EQ the Mouse

Our mascot, EQ the Mouse, answers frequently asked questions, with some help from author, Barb Vlack (whose book, EQ5 Quilt Design is coming soon.).

Quilting - Printing - Quilt Design - Copyright - Drawing - Projects

Quilting

Q: When choosing a color thread for my quilting stencils (red, for example) the quilting then shows as a checkered red and white color. Why?

A: You are just seeing the dashed quilting lines that EQ5 has. The lines are dashed to represent quilted lines, rather than solid lines. Part of the line remains white, no matter what color you change the other part of the line to.

If you prefer to have a solid colored line, do this:

1 Click Layer 2.

2 Set the uncolored block drawing on Layer 2 of your quilt. (To get the uncolored block drawing -- click the arrows beneath the blocks in the Blocks palette until you see the uncolored block drawing show.) You will now have solid block lines on your quilt.

3 Click the Thread tool.

4 Click a solid color (not a print fabric) in the Fabrics palette to choose a color for the block outlines.

5 Click the block outlines in the quilt. They will change to the color you've selected, and will be solid, rather than dashed.

Q: I am trying to create quilting stencils on EQ5, but I always get a block surrounding the stencil. How do I remove the block? For example, a heart has a block around it, but all I want is the heart.

A: You can remove the block outline from appliqué blocks (drawn using PatchDraw) but not pieced blocks (drawn using EasyDraw). What's the difference? In appliqué blocks, such as your heart example, the heart is laid on top of a plain block of fabric. You can get rid of the plain block of fabric while still keeping the heart.

But if you had a pieced heart (such as a foundation heart pattern) that was going to be pieced, each part of the block, including the outer edge, is needed to create that heart design. You can't get rid of the block outside or you won't have a block anymore.

To delete the outline from an appliqué block:

1 Click the Select tool.

2 Click the block outline.

3 Press your keyboard DELETE key.

4 Click Save in Sketchbook.

Printing

Q: How can I print out foundation piecing flying geese 4.50 x 2.50? I chose the size of the block: 4.50"x 2.50" and it prints out 6"x6".

A: You didn't click the Options tab and set a size. You thought that because you had sized the block on the quilt that EQ5 would remember that size. It will, but only if you click the "Size from quilt" box before printing.

There are three places in EQ5 to set block sizes:

1 Drawing Board Setup. When you click BLOCK - Drawing Board Setup and change the block size there, you're only doing that to help you draw. For example, you may want the ruler to show a certain size, so you know how to find the center of your block. Or you may want to change the drawing board square to a rectangle, because you're drawing a sash block. This size is not remembered when you print.

2 On the quilt. When you set the block into the quilt you give it a size. This size is remembered, but only if you click the "Size from quilt" box beneath the Hor and Ver size boxes when you are printing.

3 When you print. You have two choices here: 1) You can type the block size in the Hor and Ver size boxes. OR 2) You can click the Select tool, click the block you've set on the quilt, and then click the "Size from quilt" box beneath the Hor and Ver size boxes. This tells EQ5 "print the block the same size that I've set it on the quilt."

Why does EQ5 not remember the size you set in the Drawing Board Setup? Because if it did, you would need to redraw the same block each time you wanted to use it in a different size. Because the computer can rescale any block -- no block has any size until you print it. It will print whatever size is in the Hor and Ver size boxes (these are on the Options tab when printing foundations) unless you click Size from quilt. 6.00 X 6.00 is the default size -- the size it will print unless you tell it a size.

Q: I'm printing an on-point border block, and have "Size from quilt" checked. Why does the block size seem wrong?

A: EQ5 is still measuring horizontally and vertically, even though the block is on point. Therefore it shows you the Hor and Ver size across the center of the block rather than the diagonal size along the side of the block, because the block is on point. Print the block out and measure it, and you'll see it's the perfect size.

Q: My colored block printouts have jagged lines. Can I fix this?

A: Foil the "jaggies" by changing your print quality. Click FILE - Preferences - Print Quality. Try quality 4.

Print quality is also useful when printing quilts colored with fabric prints. The higher the quality, the smaller the fabric print scale. Changing print quality allows you to play with the way fabric appears in your printouts.

Quilt Design

Q: How do I center a block on a Custom layout?

A: To center a block on your quilt, you need to know the:

- size of your overall quilt center (not including the borders)

- size of the block

Take half the size of the quilt center. This tells you the exact center of the quilt.

