triplerosa

I love EQ7 use it all the time, also the lessons are a big plus and they are free

gale

You don't have to buy anything else. I bought EQ Stitch to make embroidery designs but it's not required for regular quilt design.

Grammahunt

Thanks for all the advice. I've been looking at EQ for years. Wish I had gone with that the first time. Now my quilting software is so out of date that it doesn't work well on the new operating systems. I'm off to buy EQ7.

Grammahunt

Chris48

I'm still EQ5 user simply because I just don't use it enough to warrant the upgrade but I still love the program. I have too many "irons in the fire" to just quilt, love machine embroidery and making my own clothes too! Before EQ took down all the EQ5 lessons off the website, I did one of them called Skylights and learned so much about the program because it took you through each process step by step. One thing that has amazed me since learning how to use the program, is how I look at others quilts. You learn how to break down a quilt into each block, is it four patch or nine patch and soon on. I think that has helped me more than anything to understand how a block is constructed, and how it works with the rest of the quilt.

I think sticking with it, taking one lesson at a time and not trying to make a complicated block before going through the lessons helped me not get frustrated and give up.

Grammahunt

EQ 7 arrived a few days ago. Very impressive. I wish I had gone this route a long time ago.

charsuewilson

I've had EQ since version 5. I have a math/science background, but I couldn't figure it out on my own until Version 7, and then only after doing the tutorials. It is not intuitive at all. It is useful to see how a quilt will look in different colors, but I'm sure there are less expensive programs to do that if it's all you want. I'm sure I can get more out of the program if I would commit to spending the time with it.

gale

Yay!! Have fun playing with it! I use EQ more than I actually quilt but I have a blast with it.

PlanoDebbie

I have the Quilt Wizard software which I bought with a 50% off coupon a few years ago at JoAnns. For those who prefer to work with standard blocks and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is a great program. It doesn't have a huge library of colors, but it has enough for you to get an idea of how your finished quilt will look. The best thing is that you can play with the size of block as well as how many will be in your quilt. It will tell you the finished size based upon your input. If you want the quilt to be larger or smaller, you can change the size of your blocks, borders or sashing. When you print out your final design, it will tell you how much yardage you need for your quilt along with instructions to make the quilt.

Since I've already mastered the Quilt Wizard and need something with more options, I'm ready to move up to EQ7. My only problem is that it is not currently available for a Mac (my laptop). I read that they are finally putting out a Mac version at some point this year. My desktop is a PC, but I would prefer to have it on my laptop. My Mac is almost 6 years old and running out of memory space. One of these days I will upgrade!

racerh

I have never done the lessons but have looked at some of them - they are excellent! Rhonda put together a great starter for anyone I have made some pretty complex patterns using it - http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...2-imgp9404.jpg
It is very helpful in designing patterns and changing out colors quickly. You have many hours of FUN ahead!

scrapinmema

I purchased EQ7 in April 2013 and have just started using it. Trying to do all of the tutorials and learning from friends. So far I really like it.