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Volume 8, No. 2, Winter 2001/2002
View Other Floppy Gazettes

CONTENTS: Announcements - Ask EQ - Free Stuff - Works For Me - Show & Tell - Quilt University - One-Patch Templates - Connecting Threads Round Robin Project.

Works for Me
Tips and "Odd EQ Uses" from EQ Users

[Debra's Christmas Tree]

Debra Weber, of Wheeling, Illinois, used EQ to help decorate "quilters Christmas trees. "I bought mini Christmas wreaths from Hobby Lobby in two sizes. They were wired together, and I "undid"them with pliers. Then I had mini wood flower pots and mixed up a batch of plaster of Paris and filled the little pots. While the plaster was still wet I stuck a craft stick (aka Popsicle stick) into each one and let it dry. Next I painted the pot and the plaster across the top of the pot in a reddish color. Then I hot glued three branches in descending sizes on the craft stick. (Here comes the EQ part) I made a project file of quilt blocks that I wanted to use as ornaments, colored the blocks in red, green and blue and exported each block.

Next, I opened MS word and pasted each block, one at a time, and formatted each picture (block) to .46 of an inch. (That's right, these blocks are less than a 1/2 inch each.) I used a blue and gold Lemoyne star for the top of the tree. I needed 9 blocks for each tree, but I think I made over 11 different blocks and they all fit across the word page in one row. I highlighted and copied the row of mini blocks, hit the return key a couple of times then pasted another row, and so on till the page was full. After the page was printed I ran it through my Xyron laminator, then changed cartridges and ran it through the adhesive cartridge and put on a layer of heavy card stock on the back. I glued little gold hooks from the mini tree section of the craft store, but you could just glue the blocks to the branches to save time. And if you don't have a xyron you can use peel and stick laminate and regular extra tack glue. You can also substitute the candle cups for the flower pots or a spool, but then I would use a dowel stick instead of a craft stick."

Eileen Allen also used EQ to make holiday decorations. "Last week I set up my gingerbread house display (the house is made of fabric not dough), and I decided since I was using the new red, white and blue M& M's as the path to the house, I should give Santa an American flag to hold. I looked in EQ, found a flag, colored the blue field with a blue with stars fabric and then printed it out. I made it 2x2", and cut the pole a little larger and glued it to a tooth pick. It worked great. Santa looks very patriotic holding his flag as he climbs into the chimney."

Arlene Bauman of Papua, New Guinea reports the first use of EQ as a design tool for a musical instrument. "When my husband (a computer type) and I were trying to design a soundhole pattern for the mountain dulcimer I was building he realized he didn't have any good programs that would do what he wanted to do. Then he thought of EQ. He used the bezier curves in Easy Draw to design the soundholes that now beautifully grace my dulcimer!"

Angela "Dawsie" Herremans, of Sydney, Australia, used EQ to design folk art placemats for her friend's wedding present. "I was after a design for painting that was lace-like and looked like a fan. After playing with EQ awhile I had some great designs for folk art painting. I have two finished so far, and my Art Class teacher has them on display in her shop."

[Ingrid's decoupage box]

Ingrid Jensen of Samso, Denmark, uses EQ-printed blocks as paper for decoupage decorations. She pastes her printouts onto boxes, and "other things needing a bit decoration....I glue the paper on the items with a certain glue several times and it makes it shiny and easy to clean too if neccesary."

One of Ingrid's beautiful decoupage boxes is shown at left.

Nancy Welsch, of Jackson, Mississippi, writes: "I've used PatchDraw several times to move furniture "virtually", without damaging my back, the floors, or my patience when things don't fit after I've moved them. The hardest part is measuring all the furniture first. I don't move it much any more, but they used to run and hide when they'd see my eyes "flit around the room."

