We hosted a small get-together in the Studio on Thursday, and I have been thinking of it off and on ever since! There were just a few that attended - seems it is hard for us all to make time for getting together. But I had my Dear Sweet Husband take the day off his regular job to be the chief host and cook, and loaded some quilts on the machines so we could have a talking point to start from. Thank you to Paul and Marlies, Loran and Shirley for coming up from Southern Ohio to join us, bringing wonderful goodies to share. Chuck came from the Northern part of the state, and Sandy and Betty joined us from just down the street (Thank you Sandy, for the baked beans, too!).
Together, we were able to help Chuck get his tablet updated to the most current release, something made more difficult in my opinion by the Mac computer he uses. It seems that the Mac would open the update file as it uploaded it, changing it from iq.update.tar.gz to just iq.update.tar and of course that just won't do for the tablet! This was a good reminder for us all that the only file that the tablet cares to upload on a program update is one that is exactly named iq.update.tar.gz - no extra numbers, or fewer letters allowed! We got around the issue by using my USB that I had placed the most recent upload onto. Chuck has some interesting catching up to do now as he had not updated in quite a long time. I am sure he will enjoy all of the new tools now at his disposal.
I used my method of copying the border block and converting it to a pattern to place a path pattern in a wonky border so Marlies could see it in person. Not sure if I convinced her of the value of it, but I love doing that. To make the border fit just perfectly, I prefer to work only on the borders on the top and the bottom of the quilt, including the corners in continuous fashion, and then when the body and those borders are done, I rotate the quilt to stitch the side borders - again all in one pass. I have found that I am happiest with the results this way, rather than 'chunking' the borders, stitching and stopping and fussing all the way down.
Briefly, my steps to do this are: I begin by marking or tracing the border, including the corners and as much as I can reach, into the IQ. I place my corner patterns first, scaling them and tweaking them as needed. Then I copy my border block - placing it directly on top of the original. From the Add/Edit Block page, I use the Block to Pattern option to change one of the blocks into a pattern, so I can then use Split Pattern to cut the long line I need from it. I connect the line to the corner patterns. Using that line as the path, I then use Path Pattern to add my border pattern copies, adjusting the number of copies and height until I am happy with the result. Warning here - make sure the transition on the Path Pattern page is Continuous, as it defaults recently to Jump Stitch.
Then Shirley got us to use the 60 degree V pattern in the updated Geometric Catalog to make a precise 60 degree diamond. Not all of us have the 60 degree V, as it was loaded sometime after some of us all started. But Zoltan has a file on the Yahoo list that you can download to get them. On the Yahoo list for IntelliQuilter, just go to Files, Patterns Included with IQ, Pattern Updates, All Designs. There you can find a file named iq.update.tar.gz and save it to your USB. Then use the Program Update on your tablet to pull those patterns over - your actual software version will not change, just new patterns will be added.
We used Fan Pattern to make the 60 degree diamond into a star, and we used Echo Pattern to place a couple of echos around it. We also put a pattern in the diamond, but it would not save onto Shirley's USB, so it must have been copyrighted, although it does not list the designer, just the name - feather diamond 001. If you know more about this pattern, please do drop me a line.
All in all, it made for a great day with lots of sharing and learning. Wish you all could have joined us. I think that starting a blog on the daily uses of the IQ here in the Studio will be a helpful resource to cultivate, and this blog post will serve as a beginning. I use the IQ almost every day, and I am often changing the way that this tool helps me with my daily tasks. I shall do my best to write about each exciting discovery as it happens, and I invite you to join me!