Quilting Software Versus Hand Drawn Plans?
#31
Super Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pacific NW
Posts: 9,563
#32
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Southeastern Indiana
Posts: 373
Normally I would not want a computer program but I am working on a scrappy quilt and do not have a place to lay it out to make sure the colors are where they need to be. I am not using a pattern or any thing, just putting it together.
#33
I am a beginner quilter and I have had the EQ software programme for about 48 hours now! One thing I wasn't expecting was how much I am learning about quilt construction and block identification. In order to facilitate the learning process I have been reconstructing quilts in the software from magazine pictures or other pictures off the internet. In fact two quilts for which I had been planning on buying the pattern for - once I had truly analysed them for the purposes of putting into the software I realised how simple they really were and knew that I would find them far to boring to make. Now granted, I would have to come across about thirty of those to make up the price of the software.
My primary reasons for buying the software :
1/ I have a very hard time finding patterns that I want to make. I find lots that are 'close' but not quite right. The software lets me very easily 'tweak' different elements of the design.
2/ I am still rubbish at imagining different colour combinations. I have no stash to speak of and if I walk into the quilt shop without some semblance of a plan or intent I become overwhelmed and frozen with indecision. The software lets me try different combos - heck I can even try using actual fabrics currently available on the market.
My primary reasons for buying the software :
1/ I have a very hard time finding patterns that I want to make. I find lots that are 'close' but not quite right. The software lets me very easily 'tweak' different elements of the design.
2/ I am still rubbish at imagining different colour combinations. I have no stash to speak of and if I walk into the quilt shop without some semblance of a plan or intent I become overwhelmed and frozen with indecision. The software lets me try different combos - heck I can even try using actual fabrics currently available on the market.
I LOVE designing my quilts -- I use both graph paper and EQ (now 7). EQ frustrates me -- here is an example. I designed a quilt with 56 blocks, there are 4 block sets that are the same pattern and different color ways. With EQ I was not able to find out how many of each color way I needed. It does not tell me how many pieces I need to cut of each block to do the whole thing. I wound up counting the blocks by hand using the printout of the quilt and doing my figuring by hand.
All in all though I love the program and what it allows me to do and see before I commit to a particular pattern and fabric!
#34
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Mechanicsville, IA
Posts: 1,497
I had Electric Quilt 6 and upgraded to EQ7. I love it because I can design patterns and they are saved to use again or to tweak into something else. I'm hopeless at keeping track of paper it's digital all the way for me. For example, I am making 4 identical Christmas throws for my family in memory of my grandmother. I have all the fabric purchased and set aside. And pictures of the finished product but now that the first one is done I am taking a break. I know the plans are safely inside EQ and backed up on Carbonite.
#35
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 95
I am presently asking the same thing YOU asked as I sit with grafting paper and math solutions to limited remnants of fabric for borders, trying to decide which stack & whack block should go where as NONE are exactly alike! I thought this could help me see them set up. I love my wall quilt for playing with REAL blocks and REAL fabrics but when it comes to setting the quilt together...I think the software could save me hours of math and figures so I could get busy sewing. Thank you for asking this! I can see not all versions of EQ are created equal. HOPE people continue to post their opinions to help me decide.
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10-08-2010 04:10 PM