Please give me your opinion of EQ6. Is it as user friendly as they say, and is it worth the money? My son has picked out a quilt pattern that calls for about 48 different fabrics and it's all small pieces. I'd love to "see" it with actual fabric and colors before I start so I can make any necessary changes beforehand. Thanks for your input.

I have it and I love it. It takes a little to get used to doing some things, but there are tutorials built in to help. Do you know anyone that has it? Maybe you could play on theirs before committing to purchasing your own copy.

I don't know anyone right off hand that has it. Thanks for help though.

I've had my EQ for a couple of months now and love it. I have designed a whole lot of quilts :), only sewing one so far. I did read the manual that comes with it and I spent the time completing the lessons. I even took a class at my LQS (which was fun, but not too informative since I'd already read up on everything.)

In terms of the cons, I think you need to be realistic about how long it takes to learn the software. I had an early version of EQ and realized after I got it that it was going to have a steep learning curve (for me, anyway). I decided some time ago that I am better off spending time actually making quilts than designing them.......

I use EQ6 for amost every quilting project. I did not feel that there was much of a learning curve; however I am very comfortable around computers. If you are familiar with other Windows programs, know how to use the mouse, the left and right mouse buttons, shift and control keys, etc. then you should have no problem.

I have not found it necessary to start scanning in my own fabrics, since there are so many fabrics available already within the EQ6 package, as well as more on the internet that can be downloaded. I just look for fabrics of a similar color, and so far that has worked fine. I don't expect the quilt that I make to look exactly like the design - what would be the fun in making it then?

The only times I have been thwarted by EQ6 were when I wanted to design with different types of non-rectangular blocks that weren't already in the EQ6 quilt layout page. Generally I can find a workaround, however. My avatar is an example - the blocks are different shapes, not all are rectangular, and trying to put it together in EQ6 was difficult. As it was, I was only able to make an approximation in EQ6, but I learned something about the quilt and about the program while trying.

Thought I should add...I spent 5 days learning EQ6 (basics) and am computer saavy. By the 6th day (I was anxious) I had already designed 3 quilts and plan on making 2 of them for Christmas and 1 for a wedding quilt. Hope that helps a bit.

No cons at all. Don't worry about being advanced with it from the start. It's the only quilt software that you will not reach the limit of what it will do.

I love EQ!!! I do learn new things on it all of the time, but the bascis are very easy to learn. There are enough members here that if you had questiong about doing something, someone here should have an answer. Also you can call or email EQ and they will walk you through a probem, too!!! I think it is well worth what I paid for it :D :D :D

I got EQ2 before I ever got my first computer, and have up-graded to 3 then 4 and 5 and now have 6.I can not say enough good about the program. Not only can you design your quilt, but it will tell you how much fabric in each color you need to buy. Sure saves a lot worry about if you have enough fabric. You can also scan in your fabrics and see it finished , and if a fabric does not go well you can chage it before you ever make your first cut. For me I love the program!

i too have high praise for EQ.

i only downside would be, if you only plan to use it to make 1 quilt it would be a waste of money.

its rather costly and if you put out the bucks for it you really need to use it.

i've used it for every quilt i've made in the last 7 years - either for the block design, border design, or the entire quilt... but every quilt has some form on EQ in it.

I love mine. It took me a year to convince myself it could be worth the money but after I got it I can say it is. Do the tutorials and you will have no problems with it.

Several of us at the shop were talking yesterday about the concept of selling kits for small, simple functional items like table runners or placemats. I thought that maybe a program like EQ6 could be used to create the design, and then we could fill the design in using fabrics we have... and then when we run out of one of the fabrics, replace it with something similar and re-create the "picture" so to speak. Or maybe we could use the same pattern, but fill it in with, say, different holiday fabrics, and then EQ6 would, so to speak, sew the demo project.

Now, I've never used EQ6 or even seen a demo. I'm just "imagining" how it might work. I believe that even the project sheets that the manufacturers use to sell their collections, are only "virtual" not "real" quilts. So they (the manufacturers' marketing departments) must also be using some kind of software to create their patterns.

I'd really appreciate it if someone who actually uses EQ6 could tell me if I'm off base about all this, or if how I'm thinking we could use it is at all reasonable.

I suppose I should also ask, about how much EQ6 costs?

