Wow! 10 weeks of Sunday Stitch all ready!  My goodness the time is really going by fast.

Time is the number one commodity I can never quite get a grasp on.  It seems like I am always rushing to get things accomplished.  Somedays, I think I have a moment of brillance hit me but I don’t have time to develop it right then.  So here is a little tip I will share with you  if you have the same problem of time getting away from you.

I have a project file I created called ‘practice folder’.  I set it up in my EQStitch and then when an idea hits me, I quickly try to work out a simple design with the idea I have and place it in the sketchbook in my ‘practice folder’ project file.  This way I can go back and open the sketchbook and look at what I was thinking about later when I have some more time to develop the idea into a complete project.  This is the same project folder I use when a student asks a question about a design they are having trouble with.  I open my practice project  and see if I can work through their design and get the same results they are having.  From there I can do screen captures and show them a picture of what it is I am trying to explain to them.  A picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to explaining digitizing.  This is why I include videos in my EQUniversity classes.  If the words don’t make sense, the video will clarify what it is I am doing.  This is also a good thing to do when you are creating a design for someone else.  You can quickly create a design and color it and then send them a screen capture image of what you are doing.  If they want it to look a little different, you can edit it before you being your stitching.

1.  Launch your EQStitch program from the desktop.

2.  Create a new project name.  I called mine ‘practice folder’. Click ‘OK’ in the bottom of the box.

I often change the properties for  the program and the drawing board options when I am creating new items I want to practice with.  Each time I go to my practice folder project, I start by resetting the defaults for the program.

3.  Click on FILE>Preferences.  In the preference box, restore the defaults for the program.

The program will close while it resets the defaults.

4.  Re-launch the program and click on the ‘open an existing project’, click on the project name to select it, and click on ‘OK’ to open the folder with the default settings.

Now I have the practice project folder open with the defaults set so I can begin designing.  I work out both quilt and embroidery designs in this same folder and save them to the sketchbook.

I often refer back to this sketchbook to remind myself of potential ideas I want to develop further.