Ask EQ! - September 2008
Technical questions answered this month by EQ the Mouse
Q: Just who are you Mr. Mouse?
A: Thank you for asking. I am the official EQ Mascot. I have held this position since a winter night in 1993 when Penny noticed me running across her desk and hired me on the spot. At that time the EQ headquarters was housed in the basement of the Neumann/McMorris residence. I had come in from the woods for a bit of warmth and to see if Penny had left lunch crumbs behind. She took me by surprise, we both screamed, then she invited me to join the technical support department of Sara, Andrea and Penny.
So my job is to collect questions from you and to answer them, at times with their help. Do you have a question? If so, send it to the Tech Support email address (techsupport@electricquilt.com). Subject: Ask EQ. I'll answer your question, and you may see it in one of my columns.
September 2008 note from EQ the Mouse: Thanks to everyone who has entered my “EQ the Mouse Hunt” contest so far. I can't wait to announce who won my EQ prize package, including a pin with my picture. Wear it proudly. I wish I had a pin with your picture on it...
Q: How can I save a Template print preview, so I can email it to a friend?
What you need is software that can make a PDF file for you. If you do not have that now, one free PDF program I have downloaded, installed and used (it's very easy) is PDF 995. http://www.pdf995.com/
Once you have software that can make a PDF file, you would get into EQ6 and do this:
1 Click FILE > Page Setup > Printer.
2 Choose the PDF program as your printer.
3 Now set up and display your template print preview just as you want it, then print as you normally would. Instead of your printout printing on paper, your print preview will be made into a PDF file
This PDF file of the template print preview pages, with the templates sizes and oriented just as you displayed them, can be emailed. And whoever receives this file can print out the templates by opening and printing the file.
Q: I like the tips that appear when I open EQ6. Is there any way to print all these tips out?
Yes. We have them here on our web site: http://www.electricquilt.com/Support/FAQ/eq6FAQ/eq6_tips.asp
You can read them all here, or print them from the PDF file.
Q: Where can I find directions for making a quilt label?
In EQ6: click VIDEOS > Simple Tasks > Making a Quilt Label.
Full instructions for using the Set Applique Text tool, which you use in typing your label words, are on pages 172 – 173 in the EQ6 User Manual. To make a label, you just type on an Custom Set quilt (on Layer 2) layout with a pretty border.
Q: I am trying to make a label for a quilt. I can't see the words as I am typing and I can't figure out how to change colors of either the words or the background. Help?
It sounds like white may be the color that’s set for your letters and you can’t see white text on a white background.
Here’s what to do: click the Paintbrush tool before you bring up the Set Applique Text tool. With the Paintbrush tool selected you’ll be able to pick a color, such as black, that you can easily see. Next, choose the Set Applique Text Tool. Now when you type your letters will be colored with the color you’ve just selected and you’ll see your words.
To change the color of the background, you’d need to be on the layer on which the background was set – for example, if you had a plain block set on Layer 1, you could go back to Layer 1 and recolor that block.
But if your layout style is Custom Set, and you’re working with the plain Custom Set background, you can’t color that blank background. You’d need to set a plain block the size of the whole blank background. Then you could, on Layer 1, recolor the plain block behind your text.
Q: I’m trying to add a whole bunch of small blocks around my border, but EQ6 stops me from adding more than 24. Any way to add more blocks to my border?
Yes. You can make EQ6 allow you to add more block spaces to your border OR quilt, by changing the Quilt options.
1 Click QUILT > Options > Layout Options > All Styles.
2 Here, change the “Maximum number of blocks horizontally and vertically” from 24 to 200. This should give you lots more design freedom.
Q: Is it possible to bring a project from “The Best of Quilter’s Newsletter” to EQ6?
Yes, it is possible to take a project from The Best of Quilters Newsletter into EQ6:
The project files are found inside the Best of 2007 folder. The default location for the files is (My) Documents\EQ QuiltBook Series\Quilters Newsletter\Best of 2007\
To use these projects in EQ6, we recommend that you make a copy of these projects in your PJ6 folder for EQ6. The default location for those files is (My) Documents\My EQ6\PJ6\. This will give you two copies of each project, one to use in EQ6 and one to use in this program.
Any changes that you make to the project files in EQ6 will not be reflected in Quilters Newsletter: The Best of 2007 if you open the project files you changed in EQ6 in this program again.
Q: How do I make a Zig Zag quilt – the strip quilt with on-point blocks in rows in which each row’s blocks are a half-drop from the rows beside it so it forms a zig zag?
It’s easy. The only trick is knowing the strips styles to use, and how to make sure the blocks are square. Let’s say I want 9” square blocks.
Make the setting:
- Click QUILT > New Quilt > Vertical Strip.
- Click the Layout tab. In order to make this quilt’s design symmetrical, you need an uneven number of strips. So perhaps try out 5 or 7 strips in your quilt.
- For strip style: alternate these 2 styles: Diamonds and Drop Diamonds
So Strip 1 might be Diamonds > Strip 2: Drop Diamonds > Strip 3: Diamonds > Strip 4: Drop Diamonds > Strip 5: Diamonds.
- For strip size: Multiply your desired block size (9.00” in our example) X 1.414.
This gives you the diagonal size of your block. Your block will be on point, so it’s the diagonal measurement you need.
9” x 1.414 = 12.726” so I’d round this to: 12.75” (the diagonal size of my 9” blocks)
So each of my strips need to be 12.75” wide.
- For strip length: Multiply your strip width (12.75” in our example) X the number of blocks you want. (For our example I want 5 blocks.)
5 blocks X 12.75” = 63.75”
So my strips need to be 63.75” long to make sure my blocks are square.
That should make a zig zag setting. Use this “formula” for making your own, with any number of strips, and size of blocks.
Q: In EasyDraw, I’m getting coloring leaks. I know this is because I have nodes that are not connected to other nodes at Snap points. But how do I find which nodes are not connected?
I’ve asked my friend Barb Vlack for help with this. Barb writes:
One of my favorite ways to troubleshoot for line connections in EasyDraw is to go first to BLOCK>Drawing Board Setup>EasyDraw>Customization>EasyDraw Node Select.
Put a check next to "Select all nodes at a given point when editing." OK.
On the EasyDraw drawing board, you can go to the point where two lines should intersect. If there is a node there, click on the node and ALL lines that are connected at that node will highlight, so you know they are joined at that node. If they are not joined, doodle around with the line ends a little until they DO connect.
If there is no node at the intersection between two lines, click Add to Sketchbook. That act will automatically create nodes at intersections and thereby segment lines. This is a helpful thing.
Do you have a question? Send it to Ask
the Mouse (techsupport@electricquilt.com).
