Computers are the Devil

I have decided that computers are the DEVIL!!!  Seriously.  I hate them.  All of them.  And all of their little electronic device friends that conspire to make my life miserable every time I try to use them.  As far as I’m concerned they can all just blow up while I’m trying to sleep tonight.
I really wanted to post the pattern for my Swirly Dresden.  This one…
But instead I spent 3 hours fighting with a Mac, a Linux computer, a Windows Virtual Box inside the Linux computer, a printer and a scanner!  GAH!  And I’m not even any closer to having a pattern for you.  If I only had a sledge hammer….
Ok, I feel a little better.  Here’s my question for all you crafty computer people who work with paper pieced patterns.  What’s the best program to use to make my hand drawn pattern into a computer generated pattern.  I tried Illustrator but the circles are killing me.   I just want it to look nice and not like a kindergartener drew it.  I don’t think that’s asking too much.
I need to be able to scan it in and then “trace it” in a program.  Which brings me to my next nightmare.  Why is it that my scanner will scan each item at different sizes?  What the french toast???  It’s going to be the death of me.  Really.  I promise.  Or, I’m going to kill it.  But someone or something is going to get hurt very soon.
Oh geez…I thought I felt better but the more I type about it the angrier I get.  It’s bringing back all those bad memories of the 3 hours of my life I wasted.  Why don’t I have a sledge hammer?  I really need one….
Any help is greatly appreciated and would probably be rewarded with a huge THANK YOU from all the electronic devices in my house.  For they know you will have prolonged their electronic usefulness for at least one more day.

Your desperate friend who is a much better quilter than computer guru,

11 thoughts on “Computers are the Devil”

  1. I have never done a paper-piecing pattern for sharing with others – just one I drew myself and then copied as many times as I needed it so I have no advice.

    But I do have a hug? 🙂

  2. Have you tried EQ7? I know you can scan and import images into it. Worth looking in to.

    I haven’t turned my laptop on in over a week now, stupid icky germs have knocked me down and I haven’t missed my computer thaat much.

  3. Computers do make life easier AFTER they drive the user crazy! Once upon a time I could help you with the problem, but 4 years ago I retired and that is where my knowledge ended and I haven’t upgraded. (Wink!) just Stay calm Or borrow my sledge hammer.

  4. Melissa is right. EQ7 does exactly what you are trying to do. I have scanned in pictures and traced them for a pattern. It works great. I even scan in fabrics to audition a design. You’ll like that it keeps the scale of the fabrics in correct proportions (your other problem).

  5. my sympathies … i can do these great things on my windows os, but linus, et all, is so different. if your programs have worked for you before, then i’d reboot to reset everything. i’ll occaisionally have to do the same with my all-in-one printer scanner setup, even going so far to uninstall and reinstall the works for it to reset it.
    however you might try:
    1. draw your pattern, use a compass for the circles, colored pencils to highligh your pattern
    2. scan it into your computer, copy it into your word processor program
    3. write your text around your hand drawn pattern, insert any picture you may have taken to illustrate what you need to, add a title
    4. print your pattern.
    the only thing i don’t know how to do is to transfer this to my blog, so what i would do is scan the pattern back into my pictures or whatever your picture program is and then insert the pattern into your blog.

  6. I am with you there girl on computers!! They will be the death of me for sure!! I can’t help you, but breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out. There now don’t you feel better…NOT! 🙂

  7. I sort of “cheat” and create those types of drawings in Word or with MSPaint (comes free with MS Office/Windows/something). If you scan it and send me the pic, I can try to slap a drawing together for you over the weekend.

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