The Quilt That Changed Me

How one sampler quilt opened the door to creative freedom

I can still remember the moment I stood back from my design wall, tilted my head, and thought, “Wait... this feels different.” The colors were bright, the blocks were bold, and the layout? Totally unexpected. That quilt changed everything about how I thought about quilting—and I owe it all to a Craftsy class called Magical Blocks: Out of the Box by Kimberly Einmo.

At the time, I was like a lot of quilters: comfortable with a classic grid. You know the one—NxM blocks, lined up in neat little rows, maybe with a border or two if I was feeling adventurous. It was tidy. Predictable. But it also felt... limiting.

Then I stumbled across Kimberly’s class. I thought I was signing up to learn some new blocks—and I did. She teaches everything from Flying Geese to Double Pinwheels, to Lone Stars, and more. It’s a whirlwind of half-square triangles, square-in-a-square units, and diamonds. It’s fun. It’s approachable. It’s energizing.

But it wasn’t the techniques that changed me—it was the layout.

The class encourages you to break free from the grid. You’re working with blocks of different sizes, pieced and placed in a way that’s playful and full of surprise. It was the first time I felt like I could really mix it up: rotate a block, offset a row, sneak in a strip of flying geese just because it felt right.

Something clicked.

And just like that, I found myself moving into EQ8’s Custom Set mode more often than not. Instead of choosing a fixed layout and filling it in, I was building quilts like a collage—intuitively, colorfully, joyfully.

In case you haven’t used it before, Custom Set mode in EQ8 is like a design sandbox. Unlike traditional layouts where blocks are arranged in a rigid grid, Custom Set lets you place blocks anywhere you want—at any size, in any orientation. You can drag, resize, rotate, overlap, and even mix in borders, sashings, or negative space. It’s especially powerful for sampler quilts or art quilts where you want the layout to be unique and personal, not just rows and columns. For me, it felt like moving from a coloring book to a blank canvas.

That quilt—the one from Kimberly’s class—is still with me. The colors have softened a little over the years, and there’s a bit of love-wear here and there, but it still represents a turning point. It was the quilt that gave me permission to let go of the rules. To step outside the box. To see quilting not just as a craft—but as a playground.

Want to try it yourself?

If you’re curious, you can check out the class here:
👉 Magical Blocks: Out of the Box by Kimberly Einmo on Craftsy

Craftsy charges a small monthly fee or offers a fixed price for individual classes, but I found this one more than worth it for the creative door it opened.

How about you?

Do you have a quilt that changed you? One that helped you see fabric or design or yourself in a new light?

💬 I’d love to hear about it—share in the comments, or tag me on Instagram or Facebook with #TheQuiltThatChangedMe.

Here’s to quilting outside the lines. 🧵✨

—
Christina
The Quilters Retreat