bought EQ4 years ago and then basically never did anything with it. My designs are done on scraps of paper, usually, so something more organized would probably be a good idea.
I took your class at EQ Academy last spring to learn how to use EQ7. Now I am designing quilts using the program. Still haven’t made the transition from computer to sewing machine but keep going back to your books for inspiration.
Love your book! It has helped to reignite my interest in quilting. I have not really designed my own but rather have improvised off of patterns. All my planning to date has been on loose leaf paper. Designing and testing quilt ideas on the computer sounds amazing (like checking out possible paint colors in your house before you put it on the walls).
Graph paper has been a good tool for me. I’ve designed several quilts through the years. Haven’t tried to design on a computer yet.
I am sure they will love your book, struggled greatly trying to quilt until I bought it.
Mini EQ sounds a good idea as personally I could not afford the full version.
I would love to win. I use others for inspiration but I always have to create my own. Thanks for offering this.
I haven’t used software to design a quilt. I’m proud of the quilt I designed for my grandson. He requested one that featured something to do with Rubic’s Cube. I posted it on your Facebook..
I like your SIS quilts. Let’s you see the blocks quite clearly. I’d love to have EQ. I have to design my quilts with graph paper, the old fashioned way. It’s OK but time consuming.
when i very first sttarted quilting, i designed two baby quilts, one with greenand yellow giraffes for one grandson, and the second with pastel color ballons floating all over for a granddaughter. both were full of mistakes but much loved by the receipients! thanks for the giveaway.
when i very first sttarted quilting, i designed two baby quilts, one with greenand yellow giraffes for one grandson, and the second with pastel color ballons floating all over for a granddaughter. both were full of mistakes but much loved by the receipients! thanks for the giveaway.
2016-10-14 7:01 GMT+03:00 Christa Quilts :
> Christa posted: “Square in a Square is my second favorite quilt from my > book Machine Quilting with Style. (Click here to find out which one is my > favorite.) I really tried to play with alternate grids and negative space > when I designed this quilt. I combined two of my go-” >