Simply Quilts Appearance & Presentation by Sharla Hicks Computer Quilting has come of Age! What does it have to offer you the quilter? By Sharla Hicks © 2003 As computers in the home have become commonplace, the natural transition for the quilter is to explore their use in the quilt making process.

Over the last 20 years this exploration has resulted in an expanding line of computer quilting software. Today the quilter can find a complete line of products that meet a variety of needs. They include full design software, CDs for printing blocks for foundation piecing, quilting stencils, patterns, aids to designing a quilt from a book, and innovative software for creating art quilts. As the computer quilting market has expanded, a secondary market of products and sharing has emerged.

You will find software support books with step-by-step how-to instructions, CDs with video demos, and quilt shops, guilds and conferences offering computer quilting workshops and lectures. The Internet has provided computer quilters around the world the opportunity to gather together and participate in fabric swaps, block exchanges, online classes, online guilds, develop websites and participate in e-mail lists. A search of the Internet will produce links to shared computer quilting files, tutorials, answers to frequently asked questions, quilt galleries and much more.

This article is an overview of what software is available, making a selection, and has tips on how to learn to use quilting software. Questions to ask yourself First you need to define what computer help you want or might need. Here are a few questions to ask yourself. • Are you a book lover or class taker and want to use the computer to expand the ideas presented in quilt projects? • Are you a traditional or innovative quilter?

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• Do you want to design your own quilt by drawing a new block or altering an existing block from the library and then explore the quilt layout? • Do you wish to select blocks and borders from libraries to help you make quilt layout choices? • Do you wish to use software to help you create printouts helpful in making a quilt and buying fabric? • Are you looking to skew your quilt design into new and innovative ideas? • Do you want a large library of blocks only for ideas and templates and then design your own quilt? • Are you looking for specific block styles, for example foundation pieced blocks, mariner's compass blocks, holiday themes, or alphabet and numbers?

• Do you want to print multiple sized blocks, templates, yardage charts, or numbered paper piecing blocks? • Do you want rotary cutting charts? • Do you want instructions on how make the block or quilt? • Do you want the ability to create and number a paper-pieced block?

• Do you want a faster method than graph paper for developing a design? • Do you want to create memory quilts or quilt labels? • Do you want embroidery patterns that can be used in quilts? • Do you want the computer to help you organize your storage spaces, document your purchases, store class notes, and keep a diary on a quilt's progress? Each of the following areas is important to your decision There is something for everyone. What is available, your personal experience and knowledge level on the computer, your computer system assets or limitations each play a part in what you can use or need for computer quilting.

How to clear history on apple computer. • • • • • • Evaluate your Computer System What type of computer do you run? More quilt specific programs are available to PC users than Mac users.

Being aware of the following will help you select the best quilting software your computer will run: Operating System: Knowing the type of OS you have is helpful in determining if a program will run on your computer. PC Users: • For those of you running older operating systems note that the majority of the programs run on Windows 98 or greater. • Windows 95 users need to look closely at the computer requirements because many of the CDs and even some of the bigger quilting software run only on Windows 98 or XP and greater.

Mac Users: • Unfortunately there are only a few The market share of computer owners dictates the number of programs available. • There is at least one full quilting software program written specifically for the Mac user,, a Paper Piecing CD and print blocks that are conducive to using the rulers by Easy Angle using the. • Several of the quilting related CDs are written in an Internet Browser language called html. Html is a universal language that works on both the Mac and PC.

(quilting stencils) • Another option used for MAC and PC comparability is Adobe Acrobat 5.0 & greater. This is used for instruction and set block & pattern sizes. • • The Mac has a large number of Paint and Draw programs that can be helpful in quilting design.