Favorite Fabrics you can use it exactly in that way....I use the same designs/patterns and just swap out fabrics all of the time!!!
Yes a lot of these manufactures do use EQ to make the free quilt patterns...as well as other pattern makers.

http://www.electricquilt.com/Shop/EQ6/EQ6.asp

Well, sort of, but if I buy a pattern or a kit I would like to think that the people putting it out have actually sewed the thing together at least once, and that the pattern reflects the lessons learned. I think you can easily tell whether a picture was generated by software or by photographing a real quilt.

EQ6 is a design tool, but it does NOT provide what I expect in a pattern that I actually pay for, or even one that I get free when I buy yardage. It doesn't give step by step sewing directions, which are expected to be included in a pattern. The yardage estimates are helpful, but if you actually make the pattern you may find better ways to cut the fabric that will change the yardage requirements.

So yes, I would say you can get a nice picture of how something would look in different fabrics using EQ6, but you should not use it as a substitute for making the quilt at least once in the real world before you put together a kit.

There are other quilt programs besides EQ. I use Quilt-Pro version 5 and like it just fine. I can create my own blocks, make them PP projects, scale print so they are what ever size I need. web site is www.quiltpro.com they have a demo verison you can try before you buy.

I Also have been getting EQ since it was just EQ. I love it as well. If you look at the video tutorials and do the lessons. You will ge the basics and that will give you the tools to do most anything.

No I wouldn't just use it for one quilt. I'd use it for any other future quilts too. It's just that this one has me stumped by the design and his limited color choice for 48 different fabrics. Thanks for the input!

Thanks. I'll check this out too.

I love my EQ6!!! I did some of the tutorials and I designed my very first quilt and am now teaching it this Fall!!! I'm sooooooooo excited!

Thanks everyone. You have all been very helpful, as usual. It will be awhile before I even start on my son's quilt. I have 3 quilts in progress now, among other unfinished crafts. I will post them when they are finished. I work full time and just don't get to sew/quilt as much as I'd like to. But I do love my job too, so that helps.

As for cost. It's $149 new at Amazon and jhittle has it on sale every so often for less. Watch the sewing group sales such as SewitsForSale and Quilters Flea Market. There are some great buys on those. Many people buy and then decide they don't use it or need fast cash.

Thanks. That is good to know.

I bought Quilt Design Wizard, which is by EQ. It was only $30 and at the time I couldn't afford the EQ6. I had also read several posts on this and other forums where people had EQ6 but 'needed to spend more time learning it.' QDW is very basic, but very easy to learn. I use it more for a block swap I'm in - very easy to audition colors/fabrics for single blocks.

Does it have a lot of colors/fabrics to choose from?

I also have quilt wizard and like it alot. You cannot design your own blocks but you can audition different quilt designs. It also has an online quilt of the month download. It has plenty of fabrics but it soon becomes out of date. You can rotate blocks, combine different blocks to see how they work togather. It says it has 200 blocks but I dont think it has near that many.
It has instructions for piecing and paper piecing but they are not the latest methods so you cut out each piece instead of shortcuts to do many at the same time.
It is worth the 30 dollar cost and is easy to use especially if you are not computer savey.

Here's the link to Quilt Design Wizard. You can view a demo.

http://www.quiltdesignwizard.com/qdw/about.asp

I'm sure it's limited on the fabrics, but there are enough colors and patterns to use to give you a general idea of what a block / quilt will look like.

Thanks all.

The only negative I've heard is that you can only install it 4 times. You would need to re-install it if you have a computer crash or if you buy a new computer. That's about it. Does anyone know if you can back it up on a Portable Hard Drive? That would eliminate having to re-install if your computer crashes.

what would make any of of these design tools obsolete? why do they keep coming out with new ones? once you learn to use, say, EQ5, why would you upgrade to EQ6?

I have had EQ 4, 5 & 6.
Don't use it a great deal, but it is fun & not too hard to learn if you know basic computing.
My biggest gripe is the fact that with EQ6 you can only put it on 3 computers, & then it will no longer download.
Luckily, I wasn't too fast at putting it on a computer, as both the desktop & laptop that I had at that time crashed. That would have been 2 downloads.
I put it on my replacement laptop only, - & that recently crashed! That would have been my 3 & last, - meaning that I would no longer be able to use the program I had paid $150 for.
At present it is not on either of my computers, & I am wondering if I can put it on a USB flash drive & use it from that. I seem to have become the queen of computer crashes.
My pfaff embroidery software has a usb dongle with it. You have to have the dongle inserted in order to use it. I thought that was a pest at the time, but I understand why they do this, - & now wish that EQ had gone the same route.

