… That’s the title of American Quilt Retailer’s review on Digital Essentials by Gloria Hansen! This book has been so well recieved and we are so glad that quilters, designers, and shop owners alike are finding much success. We brought the book to Houston, sold out, and we were even selling our display copies! Here’s the rest of the AQR review: If you’ve ever tried to use any version of Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, you know it can be demanding to use. Even reading Photoshop for Dummies can be challenging, at least for me (no comments on what this must mean). Browsing Gloria Hansen’s new book Digital Essentials: The Quilt Makers Must-Have Guide to Images, Files, and More! published by The Electric Quilt Company is a revolation! She explains the “how-tos” of everything a quilter would need for photo and file handling. There’s everything from creating digital images for quilt
"Where has this book been all these years?"
Posted 11-11-2008 by Sarah | Posted in: Uncategorized
Booth Question #4 (Use my own embroidery)
Posted 11-05-2008 by Electric Quilt | Posted in: Uncategorized
4) How do I make a quilt in EQ6 with my own embroidery files? There are 2 different ways to approach this question. a) If your embroidery blocks are already stitched out – you can import a photo. (User Manual p.174) Go to LIBRARIES > Photo Library. At the bottom of the window, click Import > from Image files. Find your photo (jpeg, gif, tiff, bmp, or png format). Click Open, then Add to Sketchbook, and Close the library. Right-click your quilt toolbar and add the Set Photo tool if it isn’t on there yet. If you want the photo to fill an entire block space, set it on Layer 1 with a click. It will replace any block that is there. If you don’t want it to skew, set square photos in square spaces, or set rectangular photos in the same size rectangular spaces. If you want the photo
Booth Question #3 (Different Sized Blocks in a Quilt)
Posted 11-05-2008 by Electric Quilt | Posted in: Uncategorized
3) How do I create a quilt with different sized blocks – some rectangles, some small squares, some big squares? A new EQ6 feature is called “Create Quilt from Block.” It allows you to take a pieced block and turn it into a quilt. The only thing is – you should draw it in EasyDraw and not use anything but horizontal lines and vertical lines. Anything with a diagonal line or curve will not appear in the menu. Here are some examples of what are good blocks and what are bad blocks for this menu feature. Keep in mind – this is your layout. Draw your grid and then save the block in your Sketchbook. Switch over to the quilt worktable and click QUILT > Create Quilt from Block. Only the blocks that meet the criteria will appear in the left column. Choose a size that works with the layout
November – Kaleidoscope Collectors
Posted 11-05-2008 by Electric Quilt | Posted in: Uncategorized
Booth Question #2 (Quick Fun Appliqué)
Posted 11-04-2008 by Electric Quilt | Posted in: Uncategorized
2) I’m working on a Ricky Tims quilt and I’m just wondering if there’s a fast way of getting some fun appliqué to put on top. If you’ve gone through the EQ6 Appliqué Drawing book, you’ll know from the first few lessons that you can take just about anything from the library and turn it into something else. Start a new EQ6 project and call it “Flare”. Go into the Block Library and copy out anything that looks like it has fun lines. View your Sketchbook Blocks section. Edit the first block. On the Applique tab, select one part of the drawing with the Pick tool. Click EDIT > Copy. Click BLOCK > New Block > PatchDraw Motif. Click EDIT > Paste. Edit the drawing however you like. Color it on the Color tab. Click Add to Sketchbook. Do this for all the blocks you “see something in”. Here are
Booth Question #1 (Digitize Quiltmaker Designs?)
Posted 11-04-2008 by Electric Quilt | Posted in: Uncategorized
Thanks for visiting us in our booth at Market & Festival. For those of you who save your questions for once a year, when I’m sitting there at the demo table, don’t forget you can email techsupport@electricquilt.com, call us at 419-352-1134 (M-F, 9-5 EST), or post questions on the forums to have your question answered sooner. If it’s one of those things where we might not be able to help with the design without seeing it, don’t forget you can email or fax (419-352-4332) pictures too. So this is the first of fifteen questions I got at least 2-3 times while we were there. I am going to post the steps and tips here on the blog, so you can refer to them whenever you want. 1) How do I digitize the Quiltmaker Quilting Designs for my own personal use? The Quiltmaker stencils are all open patches drawn on the
Downtown Houston – can't wait 'til next year
Posted 11-04-2008 by Electric Quilt | Posted in: Uncategorized
Wow. We just got back from Quilt Market and Festival. The overall consensus from our EQ group is that Houston (despite Hurricane Ike) is prettier than when we left it last year. Seriously. Those old parking lots in front of the convention center have been replaced by a green area, with some large grass areas, a pond with water lilies, fountains and more. There’s even a new café and restaurant in there. It’s fun having snacks in the “Treehouse” and staring out across the lawns watching flag football or little, giggling kids being chased around on the grass by their parents. The cool part is a lot of it is on top of an underground parking garage… so there’s still parking available. Some evenings you can listen in on concerts in the park or go to a farmer’s market. On our way to the hotel or dinner every night, we’d