EQ the Mouse interviews Andrea Bishop - October 2009
Volume 7: It's Done!
Since Penny has already declared (“I LOVE these designs”) that the new Vol. 7 CD Quilting Designs CD is her favorite by far, I thought we'd go backstage and learn more about how the designs were drawn. I talked to Andrea Bishop, the EQ staffer who drew them all, to create the CD.
Q: Andrea, with the completion of Vol. 7 of the Quilting Designs: The Quiltmaker Collection, how would you gauge your current mood:
a) Delirious with joy
b) Exhausted
c) Bleary eyed
d) All of the above
Does “c” mean I'm sad that the project is over, or that I've been squinting at the screen too long? Both are true. In any case, I'd say “d” All of the above.
Q: Each of these quilting designs was originally published in one size, in one of the 7 Quilting Motifs books published by Quiltmaker magazine. You took the design, and redrew it, using EQ6, to make a digital file that could be printed in any size. Tell us what steps you went through to draw one design, from seeing it in the Quiltmaker book, to creating the block for the CD?
- The Graphics Department scanned all the pages from the book.
- They straightened the scan and created one image for each block.
- The borders were cropped to the outer edge and left whole for me to break up later.
- All these images and the original scans were put in a folder for me to access.
- I'd start a new EQ6 project and name it after the block/page in the book and put it in the corresponding folder.
- I'd start a new PatchDraw motif and pick which block in the book I wanted to trace first.
- I'd import that image behind my PatchDraw Motif worktable.
- The published size in the book determined the block size in EQ (and I doubled that number for the snaps).
- I'd turn on Snap to Grid and draw any guides I needed (usually an “X” from corner to corner”).
- I'd turn off Snap to Grid and make sure Snap to Node and Auto Join were the only ones turned on.
- Using the Bezier Curve tool or Freehand tool, I'd draw over portions of the block.
- Then it's up to the Shape tool to make the lines smooth and match the background image.
- Finally I use the Pick tool and Precision Bar to take that portion and flip and rotate it around (with a little math) so that the design ended up perfectly symmetrical.
- Many of the designs have repeated designs repositioned in larger blocks. Before starting the next block in the project, I'd write down the dimensions of the design, change the block size, and re-enter the dimensions. That way the flower that is in one block at 4 inches doesn't change sizes if you wreath it at 12 inches.
Q: Which were the hardest designs to draw, and why?
Borders are usually the hardest designs to draw because of the “repeats.” I'd have to slice and re-slice the image to find a repeat that works… sometimes drawing 2-6 versions before getting it right. Then there were the times when I'd get to the border and realize my original block didn't work, so I'd make the border work and then have to redraft the entire project with the new block.
You were probably thinking that I'd say the Allover Designs, but for those I determined the repeat and created an image that would work well for me. They weren't “hard”, they were just incredibly time-consuming.
Q: How did you draw the Allover Designs? I felt like I was in a Mouse Maze just following those continuous lines.
The key to the Allover Designs is getting the perfect tracing image. After that it's just patience and persistence to trace it.
I'd start with the Quiltmaker scan in my image software (Photoshop) and increase the Canvas Size to something easy like 16 inches. (That way you can print it out at 16 inches!)
Then I'd use the Shear feature to split the image in two, but make the edges line up. It lets me see how two blocks would match up side by side by focusing on the seam between them.
I'd fill in the gaps with the copies of the design and make easy curves between them to connect it all. Once I shear the image over and over (even when rotating the canvas 90 degrees) and don't notice any holes or loose threads, the tracing image is ready. The goal is to not see lines where the image used to end. Once I get there I save that image and close my image software.
One of our customers, Olivia Olgas, asked me your same question... but "how would you do it with this image...?" She sent me a copy of one of her free-motion squiggles. I did the steps above and made this little animated image to show what I mean. It's all just copy/paste, shear and rotate 90 degrees to get the image:
If you would like to try tracing the final image, click here to see the final picture.
Then right-click it and save it to your computer.
I move over to EQ6 and start a new PatchDraw Motif the same size (16 inches, 32 snaps).