Pilar Donoso, of Santiago, Chile, also uses EQ to check her floorplan. "I just moved to another apartment, and I used EQ4 to see the width of my curtains and where to put my furniture. I measured every room and made a Country Set quilt out of every room. First I drew the windows and doors, and then I measured my furniture to see the best spot for each piece. I carried my printout of EQ Rooms in my purse, and every time I went to the hardware store, I had all the information ready. It was much easier to figure the amount of paint for all the rooms and how much fabric to buy for the curtains. I even bought a couple of chairs and a rug, knowing that they would fit."

Joann Korzenko, of Cleveland, Ohio writes, "I thought I'd send you my latest use for EQ. My flag pin. It's 2" x 3" and paper pieced (approximately 1/8" stripes and yep, all thirteen are there. I've been making dozens and passing them out and mailing them all over the country to friends. My bank is boasting about them, our local library has them, and now I am getting requests from other local banks who want them. I haven't charged a dime for any of them, just glad to share the spirit and good will that they invoke in everyone. I just wanted to share with you my latest "NON QUILT" done in EQ.

Sherry Herringshaw, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, writes: "This past year my 11 year old, Ryan, was working on a school social studies project on water. It included a large display board with various pictures. To add something unusual, he went into EQ and designed some water drops, colored then blue and printed out the drops to a size he needed. He then cut out the drops and used them on his display board. I am proud to say he placed both at school and regionally with his project."

Chris Kramer of Kent, Washington, uses EQ4 with her CreataCard program. "I design a whole quilt and then take a snapshot of it with my little camera icon on the left side of the screen, save it to my Clipboard, then paste it onto my greeting card. I can then put it on any page, resize, reshape, rotate, and/or add text. I also drop blocks that way, add text to write template/pattern names, color/fabric names, how many to cut, etc. I can copy and paste in that program too, which is helpful. It's a blast."

Marje Rhine, of Boring, Oregon, uses EQ to design and resize her longarm quilting patterns. "My machine is not computerized, so I simply print from EQ then use the printed copy under the laser on the longarm."

click here to see larger picture

click here to see larger picture

Hancey Hansen, of Atascadero, California, made an Indian quilt for her son, Philip, by importing a picture. "He picked Indians from his favorite coloring book...I should have figured! I scanned the Indians then used PatchDraw. I think I got a little carried away (it was so fun getting those little lines to do what I wanted them to do!)

I finally got all the little pieces drawn and cut out (what a chore!) then used "Steam a Seam" to place the pieces where I wanted them. I hand-appliquéd them down (thanks to Ami Simms and her Invisible Appliqué book). The small white feathers around the Indians feet are flannel, so they look fluffy, like real eagle feathers. There is also thread embellishment for their necklaces."

Barb Hamrin, of Falmouth, Massachusetts, uses images from EQ4 in her embroidery program for the Bernina Deco 600's Deco Wizard program. "I take my picture in EQ (I have a special folder set up for bmps). Then I go into Paint and change the image to 16bmp (needed for the Wizard). I open the Wizard and bring the 16bmp into the program and go from there. I use the blocks on my labels to match the block on the quilt. Now am going to try quilt stencils. Bernina has a disk with stencils for $149, but I bet I can do it from EQ just fine."

Livy Ogas, of Salt Lake City, Utah, used EQ to help her lay out shelves in her fabric closet. "Then I was able to buy the correct number of bookshelves and mounting hardware. I have also used EQ extensively to document how to make a certain quilt for classes and to make up patterns. A picture is worth a thousand words, you know."

Peggy Raley, of Boerne, Texas, used EQ to make a three-dimensional wall stencil design. Here's how she did it: She started with a stencil design from EQ. First she printed the design onto transparency film, or mylar. Next, she cut out what needed to be cut out. For example, "If you used the stencil design in the Hearts quilting stencils and cut out the first and third hearts you will have to leave a bit of joining at the top and the bottom." Next she taped the stencil/transparency to the wall. Next, she used joint compound to create the look of grout. "Just smear the joint compound on top of the stencil, carefully remove the stencil, and lo and behold there is a stencil design on the wall."

CONTENTS: Announcements - Ask EQ - Free Stuff - Works For Me - Show & Tell - Quilt University - One-Patch Templates - Connecting Threads Round Robin Project.

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