Onebyone

I've had EQ since is was on floppy disc and ran on MS Dos. I remember when the designer of EQ said he would never use Windows. LOL. The ones that see the potential of the program will get the most out of it and will want to learn all it can do. When I hear someone questioning the value of EQ then I suggest they don't buy as they will always think it was money wasted.

quiltin-nannie

I paid the money for Quilt Design Wizard and am so glad I did. I had wanted EQ since about edition 4 but never spent the money. When I found out I could get QDW for very little money and try it out, that's what I did. And I found out I would not have had the patience for the huge learning curve for EQ. Spend the $20 or whatever for QDW first.

Prism99

It really depends on your individual needs as a quilter. EQ7 has a ***huge*** learning curve for most people so, if you are not into spending a lot of hours at the computer, EQ7 may be a waste of money for you. Be sure to do a "search" here on the QB to find older threads about EQ7. Personal experiences with it vary widely -- from indispensable for some quilters to totally frustrating for other quilters. I would advise you to be realistic about what you enjoy. Possibly because I have spent so much time working on computers over the years, I prefer actually sewing and quilting with fabric. I also prefer seeing a quilt evolve as I work on it, rather than planning it all out ahead of time. For me, that is the more creative process. Maybe someday I'll want to master EQ, but not today!

eparys

EQ, for me, falls into the category of a must have. Prism99 is correct however - it depends on what you need as a quilter. I enjoy the ability to change the block settings, play with sashing, build borders that look proportionally correct, resize blocks and the last biggie for me is to be able to turn just about any pieced block into paper pieced.

That being said, some have said that it was difficult to learn. I myself did not have much of a problem and I use it all the time - but even with the frequency of use, I still only utilize about 50% of what is available in the program. I am always learning.

It is a pricey item and there are some less expensive options out there. If you are able to attend either a sewing or quilt expo often they have demos of these types of quilting programs and you could see first hand what each of these products do can compare them first hand. Also - is a quick google check - there is even and online quilt design
program you can subscribe to for $9.99 a year

Boston1954

I have EQ5 that my sister gave me. I love playing with the thing even if l don't actually make very many of the patterns that I make up. My sister has EQ7 and she hardly touches it. If you feel that you would not really make use of it, have him take you to the LQS and let you pick out some nice yardage.