Converting Troublesome SVG Files for the Brother ScanNCut

As I like to do fusible web appliqué, I find the Brother ScanNCut very helpful in cutting out intricate designs in fabric. It does a much better job than I could with a pair of scissors! I've found many svg files on the internet that you could cut with the ScanNCut, but sometimes I have trouble importing these files to scanncutcanvas. Note: This is the Canadian website - choose the appropriate website for your country. 

This tutorial is for the Brother ScanNCut CM550DX.

I need to be able to import these files so I can change them to the Brother proprietary fcm format before I am able to cut these files on my Brother ScanNCut. If you're having this problem, you might find my suggestions helpful. 

I've found free software, called Inkscape, that helps to import those more troublesome svg files. Inkscape is a vector graphics software that can be used to create illustrations - or to manipulate svg files, in our case. I work on a Mac, so my instructions are for that format, although you should be able to adapt these for Windows easily.

You need to install both Inkscape and Quark Express X11 on your computer. You will first install Quark Express X11 and then Inkscape as Inkscape needs Quark Express X11 to operate. 

First install Quark Express X11 (or the most recent version). 

Download the appropriate version of XQuartz.

Next install Inkscape by clicking the Download menu and downloading the .dmg file.

Download the .dmg file to install Inkscape.

Once you've installed both programs, you may need to restart your computer to use them. You should now be able to start Inkscape and Quark Express X11 will open with it. 

Now the fun part begins! You can start importing svg files and modify them so that you will be able to import them into scanncutcanvas.

Open Inkscape and you will notice that it automatically opens a new document.

Inkscape opens a new document automatically.

Under the File menu, choose "Import". You can then select the troublesome svg file that you want to import and double click on it to import it into Inkscape.

Choose the desired svg file.

I find that the graphic may sometimes be outside the work area, so just click and drag it into the rectangle. Click off the graphic to deselect it.

If you'd like, you can play around with the graphic, enlarging it or reducing it as desired. For our purposes, getting it into scanncutcanvas, you're just going to save this file. I like to use "Save as" in case I ever need to go back to the original svg file. Under the File menu, choose "Save as" and then name your file and choose the folder you'd like to store it in.

Save the svg file to the Inkscape svg format.

Here comes the important part: when you are saving the file, ensure that you are saving it in the "Inkscape SVG" format. You will notice a drop down menu with several choices in the lower right-hand corner, but the format you want is right at the top, so that makes it easy.

You've now saved the original svg file to a different format and should be able to import it easily into scanncutcanvas, which looks something like this when you open it:

Opening scanncutcanvas.

Log in or set up a new account and you will then have access to the first page, which looks like this: 

Yes, there are some cute projects, but skip those for now as you need to finish converting that svg file.

Open a new document in scanncutcanvas by clicking on the "New" icon on the left side of the page and you should see this:

A new document in scanncutcanvas.

Import the svg file that you just saved by clicking the SVG button on the top left side of the page, keeping your fingers crossed. Choose the desired svg file to import.

Import the desired svg file to scanncutcanvas.

The svg file should now open successfully in scanncutcanvas. You can then work on it if you would like or just download it as a .fcm file. You can then transfer it to your USB flash drive and plug it into your Brother ScanNCut to start cutting your shape.

I hope that this method works for you as well as it has for me. I've found that I've been able to access svg files that I previously could not import into scanncutcanvas. 

If you have any questions or comments, please put them in the comments below.

Creatively,

Summer 2015 Review

With autumn officially here, it's time for a summer review. We had an exceptional summer this year - long, sunny days interspersed with a few hail storms and a tornado scare or two. Not typical, but it was enjoyable (except for that tornado and hail part).

While I spent time working on blogposts and videotaping (look for a new course soon on Curious.com), I did manage to fit in some fun this summer. Here are some snapshots of summer 2015:

We went to the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede and managed to find a few quilts to photograph. Funny how I see to find fabric-y things everywhere I go.

Strolling down the path between the food kiosks at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede

More exterior shots from the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede

Pizza, anyone?

Yummy mini donuts popsicle from www.familyfreezed.com

Getting my western on!

An overview of the quilt entries.

Some of the quilts in the competition.

A few more quilts.

We dodged hailstones. Well, actually my hubby and daughter did as this storm came through while I was in Ontario on vacation.

Just a bit of hail on the back deck.

My poor flowers!

My son and I visited family in Ontario - our first mom and son trip together and we both survived! And managed to visit a few quilt stores and find quilts for sale in St. Jacob's.

Gorgeous hand-quilted quilt in St. Jacob's, Ontario

Just a few quilts to choose from.

Had some water fun, which is hard to do in Calgary, where there aren't any large lakes.

