EQ7 Reviews

"Our McCall’s Quilting editors are taking full advantage of our newest team member — EQ7! From block drafting to designing with true-to-scale fabric swatches, from double-checking patterns to quickly creating assembly diagrams, from instantly re-coloring a design concept to making perfect templates, our newest team member is a star. We love you, EQ7!”
- Beth Hayes and Staff, McCall’s Quilting

"I have had EQ5 and EQ6 and now I have EQ7. I never tried to scan fabrics before because I thought it would be too much trouble. WOW! I did it tonight on EQ7 and it was the easiest thing I have ever had to do with a computer. Thank you EQ so much it was fun."
- Carol Maddox, Tacoma, Washington

"One week ago, I received my EQ7 upgrade....and of course I couldn't wait to try it. One word: SUPER!! For everybody with any ''fear'' for EQ7: not neccessary...just buy, install and play!! This version is the best of all, with good features for drawing and adding photos into your quilt design. And a lot more to explore!"
- Yvonne Muller, Netherlands
http://handige-handjes.blogspot.com

"I just wanted to say that EQ7 is like an extension of my hand. It just flows and is so easy to use. The new photo options are just wonderful especially if you are designing a T-shirt quilt or memory quilt, you can save the pictures without having to import each time. Drag and drop of quilt blocks is especially nice! So many new tools and options - I didn't think there was much to improve on, but Electricquilt has done it again."
- JoAnn Korzenko
Quilt maker, designer, teacher and pattern maker, Kent, Ohio

"You people at EQ are the best!! I have been using my copy of the EQ7 upgrade every day from applique, paper piecing, pieced blocks and borders. I know that I have still SO much to learn. EQ has been there for me when I feel like I am stumped. EQ comes to my rescue everytime. I LOVE my EQ more than I do my microwave! LOL!! I have not run into a single bobble. You continue to provide the best product and customer service around!! Please accept my continued support!"
- Susan Wood

"Got EQ7 yesterday - have been playing with it - no trouble at all to install - and am having a blast. Love the videos and the printable lessons - expect I will be designing my own stuff pretty soon! EQ7 does a lot of the work that was hard for me (math!!) and makes it fun to plan a project."
- Sue Legg

"EQ7–More and More to Love:
As an instructor and user since EQ1, I think the Electric Quilt keeps getting better all the time. Some of my favorite new features are:
1. The Image Worktable that reduces the need to use another program such as Photoshop to prepare and edit images.
2. The cool new sashing block section in the Libraries. I designed a Garden Maze sashing with 3 clicks.
3. The really cool Swath tool that produces designs such as flying geese with one stroke.
4. Just Drag and Drop blocks for Custom quilts. Easy peasy!
5. Create and print kaleidoscopes of your photos for all types of projects.
EQ7 is perfect for everyone from the beginner to the seasoned pro. Great work, EQ!"
- Cheryl Brown, Tampa, Florida

"What EQ7 can do for Stack and Whack will simply blow your mind. I played with this feature for hours. Photo manipulation possibilities are endless too. You're gonna have fun with this version for sure!"
- Pat Daniels

"Dean and his hard working team have developed EQ7, a software package that does everything that was in EQ6 even better, and includes extra features.

For example, there is a new work space for photos and other graphic images. The team have listened to requests from users, and improved the whole program to meet most of these requests and suggestions. EQ7 is a worthy successor to EQ6.

The new activation system is easy to understand and use. We can run EQ7 on two computers at once. Activation does require on-line connection at the time of installation, and again every few months to keep the activation valid. EQ7 will remind users when this periodic check is due. So, if you have a laptop that may only get used occasionally, make sure to connect it to the internet and check your EQ7 validation before taking it away on vacation.

I have been working with EQ7 for nearly two months and really enjoyed the experience. They certainly have done it again, this is a great program."
- Gordon Cooper

"In each release the Electric Quilt (EQ) software gets better. The new tools included in EQ7 are the proof. The new Kaleidoscope tool, provides the opportunity to take pictures to the next level and add pizzazz to quilt blocks. Another new feature, the Swath tool, makes it easy to create those curved flying gees blocks across a block without the math. These are just two of the new tools, there are more."
- Elaine Stone-Arthur

"EQ7 Arrives With a Splash! The Electric Quilt Company has once again "WOW"ed us with the new version of their software, EQ7. The new integrated "Image" capabilities are awesome and will eliminate the need for a separate image processing software. EQ7 gives you the ability to move seamlessly back and forth between blocks, quilts, and images including photographs. The Apply Symmetries capabilities are REALLY fun and are guaranteed to eliminate any spare time you might have had before EQ7 arrived. But my personal favorite fun activity is to play with the Serendipity capabilities - instead of just 3 (in EQ6) there are now 7 ways to create new Serendipity blocks. The addictive Clip and Flip, Shrink and Flip, Kaleidoscope, and Fancy Star block capabilities create seemingly endless ways to develop new blocks.

