The Techno Quilter

It’s been an interesting week…

First of all, my left knee is in a brace.  A big brace.  A heavy brace.  An uncomfortable and hot brace.

I’m not quite sure how I did it, but I’ve managed to tear/pull/damage a ligament in my left knee.  This is the same knee that has given me issues since I fell on the ice several years ago. 

How did I manage to damage a ligament in my knee?

I  have no idea.

Seriously. None.  All I know is I was walking through the produce section of my local Harris Teeter and experienced a sharp, burning sensation in my left knee.  After getting my groceries and hobbling out, I was given a brace and anti-inflammatories and good pain meds. 

Did I slip and fall?  No.

Did I “step funny?” No. And what does that mean anyway?  Do I call the Ministry of Silly Walks?

Did I roll my ankle? No.

Only I could manage to be doing something normal and injure myself. 

So I’ve been limited this week on doing anything because the only thing I really feel like doing is sitting with my knee propped up with an ice bag on it.  This is extremely demotivating, but the pain is real and the brace is uncomfortable.  I’ve managed to work on my Farmer’s Wife Quilt and am starting a new class on Saturday.  I wish I could say that while I’m resting my knee I’m getting tons of handwork done, but that’s not the case either.  I’m machine piecing so much that I don’t have anything prepped and ready to applique. 

Oy-vey.

So I’ve said all that to say this: Optimize technology.  What does technology have to do with my knee?  Not a lot, but the knee is the reason this blog is a little shorter than usual.  As quilters, we have so much at our fingertips.  We can feed that instant gratification monster within with a click of the mouse.  There are downloadable patterns and Pinterest and websites galore. 

But there’s a whole other side to the techno-quilt world, too.  There are wonderful software programs you should be taking advantage of.  The Electric Quilt is the top one on the list.  And while it does have learning curve, it also has tutorials available with the software.  The customer service is also good and the representatives are knowledgeable and super-nice. It comes loaded with quilt blocks that can be printed out to foundation piece or template pieced or rotary cut.  You can design your quilt labels, your quilt layout, and your quilt 

borders.

In short, if you have enough patience and time, you may never need to buy another quilt pattern. But no one has that much patience…just ask my debit card.

Another software program you may want to purchase, especially if you’re big into reproduction fabrics and quilts, is Barbara Brackman’s Block Base.  

If you’re old enough, some of us you may have her book that has just about all the historical blocks in there, broken out by type, and has all the names the blocks have gone by.  The software program has all of this, and it’s a little easier to search through than the book.  The big bonus is that this software interacts with the Electric Quilt program, so you can easily print out any type of directions to make the blocks.  And both programs allow you to size and re-size the blocks quickly and easily.

In addition to the Block Base, there is the Dear Jane software (which can run independently of EQ) and the Farmer’s Wife Quilt software (which cannot).  Let me note here that the FWQ CD that comes with the book is not EQ compatible.  The FWQ software that runs in the EQ 5, 6, or 7 programs is a separate CD.

And while we’re at it, let’s talk quilting apps for the iPhone.  There is the Block Tool, which has a listing from A-Z of the most popular blocks in various sizes and the amount of fabric needed for each.  The Foot Book is a handy thing to have if you’re doing lots of different types of sewing that needs different feet – it can tell you what kind you need instantly.  Needle Travel is a great destination planner.  Type in the name of a city and all the nearby quilt shops pop up along with a map.  Superior Thread has a great app that’s free so you can determine what kind of thread you need.  Project Quilt is a great planner and allows you to keep all your UFOs on your phone and at your fingertips.  In addition, there are some quilting calculator apps that are also really handy to have.

My favorite app is Quilt Sandwich which allows you to create quilts on your phone, has a yardage calculator, and a stash inventory unless your stash is like mine and you’d have to purchase extra memory to run this portion of the app.  I particularly like this app because you can snap a picture of your stash and upload it into your quilt diagram and compare it to what you’re thinking about purchasing.  It makes for much wiser purchases and does save you money. 

If you come away from this brief and pain medication influenced blog with nothing else but curiosity about what’s out there as far as software and apps, my job here is done.  Technology is a wonderful and sometimes confusing  thing.  But embrace it and use it.  Think of it as another gadget in your quilting tool box.

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam