clsurz

Unfortunately yesterday I did not have time to play with EQ7 at all for two reasons. For one thing my 9 year old GD came over to help me plant seeds in my 3 Aero Gardens as well as get herself some seeds to plant some for herself to take home. The other reason for my not playing with EQ7 is that I was needing a brain break if there is such a thing from it. I figured my playing with it as much as I did over the weekend was enough.

I will though probably play with it again later towards the end of this week and hoping to be able to upload line drawings, photo's, geometrics, alphabets, stencils and more that I sniped using MS Sniping Tool.

For those of you not familiar on MS Sniping Tool and how to use it is quite simple to use. Everyone that uses Microsoft on there computers have this tool already on there. At least from Vista Platform on up. Can't remember if it was on earlier versions.

You will find MS Sniping Tool under the Accessories folder on your computer. Simply click START button than click ACCESSORIES folder and you should find MS Sniping Tool there.

Any thing that you have on your screen can be sniped or any software program that you have on your system with photo's, any graphics at all can be sniped just like if you open anything on line you can capture any page sitting on your desktop window...yes even text.

I use MS Sniping tool to open up a software program that I have called Design Studio used with Provo Crafts Cricut die-cutting machines. I own more than 125 of those cartridges which materials on it are used to pull up and cut the design with using the Cricut machines. Since I don't find those machines particularly useful to cut my fabric with (although it will) and the only way for me to pull the graphics, alphabets, etc to use in EQ7 I use MS Sniping tool to get what I want of the DS program to upload into my EQ7 to use to design whatever I want.

Since I don't want to pay couple hundred or more to buy AccuQuilts Alphabets die sets I can go into my fonts in my computer system, or into DS, or online where you can literally download or snipe all the fonts you want and need to upload into EQ7 to use in applique quilt projects or even harvest them from my embrodery machine library.

MS Sniping tool is easy enough to use. What you do is find what you want to snipe and open it on your desktop, then open the sniping tool and click the mouse over what you want and capture it and then save it on your computer in the folder you want to designate it in.

It's a great tool to have in addition to EQ7 to create your one of a kind quilt design. Of course you do not have to have EQ7 to use MS Sniping and can upload what you capture into any graphics program you use such as Paint that is also already on the system, Photo Elements and such programs.

I especially like to use it to find coloring pages on line especially if I want to do applique of any sort or any type of art quilting such as thread painting, painting on fabric, etc to create one of a kind themed quilt. Great also to do landscape fabric art having line drawings to be able to cut it out and use as applique on fabric or to actually color on fabric with crayons, paints, inks, and more.

Let's say you also want to capture text online especially on a site that does not have the "print" feature like a lesson plan or free pattern of sorts it's alot easier to use the MS Sniping tool to capture it all at once than to cut and paste it in MS Word or other such program and saving it.

You may want to check it out if you were not familiar with this until my mentioning it now. Great tool to have for crafters, writers, educators, really for anyone.

QuiltnNan

I have Windows XP and do not have the Snipping Tool. However, I use Print screen and Paint and can do the same thing... just a longer process.

My laptop is Windows7, and I do have the Snipping tool on that.

Peckish

Lol I was waiting for the punch line to appear - thought someone sent you on a snipe hunt!

That just sounds like so much work to do to create your quilt! I have EQ7 and find it easy to use. However, maybe someone else can benefit from your instructions. Thank you for posting.

Liz92B

there are times when I *would* like to get a long-range rifle and shoot my computer ...
PrintScreen and paste into Paint is a shorter route for me!

dunster

Okay, I was intrigued, sniping? I also thought of the snipe hunt. Sniping doesn't sound like something MS would actively promote, seems too much like poaching. Actually it's a SNIPPING tool. Now it all makes sense. I can see its advantages over printscreen, which saves the whole screen. Often I only want a bit of the screen, and this tool does it! Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

omaluvs2quilt

I use the snipping tool ALL the time, love it. I don't think I had it on Vista though, but it is definitely on windows 7, and its great!!!

clsurz

Yes it does take time for one to design and create there own one of a kind project. Although EQ7 has alot of stuff in it is mostly along the traditional and contemporary side and I am a MOD-Improv Quilter who likes to create her own designs. I lead more towards mixed fiber art using fabric as my canvas, threads, and other materials as my paint for that canvas.

I guess one could say I am a free form creator rather than using someone elses patterns entirely to create things.

The EQ7 libraries in by themselves are great for those that want a pattern to use to create with but if we really play with that software program it does so much more using it and other tools such as the sniping program and other graphics programs to complement each other.

It's one thing for me to draw on paper but it's alot easier to be able to scan it into a program and send it to EQ by importing it there and use the drawing tools in EQ to finish up what I started or for that matter start drawing what I want using the drawing tool, coloring it, saving it and using it along with some of the traditional or contemporary blocks in EQ7 to create one of a kind quilt.

EQ7 just like all the other versions I'm sure is limited in fabrics there (most of which we cannot buy) and color schemes, as well as fonts for applique but we can imported it all into EQ7 for instance the fabrics we are actually going to use in a project to be able to place it to see what it will look like. Doing so for me allows me to use EQ7 as a design wall before cutting into that fabric to see if placement of those fabric designs and colors will work without wasting cutting my fabric by even doing one sample block. That to me is a waste of good fabric if it isn't exactly what I think it should be. Seeing it first in EQ7 allows me to manipulate the fabric design and colors without wasting my fabric if it doesn't look good

clsurz

Oh good grief did I say sniping? LOL Yep it's snipping.

BellaBoo

I use Pin It to save all images and Print Friendly to import any image or text from the screen to pdf format. Sure makes streamlining a quilt pattern to fewer pages. I have the Snip It tool and it works great too.