EQ does limit installations to 4 times to help protect them against piracy and copyright issues. They feel bad that they've had to do this, but alas, too many unscrupulous folks have copied their software for themselves and others.

You can call them and explain your crashes, they will work with you I'm told under certain circumstances (my paraphrase). I'm about to find out just how that works. I've had crashes in the last few years and have now met my limit of 4 installs, too. At worst, you may have to pay $35 for a new install. I suggest you give them a call and see what you can work out. I'll report back how it goes for me, too. Best of luck to you!!

I did just read this on their site, looks like we may be able to reinstall on a same computer. I'll give it a try later today and let you know.

About Activation

If EQ6 only has four activations, does it take an activation each time I have to reinstall the program?
Once you install EQ6 on a computer, reinstalling on that same computer is not considered an activation, unless you change the computer considerably, such as getting a new hard drive. This means under normal situations you can install and reinstall continuously on the same computer.

When you purchase software, most or at least some software only allow you to legally install on one computer. So if you have a PC and a laptop, that would require two separately purchased and registered copies to be legal. Is that true for EQ as well?
We allow more installation possibilities. We realize you may have a desktop, a laptop, a computer at work, and possibly one at another home, and want to install EQ6 on all of them. This does not break copyright law, since you are the only one using EQ6 on these computers. But there are only 4 activations possible. If you bought a new computer and have already used 4 activations, you would not be able to install again.[b]

Thanks quiltgranny,
I am still OK, as I have only put it on one computer so far. When mine crash, they never come back, - so the fact that they will allow many downloads onto the same computer wouldn't help.
I am going to try putting it on my external drive, & use it from there if that works, or maybe a flash drive, which would be more convenient to move it from desktop to laptop. Still thinking about it, - will wait for my techy son to visit & get hands on consultation. That's called kid pay back time, he he.
And yes, I know why they did it, but I would have prefered a dongle, - I haven't managed to lose my pfaff one in over 6 yrs, but in that time have crashed 5 computers! Wow, that makes me feel like the queen of crash!

Watch out buying EQ6 used - it may not have any installations left if the seller has already installed it 4 times!

I have had the EQ 6 for about 2 weeks and within 30 min, I was able to design anything I wanted. It's similar to a CAD design software. I feel that it is worth the money and the price is within reason when you think that designer Engineer software cost several thousand of dollars.
I think it has help me from making lots of mistakes as you can change the colors around and the setting of the blocks. I used to make a sample block to be sure what it would look like. Now with in a few min., I can see what it will look like.

Good point Joanne. Thanks. I just found out from my Bernina dealer that the new version 6 software has quilt design included. I don't plan on upgrading to V6 right away, but will check out what it does and decide if I'd even need EQ6. I'll check my V5 tonight to see if it has any quilt design appllications. Maybe someone here already knows about that. I do appreciate all the input!

It is my understanding that when you put the EQ6 on a computer it is counted as one install. if the computer crashes and you don't change anything out like hard drive, etc, only fix it. You can re-install on the same computer and it doesn't use an install. You can check with EQ about this. Also, if you do use all 4 of your installs, you can pay $40 and get additional install.
If you are buying a used software package, ask for the #, call EQ and they will tell you how many installs are left.

It worked!! YES, you can install more than 4 times on the SAME computer. I wonder, does anyone know if this is a relatively new policy, or maybe I've been under the wrong assumption all along? I thought 4 installations meant 4, regardless on which or how many different computers. Here, I've been without mine for a few months since I had to reformat my hard drive a while back and I thought I was going to have to call them and beg for another install.

I'm SO glad this topic was brought up today! I now have my EQ 6 back on my computer and am happy as a clam. No, I didn't think to just try it before, lol. I was so convinced that I wouldn't be able to re-install it (w/o a phone call), that I just didn't bother. I'm doing the happy dance now. Thanks again!! :D

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone have any of the stand alone software packages from EQ? Supposedly there are a few including 30s applique and the Dear Jane. I thought I'd purchase one of those first and see how I did with it before committing to the more expensive EQ6.

If I do get it, I'd like to be able to pull from the stand alones I've purchased.

Any problems with them during use or in combination with other EQ6 or hardware issues?
Do you use it regularly on various projects or just for a specific quilt and move on?
Thanks so much, RETRO

Watch out buying EQ6 used - it may not have any installations left if the seller has already installed it 4 times![/quote]

Thanks for posting this warning. I have heard the same from other online quilting groups. Several no longer allow used EQ software posts since members have been ripped off.