Subtract half the size of your block. This tells you where the left side of your block should be.

Use the number arrows on the left side of the Graph Pad - which determine location -- to place the left side of your block where it should be. Your block will now be centered.

Q: I colored a block and saved it, but why don't I see my coloring in the Sketchbook?

A: Have you clicked on the colorings arrows beneath the block? Please try this:

1 Open EQ5.

2 Click Cancel to put away the Open/New box.

3 Get a block from the Block Library.

4 Click the View Sketchbook button - click the Blocks tab.

5 Your block should be selected. Click the Edit button on the Sketchbook.

6 Click the Color tab.

7 Color your block with prints.

8 Click Save in Sketchbook.

9 Click the View Sketchbook button.

10 Click the Blocks tab (if necessary). You will see your block. Look beneath the block - you'll see Block 1 of 1; Colorings (some number - I don't know what you'll see for the first number) of 3. The block will have 3 colorings - 2 are the colorings that all library blocks have (one grayscale; one multicolor). The third coloring is the coloring you made and saved. To see your coloring, click the forward pointing arrows until you see your coloring. Experiment with these arrows to see what they show you.

Left-most arrow: shows you the block drawing

Second arrow: shows you the previous coloring

Third arrow: shows you the next coloring

Fourth arrow: shows you the last coloring

These same Colorings arrows are found on the Blocks palette so that you can see all of your colorings on the block when you are setting blocks into your quilt.

Up to 10 colorings get stacked on one block. This saves computer memory, and also keeps you from having a new block formed each time you color any patch on the quilt.

If you do not want EQ5 to stack colorings, and you would prefer a new block each time you colored a block, you can change this by clicking FILE - Preferences - General tab - change the "Maximum number of colorings on a block" from 10 to 1 - click OK. You will now get a new block drawing each time you color and save a block in the Sketchbook.

Q: I'm making a memory quilt. Why do my photos look so bad on the screen?

A: It's probably the resolution of your photograph bitmap file. If you are going to print the photograph out onto fabric, you want the resolution to be high, but this may make the photo look odd on your quilt. Here's the whole scoop:

Bitmaps are made of individual dots, or pixels, that are arranged and colored differently to form a pattern. It’s important to remember that the quality of your printout is dependent on the decisions you make early in the process of your project. The size of your scanned picture, the size you intend to print the picture, and the resolution of the bitmap are all important factors in producing a high quality printout.

Most of the software packages give options for setting the resolution and color depth. Fabric scans work best in EQ5 with a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch) and 256 colors. Settings greater than this are not appreciated on-screen or in your printouts. For pictures, you may want to increase both of these settings.

If you increase the resolution of your bitmap, it may not look as acceptable on the screen as it does on the printout. This is because your screen is not capable of displaying as many dots as your printer is capable of printing. Your screen displays 96 dots per inch (at 800x600) and your laser printer will print 300 dots per inch or more. The picture you print from EQ5 will print at the resolution you set when you created the image. This is why we suggest spending some time experimenting first.

IMPORTANT: If your picture does not look as pretty on-screen as you like, it may print beautifully. If you zoom in on a small section of an image like this, you’ll see a much sharper image and have a better understanding of what will likely print.

If your goal is to make a really nice on-screen image, then a lower resolution picture may be sufficient. If you zoom in on a small section of an image like this, you’ll find that your picture looks very coarse — even to the point of seeing the individual pixels that make up your bitmap.

Understanding the relationship between the resolution of your bitmap image and your various output devices — monitor or printer will go a long way in helping you achieve consistent results using pictures in EQ5. Saving your bitmaps in 16-bit, true color, will also improve the quality of the pictures you print from EQ5. Again, 256 colors will be sufficient for on-screen images. You’ll want high color for your printouts.

Bitmaps saved at a high resolution and with high color will require more hard disk space on your computer and in your EQ5 project file. Multiple pictures in your project will greatly “bloat” the file size of your project. It is strongly recommended that you delete any unused pictures in the final save of your project.

Copyright

Q: Are the blocks in EQ5's Block Library copyrighted?

A: The Electric Quilt Company does not claim copyright for any quilt blocks. What we do hold copyright to is the software itself, which means you should not lend or copy the software.

Any blocks that we design are copyright free. Any blocks that someone else designs are not copyright free.