I make my guides first according to the tracing image. I turn on Snap to Grid and make perfectly horizontal and vertical lines everywhere the thread touches the edge of the motif outline. You can use the Precision Bar to speed things up. Just point your mouse at where you want the line to be. Check your status bar (at the bottom of your screen for Mouse H and V). Enter the number you see. You'll have about 10 extra thousandths of wiggle room. So if the status bar says 1.69, you may need to type in 1.685 to 1.695 or so. I usually do this when I'm zoomed way in.
After placing all the lines, I save that in my Sketchbook, in case I don't finish in one sitting. I'll have the block to convert to guides tomorrow too then. After saving it in the Sketchbook, I convert it to guides.
I trace some of the design (the flowers or leaves that are repeated) with the Bezier Curve tool or Freehand tool and shape it to be smooth. I copy and paste the design all over the block. Then I draw the connecting curves between the designs.
When it comes to the edges of the motif outline, I save those for last. The whole time though, I have a Custom Set quilt on the other worktable that has the blocks set 3 across and 3 down. Each time I save an intermediate version of the motif in my Sketchbook, I go over to the Quilt Worktable and CTRL+click the block in to check my progress.
To do the edges, I use the tip below when I'm zoomed in about 4 times. If I need to split an already established design over the edge, I use the Precision Bar to place it (over the right edge or bottom edge) and write down those numbers. Then I convert that to guides and place it again in the same position with the same numbers. I zoom in about 4 times where the segment crosses the edge. I double-click to add 3 nodes: one just inside the motif outline, one just outside the motif outline, and one right on the motif outline. Then I break the 3rd node at the outline. Usually when you break a node, one end jumps away and changes your drawing. By using the extra 2 nodes, I stop the node from jumping too far (I don't always know which one will jump). Then I turn off all the snapping options and use the Shape tool and guides to reposition the jumped node back in place. I do this along the edge for all portions of that design that cross. Then I marquee select the portion that is outside the outline and change the position of one of the directions (x or y) to zero. So if the leaf is hanging over the right edge of the block, I select the stuff outside with the Pick tool and change x to 0.00. It works great.
After I have everything drawn, I move over to the quilt worktable and set my "final" design (of course it isn't final). I color the center block with purple thread and all the other blocks with orange thread. Then I check the angle that one node comes in at and the other leaves with. I want it to be a perfect tangent line on the smooth curves. After tweaking the angles and any miniscule gaps between where the threads meet, I'm done. Then I have the perfect continuous line Allover Design that can be printed in any size and match up with itself beautifully no matter what when you place them side by side by side to cover you quilt.
Phew!
Q: Can you share one drawing tip you used, that our users might never have tried?
All the Quiltmaker blocks were drawn as open PatchDraw curves. So the end and beginning of the segments do not connect.
One trick I used a lot for borders was to take that loose node and pull it off the block (at about negative 0.5 inches) and watch it snap back to the block edge.
How is that helpful? I'd do it on a horizontal guide or graph paper line. This allowed me to precisely create the repeat where the thread met up with the next block for pantograph borders and those pesky Allover Designs.
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Q: Now that you've done 7 collections, do you have a favorite?
I'd say Volume 7 is my favorite. Mostly because the continuous line designs offered more of a challenge to draw and the designs were incredibly creative and contemporary.
Q: These CDs link themselves to EQ6 so they can be used for quilt designing. In fact we're announcing a new contest with Quiltmaker magazine for virtual quilts designed in EQ6 using quilting designs from any volumes of the Quiltmaker Collection CDs. Any tips on setting the stencils onto the quilt?
I wrote all of the block sizes in the notecards. Set the blocks in the quilt according to that size.
If you're doing a border, set it on the quilt at the right size, set all the blocks in the border to make the full border square. Then take the Adjust tool and select all those border blocks with a SHIFT+Click. Move the bottom-right corner handle and make it line up with the outer edge of your border.
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Q: What sound will you make, if you hear that Quiltmaker magazine has published a Vol. 8?
I can't answer that yet. I'm still in denial that this one is over. If you catch me in a year, I'll probably say “cool, I like doing those.”