Enjoying some tubing.

Me and the boy enjoying some time at Rousseau, Ontario

Swimming in Lake Rousseau, Ontario

So idyllic at the cottage.

The perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Came back home to harvest potatoes. A good crop this year for a small garden patch.

Home grown potatoes.

Celebrated my ? birthday with my family once I arrived home and then celebrated my daughter's birthday a few days later. Packed up said daughter and settled her back at university in Edmonton. Started back to work at school for me and then a return to school for my son.

Look, hubby baked me a cake - well, ordered one at least :)

My birthday present this year, a Labradorite pendant bought on vacation.

Now it's as if the summer was so long ago. I'm back in the studio working on more projects and trying more creative fibre projects. And of course, keeping my eye out for any vintage sewing machines that may happen to cross my path (or appear on my computer screen).

Hope you had a great summer and are easing into fall with lots of fabric-y projects.

Creatively,  

Telecast Thursday - Organization with Wunderlist

It's Thursday again, and you know what that means: another episode of Telecast Thursday.

I have a hard time keeping myself organized. Okay, really, I have a hard time keeping my distractions to a minimum, and it can seem that the tasks I have to do in my business seem to be overwhelming. I need a system to keep myself organized. I need a system that will categorize my tasks and break them into smaller chunks. I need a system that will send me reminders - and keep sending me reminders - of the tasks I need to accomplish. Thankfully, there's Wunderlist!

Wunderlist is an app that you can use on your computer, your iPad or your smartphone. Okay, if you don't like to use technology, just hear me out first before you discard this method. I also like to have paper in my hand and Wunderlist allows me to print out my tasks so they are right in front of me.

Check out the video below or on my Youtube channel to see why I love this app.

Do you have a favourite method to keep yourself organized (or are you easily distracted as I am?)? Let me know what your system is and why you like it in the comments below.

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the lower right corner on the video itself to subscribe. If you like what you see, please share my videos with your fellow creatives.

Creatively,

Celebrating!

I'm doing a happy dance today and I'll tell you why: I've reached over 1000 subscribers on my Youtube channel!

I can remember when I only had a handful of subscribers and was just thrilled that someone was watching my content. I was over the moon when I reached 500 subscribers and am definitely doing a happy dance due to my over 1000 subscribers.

Thanks so much for your support. Your comments and questions let me know that you're watching and interested in what I'm creating.

Charlie and Teeka are also excited about this milestone and want to share their excitement with you. You can watch the video below or on my Youtube channel.

I hope you'll continue to watch my videos and let me know what you're interested in seeing on my channel. As for me, I'm planning my next videotaping so you'll continue to receive new videos each and every week – guaranteed!

If you aren't already a subscriber, be sure to join the group at Chatterbox Quilts.

Creatively,

Changes to the Chatterbox Quilts' Blog

I've recently made a few additions to my blog and website of which I wanted you to be aware. No major changes, just a few additions that I hope will be helpful for my readers.

I'm still getting used to blogging on Squarespace and realized that there isn't an easy way to find blog posts on a certain subject, for example, quilting. I've added a block to the blog sidebar where you can now find all of the blog posts on a specific subject. You'll now see "Click to Display Blog Categories" at the top of the right sidebar.

This is what you'll now see at the top of the blog sidebar on the right side.

You can now click this and a dropdown menu will appear with various subjects in it. You'll also find the number of blog posts on each subject in brackets next to the category. You can click on the desired category and all of the posts on that subject will appear. Just like magic!

When you click on the down arrow, you'll see the various subject categories as well as the number of blogposts about those subjects.

There is another way to find blog posts in a specific category if you are reading a blog post. You'll note that there is a date and a category under each blog post title, such as "July 1, 2015 in Quilting". If you click on the category (Quilting, in this case), it will bring up all of the blog posts on quilting.

You'll see the category next to the date that the blogpost was published. Go ahead and click on it to bring up all the blogposts in this category.

You'll see "Articles in Quilting" at the top of the list of blog posts, so you'll know which category in which these blog posts appear.

You'll see "Articles in ..." whatever subject you've clicked on.

I hope that you'll find this feature helpful and that it makes it easier to search for blog posts on a specific subject.

I've also made a few changes in the "Free Stuff" area of the website (if you can come up with a better name for this page, please let me know). I now have Embroidery Tutorials and Fabric-y Tutorials (which is anything other than embroidery tutorials) in this section of the website. I've added videos to the content on these pages and will continue to update them with the most recent videos in these areas.

Check out the Store page while you're looking through the website as I've recently added a few more new patterns to it.

If you have any suggestions for my website, please let me know. 

Creatively,