Clay

Do you mean the the program offers little or no advice on how to actually make the quilt by this statement?

Barb in Louisiana

It does not offer instructions on putting the blocks together. If it is a paper pieced block it will show you the numbers of the different pieces. I found that by drawing the pattern of the block myself, I actually was teaching myself how to put them together.

Clay

I think that Quilt Pro offers some sewing advice in that program. The has been quilting 30 years and is more interested in the design offerings of EQ7 than the how to sew features. It will be a new trick for old quilters.

DebraK

Congrats on your purchase. It sounds like you got what you really wanted.

Clay

If the Quilt Pro would have been on sale I would have bought that and not looked back. When you can buy Microsoft Office for student and home use for $120, it just didn't add up to me to pay $190 or more for a quilt program. Now I know that one is a a specialty piece of software that isn't used by the general public and I am comparing apples to oranges. I just needed that little "deal" to get me to move from "We will do it, how we have always done it".

The thing about EQ7 is that you can take a hands on course through many places and it has more widespread use than some of the other programs. We are headed to Quilt Week in Des Moines, IA on Friday. I see that there is a training on EQ7 then. The cost of the class is over 50% of the cost of the software.

How many of you have taken a formal class or did you glean information from other sources like YouTube?

Barb in Louisiana

I have never taken a class and know that I don't use the software anywhere near it's potential. You can download the manual here for free: http://electricquilt.com/product-upd...7-user-manual/

Everything EQ7 does is noted in the manual. I have looked up instructions more than once. It's a shame I can't remember it the next time I need to do the same function. Also....DoYouEQ has a monthly challenge that anyone can participate in. I do it each month just to get the quilt designs of the PRO's. http://doyoueq.com/clubeq/

Good luck with your new purchase.

Clay

Thanks for the tips Barb. Already it looks like one can spend a lot of time on the design part of the quilt making process. I've downloaded the manual and put the doyoueq link in my favorites. Appreciate the shove in the right direction.

Barb in Louisiana

You are welcome.

quiltingshorttimer

Clay--mine came with a print manual but I have also purchased from EQ the Design a Quilt and Draw a Block books and really learned a lot from the lessons each book walks you through--I find I go back to them often and think its easier to find what I' looking for than in the manual. I have taken a course at IMQS this past spring from Reeze Hanson on how to use it with Quiltmaker download program or the drawing program to actually show quilting designs on the block/quilt as ideas--THAT was really helpful!

Clay

Nice to hear that the books are helpful. I've been watching a whole bunch of video on this program.