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Be sure to visit our tutorial
page for more help.
Congratulations on your choice of EQ4! You will find it is very easy
to get started on this program and will be designing quilts in no time
at all. Does EQ4.1 work with Windows XP? Yes.
Start by working through the book that came with your program. The
three short lessons in the EQ4 Getting Started book will teach you the
basics of quilt designing with EQ4 and will explain the difference
between EQ4's two drawing methods, Easy Draw and Patch Draw. Once you
have done all the tutorials in the Getting Started book, go on to
the tutorials in the EQ4 Design Cookbook. To reinforce all the great
techniques you have just learned, go to the EQ
Web site, and try the Mystery Quilt Lessons.
If you get stuck, try the programs help files. These detailed files
are searchable, printable, and you can even make notes. Consider
joining the on-line
chat group, too. This is an incredibly helpful group of EQ4 users at
all levels of ability. You will NOT be able to come up with a problem
this group can’t solve. Trust me. This group is one of the
"secret weapons" of the EQ4 group, always sharing their
successes and offering tips and inspirations. Many will post their
creations to web pages or Photopoint.
Visit these sites and study layouts, block choices, fabric choices, etc.
You will be amazed at how much EQ4 can do. Don’t forget to check out
our tips, and the Q&A
on the Electric Quilt site.
 When
you are comfortable with the program, work through the EQ4 Simplified
book by Fran Iverson Gonzalez. Although the book is written especially
for beginners, it does get into some of the harder techniques, such as
drawing, using the Graph Pad, and setting blocks and stencils in layers
and in Country Set. Click on the picture to order.
 Barb
Vlack's book, EQ4 Magic, is an advanced user book. Her book explores
advanced drawing, setting, and all sorts of other techniques. Click on
the picture to order. Both ladies, as well as Penny McMorris
herself, monitor the EQ4 list, so don’t be afraid to ask a question of
them. Chances are someone else is curious, too!
My
computer is tight on space - how can I minimize the impact of EQ4?
Go thru every block and quilt sketchbook in every prj file and
- delete every block you didn't use
- delete every coloring didn't use
- delete every quilt you don't need
- delete all the fabrics you didn't use
You can also save .prj’s to a floppy and delete the .prj from EQ4.1
through Windows Explorer.
How
do I delete a project from Windows Explorer?
- 1. From your desktop Click on the My Computer icon.
- 2. Click on local disc (C:), then EQ4, then prj
- 3. Single click on the prj you wish to delete to highlight it,
then click the X in the tool bar or the delete button on your keyboard.
EQ4
yardage estimates are usually high!
How EQ4 figures yardage:
- It adds the seam allowance you select to each patch.
- It placed an imaginary rectangle around each patch.
- It places these rectangles on fabric of the selected width. Each
time a row is filled, it begins a new row counting the entire strip
as yardage. Then it automatically adds 1/8 to 1/4 yard to each
estimate.
- Long border strips are estimated as if they were cut in one piece
on the vertical length of the fabric.
How do you rename the Libraries so you know what you put there?
When you're in Libraries, choose Add blocks. Left click on any of the labels
to select one, click again and you will have a solid block outlining the label.
Type in a new name. Click on Save Library to save your changes. You can only change the Style name when you go into My Library from Add
Blocks in the Libraries Menu.
To turn on the ruler in EQ4 :
Open EQ4, then click on Worktable -> Work on Block. Then
click on View -->Ruler .
Your ruler horizontal and vertical rulers are now visible.
How do you find out what color you have used in a block so you can
repeat it somewhere else? Or fabric?
You can use the spray can tool and click on the color or fabric you
are wanting to know about. It will place that on the color window and
then you can use your color tool and put it where you need it.
If you are having
trouble amending your existing EQ4 prj,
go into the C:\EQ4\prj
folder (or wherever you have your prj files) right-click on a project
and choose Properties. Un-check "Read-Only" and click
OK.
Finding a block in EQ4
 The
easiest way to find a block in EQ4 is to either look up the block name in the
EQ4 Block Index. (You'll find that in the EQ4 Help files.) Or, look up the
block name in the index of the EQ4 Block Book. This paperback book shows you a
picture of each block in EQ4, and has an index in the back. Click
here to order.
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