Quiltin'Lady

I've read a recent thread about the wonders of EQ5/6 and it sounds lovely. It's price is a bit much for me at the moment, so I was wondering if any of you have used 1-2-3 Quilt [http://www.quiltpro.com/go.php?id=123Quilt] and how it compares to EQ.

I know that there will be limitations -- obviously, you can't go from $150 to $40 and not lose a lot of functionality. The question is, can you still "futz" with it [technical term meaning "make it do what you want"] satisfactorily?

I'd especially like to hear from those of you who have used both of them -- how do they compare? which do you prefer?

I'm probably a better software wrangler than I am a quilter, so I'm not too worried that I won't be able to make EQ do what I want. I just want to know whether it's really, really worth another $110....

Thanks!

ScubaK

I bought the Quilt Wizard about a year ago for 20 or 30 bucks with a coupon on sale at JoAnns...
I hated it, couldn't do much with it but bought it cuz I didn't think I wanted to spend the 150$ for EQ6...
I had hemmed and hawwed about buying EQ6 for the last couple of years...
Finally, last month I bought EQ6!
I love it!!!
It does take some time to learn, like PS7 or any software but it is well worth the money.
I can see using this product for several years.
I will not be sorry!
Kirsten

BlueChicken

I've only used EQ6, so I'm biased. But I am soooo going to borrow "futz"! ;-)

The biggest thing about EQ6 is that you really do need to spend the time doing the tutorials and working your way through. Otherwise it's like buying a car with 5 gears and then only ever using 1st.

Whether it's worth the money or not really depends on exactly how heavily you want to use it.

If you want something that will figure out your yardage on simple quilts once or twice a year, go for the cheaper one. But if you're likely to get hooked on complicated patterns (like pittsburgpam's starred and feathered quilt) then I think it's worth spending the extra. I have done a lot of playing, designing quilts I'll probably never make. But I've also used it for quilts I have made, planning from the very start or scanning blocks in halfway through and figuring out which border looks best to finish.

cybercat

EQ6 is great if you plan on designing your own blocks. If you just want to plan a quilt 123 would be good. The other limitation is the number of fabrics included BUT they have monthly and daily downloads that increase you blocks and fabrics. I do not have 123 as of yet but have read about it all over then net thourghly.

BellaBoo

One thing about 123 is all of Carol Doak's pattern cds will work with it. They will not work with EQ. There is another quilt program by the same company called Quilt Pro. You may want to check out the features on that one too.

okie3

I started out with 123. It was alright for awhile but not what I really needed so I upgraded to quilt pro. It's ok and I have designed a quilt or 2 on it.
I'm about ready to try EQ. I like desiging my own quilts to much and quilt pro has some limitations in that area. It is a good starter program.

cinnienune

Used Quilt Pro for a while and liked it OK, but I've had EQ5 for a number of years and will be updating to EQ6 ASAP. I love it. I especially like beign able to scan fabrics and pictures into the computer for use wiht the program. Good luck.

butterflywing

according to their information, 1-2-3 works only in windows.