For EQ4 and EQ5: We ask you not to use the dozen or so blocks designed by two individuals: Debbie Sichel and Rita Denenberg. These are clearly marked. Other than that request, you are free to use any other blocks in EQ4 or EQ5 copyright free. You do not need to mention that the pattern was made in EQ5 (we love it if you do, of course).

Sew Precise 1 & 2 is also copyright free except for the file "From our Friends" designed by EQ users.

Sew Precise 3 blocks are copyrighted by Shirley Liby.

Sew Precise 4 blocks are copyrighted by Donna McDade.

Dear Jane blocks are copyrighted by Brenda Papadakis.

BlockBase blocks are a mixed bag, and anyone wanting to use them needs to check with the block source for copyright.

Drawing

Q: I've drawn a block, but when I try to color, all the patches color at once. Why?

A: I believe the reason your color is going over the lines you drew is that you may not quite understand the "rules" of each of the two drawing methods. Please see page 78 and 79, which explain the difference between EasyDraw (which is for drawing pieced blocks) and PatchDraw (for drawing appliqué blocks).

I am guessing that you used PatchDraw, and then drew lines which were not part of closed patches. Think of the difference between drawing the letter C (which is open at two ends) and an O (which is closed). PatchDraw is for drawing individual appliqué patches - so you must draw each patch separately - no patch may share a line with another patch.

EasyDraw also has requirements. You can draw lines with this drawing style, and EasyDraw can turn them into patches for you if, and only if, all segments connect to one another at snap grid points.

Your color "leaking" indicates a drawing error. Learning more about the two drawing styles, and analyzing blocks from the library drawn with these two styles, will really help you. We also have a new book out called EQ5 Drawing which is an excellent tutorial for those who plan on doing lots of drawing and would like to get the most out of the drawing tools.

Q: Why can't I draw with PatchDraw? The lines just don't go where I want them to go!

A: When drawing with PatchDraw's Bezier drawing tool (the tool that lets you draw curved lines freely) drawing is always a 2-step process. The actual finished drawing is always formed by editing. First, get lines down. Don't worry that your drawing looks odd. You just want to get a basic shape. Next, edit the drawing, shaping the lines, and moving nodes where you want them to be. It takes a bit of time to get the hang of drawing with the Bezier tools, but once you "get" it, you'll be amazed at what you can draw. Just look at some of these examples from our clubEQ!

Projects

Q: Whenever I save a project it tells me the project is invalid. Why?

A: You may get an "invalid project" message if any of the following is true:

1. During the installation you are supposed to choose 2 paths. If you changed either of these to just: C:\ D:\ E:\ , etc. so that it is "scattered" on the root of that drive. See solution 1.

2. You moved your My EQ5 folder since installing. See solution 2.

3. Your My EQ5 folder got marked as read-only. See solution 3.

Solution 1 - Scattered during Installation (you need to put them in a folder):

1. Uninstall EQ5.

2. Restart your computer.

3. If you don't want the program files to install at C:\Program Files\Electric Quilt Company\EQ5 create a new folder where you want the EQ5 program to go instead.

4. If you don't want the user files to install at C:\My Documents\My EQ5 create a new folder where you want the My EQ5 files to go instead.

5. Reinstall, and during the installation BROWSE to find these new folders you created.

6. Restart your computer at the end of the installation.

Solution 2 - Moved My EQ5 folder: Move the My EQ5 folder back to its original position and continue to use the program. If you would rather have the folder in this new position, you must do the following first.

1. Uninstall EQ5.

2. Restart your computer.

3. Create a new folder in this new position, and call it something like "My EQ5".

4. Reinstall, and during the installation BROWSE to find this new folder when asked to "choose destination location for your project and library files."

5. Restart your computer at the end of the installation.

Solution 3 - My EQ5 folder is read-only:

1. Uninstall EQ5.

2. Restart your computer.

3. Install EQ5.

4. During the installation, you're asked where you want the program to go. If you don't want it at C:\Program Files\Electric Quilt Company\EQ5 click BROWSE. Change it to: LetterOfTheDriveYouWant:\PathYouWantWithSlashesBetween\EQ5 and click OK.

5. Next, you're asked where you want your files and user libraries to go. Click BROWSE.

6. Change it from C:\My Documents\My EQ5 to C:\Documents and Settings\UserAccountName\My Documents\My EQ5 and you should be ok. (Where UserAccountName is the name of the user you are currently installing as.)

7. Go through the rest of the installation.

8. Restart your computer.

See more Ask EQ questions and answers here.

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