Lesson 1

Using the EQ Block Library

The first thing we will do is learn to get blocks from the EQ Block library. We will them color and then put them in a quilt layout.

Open your EQ, at the top click on Worktable, then click on work on block from the drop down menu. You should now have a sheet of graph paper showing. Now click on Block at the top, on the drop down click on New Block then Easy Draw.

Click on Block again, and then click on Drawing board set up.

Under Snap to grid Points put the number 24 in both boxes.

Under Block Size, put 12 in each box.

On Color for Guides, click on the little arrow and set the color on want your graph lines to be. I have mine set on red.

Now click on the Graph Paper Tab at the top of this same box. Under Number of Divisions put 24 in each box. Under options choose your color and on Style set it for Graph Paper Lines.

Now click on the Easy Draw tab.

Check Snap to grid

Snap to nodes

Snap to lines and arcs

In the box for Sensitivity in pixels, put the number 6

Under Node Select, click on Select one and under Node size, click Large.

Now Click OK to close the box.

Now that we have the boring stuff out of the way, lets go get a couple of blocks to play with.

At the top, click on Libraries; then click on Block Library. A new box opens and you will see Block Libraries and under that is EQ Libraries and User Libraries.

At the bottom of the box on the lower right side you have the following: Search, Copy and Close.

Search is used when you know the name of a block and you want to see if it is in the EQ library. You can also type in a general word and it will bring up all blocks with that description. For example if you type in ‘Star’ you will get 161 hits.

Copy is used to copy blocks from the library to your sketchbook.

Click on the EQ Libraries. You will get a list of headings for the blocks found in the EQ library. You can check each one out when you have time. Fr now I want you to click on the first one Classic Pieced. Again you get a list of many different headings. We are going to click on Classics. It’s the 6^th one down under Checked Borders. You now have different blocks pictured. If you will hold your curser over the first block (do not click on it), the name appears, in this case it says Log Cabin. There is also a scroll bar at the bottom of the pictures that you can use to scroll to the right or left to see all the blocks available in Classics.

Find the Ohio Star block, click on it and then click the word COPY at the bottom under the blocks. Now find the Friendship Star, click it then click COPY. Close the window.

Now I want you to click on VIEW at the top of your EQ program. Then click on Sketchbook.

Click on the Blocks tab on the sketchbook and you should see the 2 blocks you just added from the block library. Click on the Ohio Star then click edit.

You should now have a line drawing of the Ohio Star on your graph paper.

We are going to color it now. At the bottom of the graph paper click on the tab called COLOR.

You should now have the star in the colors that EQ gave it. Also, as box should have opened up with Fabric squares in it. There is a tab for prints and a tab for solids.

You can use which ever or both that you want to color your block. Find a color you would like, click on it and then click on your block where you wan this color to be. To change colors, just find a new color to use, click on it and then click your block. If you want a solid, click that tab and your solids will come up and you do the same thing as you did for the prints. When you have your block colored like you want it, do the follow:

At the top, clicks on BLOCK, then click on ‘save in sketchbook’. Your block and your coloring have now been saved.

We will now color your Friendship Star.

Click: VIEW

Click: Sketchbook

Click: Friendship star

Click: edit

Your line drawing is now on the graph paper. Color it the same way you did the first block and save it in the sketchbook.

Ok now we will go find the blocks you colored.

Click on View

Click on Sketchbook

Your new window should open with the 2 blocks showing the original colors.

Click on the Ohio star

Find the edit button at the bottom, there is a small square just to the left of the word edit. Click on it!

Your Ohio Star should now have the colors you used.

Do the same thing with the Friendship star.

You have now learned to color blocks from the EQ Block Library.

I want you to practice getting blocks from the library, coloring them, and saving them.

In lesson 2 we will learn to put these blocks in a quilt layout, add sashing, remove sashing, and add borders.