Unfeasibly excited

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Having been a total technical dunce since forever and a day and having made my templates by drawing with pen, tippexing out errors, printing out text, cutting it out and sticking it onto the templates and then photocopying, I made this this morning.  Yes, all my myself.  It's not an actual template for an actual Union Jack block but will be once I've tweaked the measurements.  And will form the basis of my lesson at the Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat in London in June.  


It occurred to me yesterday in a Eureka moment that these days the best and cheapest new software(s) are apps.  So I hunted around and downloaded TouchDraw for iPad for £5.99 and drew this within the first half hour, from a standing start.  I have NEVER used any of this kind of software EVER before EVER, that's how easy this was to use.  So all your appaholics out there, are there any great apps I need to know about?  I'd like one for my macbook which will replace Piknic when that vanishes soon - some kind of photoshop-type programme but not trillions of wonga.  So I can tweak my photos, make mosaics, add text, re-shape them into blog headers, buttons etc.  Just a bit more than what iphoto does really. 

Comments

  1. Amanda21 February 2012 at 07:49

    I do hope that you'll let us know if you find something that works, as that's just what I'm after myself.

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  2. verykerryberry21 February 2012 at 07:51

    I am intrigued by touch draw for paper piecing templates. I use photoshop elements, £30-40 so quite cheap, a bit of help is needed getting the hang of layers etc but there is a lot of free help online, tutorials etc

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  3. Unknown21 February 2012 at 07:57

    I've used Quilt Assist (free download) for drawing paper piecing patterns. I do however have the advantage of using Autocad software everyday at work and can draw and create patterns in various forms

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  4. Di21 February 2012 at 08:15

    Lynn let us know the outcome. I have been pondering about software for ages but it feels as if it is a bit of a stab in the dark. Di xo

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  5. Mrs Flying Blind...21 February 2012 at 08:18

    Afraid I have a husband for such things!

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  6. Canadian Abroad21 February 2012 at 08:25

    Great question because I want a Piknic replacement too. Must monitor your comments.

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  7. Sheila21 February 2012 at 08:30

    I have an ancient version of Corel for resizing photos, and of course, my trusty EQ6 for patterns.
    This is a really useful subject.

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  8. Kelly21 February 2012 at 08:58

    I play dumb so my geeky hubby will do it for me!! Very excited about your FQ lesson in June.

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  9. rolleiflex21 February 2012 at 09:21

    http://www.squidoo.com/How-to-Picnik follow the link!

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  10. Katy Cameron21 February 2012 at 09:38

    Well done missus! I'm exploring Adobe Illustrator at the moment for pattern drawing, it's quite fun :o)

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  11. Sana Saroti21 February 2012 at 09:54

    Well done ;-)
    I use Picasa for 99% of my photo editing. It just doesnt do the rounded corners which I have used piknic for.

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  12. Sarah PingsAndNeedles21 February 2012 at 12:45

    I use Picasa too for basic tweaking of pics ...

    But there's a great program called Paint.net which is an open source photoshop a like, which I use a lot ... it's really easy and FREE ... I teach with it ..

    I was never that fussed with Picnik ... it took ages and I don't think it's versatile enough to merit using up my bandwidth ... Anyway, Google say that they're going to be replacing it with something equally good if not better ... so panic not!

    TouchDraw looks fantastic, Lynne - well done you!! .. I hope they release an android version ...

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  13. Unknown21 February 2012 at 12:53

    Well done! I'll be coming to you for lessons next!

    I second sarah's recommendation of picassa or paint.net. Picassa is brilliant for all the high level polishing type of things, so many features youll never even get around to using and FREE!. Paint.net is a bit more techy, like photoshop, but is fantastic for quick resizing, cropping, colourwork etc, and also FREE!

    But tell me, if you are using a mac, why aren't you using Aperture? I am contemplating buying a mac purely for that program!

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  14. Liz21 February 2012 at 13:21

    Lovely as your work is this site will show you how to accurately draw our flag.

    http://www.jdawiseman.com/papers/union-jack/union-jack.html

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  15. Suzanne21 February 2012 at 13:27

    Indeed, as I said yesterday, there is an app for that?! I hope to check back to see other comments for suggestions.

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  16. Leanne21 February 2012 at 13:58

    I am going to try that app!

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  17. Lucy | Charm About You21 February 2012 at 14:13

    well done techy lady!

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  18. Tsigeyusv21 February 2012 at 14:37

    Irfan View. It's free, it's simple and I use it lots.

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  19. Claire Jain21 February 2012 at 15:49

    Interesting info about the app! Thanks for sharing :-)

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  20. Archie The Wonder Dog21 February 2012 at 16:12

    Well done!! Does that mean sales of Tippex will plummet?!

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  21. www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com21 February 2012 at 17:45

    with Picasa you can make mosaics, add text, do minor color adjustments. It's a free program. It's how I make all my mosaics. I also use photoshop Elements 9.0 for all my scrapbook making and real photo adjustments.

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  22. folksmith21 February 2012 at 20:48

    Can't wait to see your paper piece pattern for the Union Jack. i'm so glad someone has decided to make a paper piece pattern. yeah!!! can't wait to get it. thanks!

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  23. Trudi21 February 2012 at 20:49

    app-phobic here! my phone can txt and ring and rarely take pics - as for the pc, yeah - whatever - I think it's my age! Loving all the suggestions :)

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  24. Live a Colorful Life21 February 2012 at 21:02

    So techie. I hope you'll let us know what you come up with!

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  25. Anonymous21 February 2012 at 22:09

    I would save your and your lovely hubby's money and continue to do it all by hand.

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  26. Poppyprint21 February 2012 at 23:29

    What language was that post written in?

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  27. Angela22 February 2012 at 04:13

    I just decided to spring to photoshop elements and see how it goes. I'm a little concerned about the learning curve but I'll get it eventually. Illustrator is what I really want to get but for that I definitely would want to take a class.

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  28. Anonymous22 February 2012 at 07:22

    Glad to hear that TouchDraw worked for you! :-) Please don't hesitate to write if you run into any issues or have questions.

    As an FYI (since you mentioned your a Mac user), I just wanted to let you know that we're very close to having a Mac version of TouchDraw done as well. If all goes well we hope to have it available for sale in the Mac App Store in the next 4 to 6 weeks.

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  29. Tracey22 February 2012 at 23:19

    Ooh must check that app out. I am a great App lover !

    I had a lot of fun digitising my blighty patterns trying to make sure I had the Union Jack dimensions correct. Not as easy as it first think. http://www.intelligentquilting.com/utility/showProduct/index.cfm?objectID=143&parentkw=506

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  30. Beatrice26 February 2012 at 08:05

    Hi there,

    Don't know anything about the technical stuff so congrats on the design.
    About the Union Jack pattern itself, I believe the two white lines on either side of the diagonal red line are supposed to have different widths:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Flag

    Beatrice.

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  31. Nancy28 February 2012 at 00:52

    i got nothing...

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