In addition to all the new capabilities, however, there have been major additions to almost every aspect of EQ6, including many new blocks, fabrics, and layouts. There is now a Sashing library, so you can now easily put flying geese, stripes or other shapes into sashing strips or borders or blocks with several different sizes to choose from. Similarly, there are new libraries for Frames, Knots, and Seminole Piecing. I found the new Hexagonal layouts of particular interest, and the Twelve 12" Block layouts provide great starting points for larger-scale quilts. I've already designed one using the King Irregular Grid which may very well end up in my bedroom.

Finally let me mention several things that are really useful. Drag and Drop now exists throughout the quilt worktable. A new capability is Erase Quilt, which leaves the quilt layout intact but whites out all blocks from the layout, really great for that Custom Set you've been working on. Those of us who heavily use word processors will love the ability to put Copy and Paste buttons on the project toolbar. And my personal favorite is the Undo button which can be put on the project toolbar - didn't like that block, color or whatever, just hit the Undo! This has always been my most-heavily used software toolbar button, but it is especially useful in EQ when trying out all sorts of design possibilities.

CHEERS to the EQ staff for a truly significant upgrade to the EQ software - it contains so many things that will make our lives easier and allow all sorts of mind-expanding possibilities! EQ support is the greatest!!"
- Linda E in AZ

"La versione 7 di EQ ha davvero una marcia in più. Sono stati inseriti nuovi strumenti per l’elaborazione delle immagini e per la creazione di quilt. Già EQ6 era ottimo, ma EQ7 ha superato sé stesso. Il nuovo EQ7 combinato alla creatività di qualsiasi quilter sono un mix fantastico. E’ semplice e divertente usarlo e gli help video sono di grande aiuto. La possibilità di giocare con le immagini, il comando serendipity e tanti altri ancora vi terranno incollate al computer con lo stesso piacere con cui cucirete poi le vostre creazioni virtuali.
Ottimo programma, buon lavoro!

The 7th version of EQ is really great. It has new tools to play with images and to create quilts in a simple way. EQ6 was great but EQ7 exceeds itself. The new release EQ7, mixed with any quilters creativity, are a fantastic mix. It is simple and fun to use, and the video help is incredibly useful. Image tools, serendipity tool and many other tools keep you at the computer with the same pleasure you have when sew your virtual creation. Very gorgeous software: good work!"
- Simonetta Marini in Italy - www.stoffinstoffando.it

"I am so pleased with the new software! What a brilliant idea to be able to use the program for editing my picture layouts. The drag and drop feature for the palette is by far my favorite change. Followed closely by the drag and drop feature for custom set quilts. Oh and let’s not forget how the images for tracing are now stored with your projects! So many exciting changes in an already amazing program. I am just as excited about it now as I was when I first opened it up."
- Sindy
http://www.fatcatpatterns.com
http://sewingalong.blogspot.com/

"So many cool things about this new program. A whole lot of familiar things are even easier to do. And the new things are fantastic! I love being able to drag and drop blocks in a custom set. The new swath tool in PatchDraw is a favorite. Curved flying geese, and 'flying diamonds' following wherever your cursor goes. And you can pull the whole string, just like flying a kite. For brand new beginners, there are tutorials and help topics galore, plus the very kind real people at EQ, always ready to explain."
- Nancy in Mississippi

"The Electric Quilt software keeps getting better and better, just when you think there couldn’t possibly be any other improvements. EQ7 is the best yet, and this is coming from an EQ user and advocate since the very first version. The new features are so inspiring! I have already loaded up on lots of EQ Printable fabrics so I’m ready to print out a lot of the images I’m creating and tweaking in EQ7. The block library has been expanded, just when you think there can’t possibly be more blocks on this planet. The new additions to the collection of drawing tools make creating blocks even easier, often without having to do any drawing. A whole smorgasbord of block combinations exists from the block drawing worktable. Custom Set has been enhanced to help you design as you would on paper – graph paper, that is. Setting blocks has become more intuitive with drag-and-drop. There are at least 100 ways that EQ7 improves on EQ6, and anyone who has used EQ6 will find it even easier to use EQ7. I’m working on my casserole collection in the freezer so I have as much free time to explore EQ7 as I can."
- Barb Vlack

"EQ7 – What can I say but 'WOW'. There are so many wonderful new features such as the new image worktable which opens up unlimited possibilities for creativity, the neat swath tool and the new features in Serendipity just to mention a few. There are so many great features and tools to help create unique quilting projects. With the easy to use help menu and the dynamic help this program can easily be used by beginners and experienced EQers alike. The new activation function is perfect I now can use EQ on whatever computer I choose. This is a magnificent quilting program and the support from the EQ staff is fantastic. EQ7 is my new very best friend. Let the creativity begin."
- Judy Best
Canada, Quilter and EQaholic

"Electric Quilt just keeps getting better and better! With this new version, I really can design whatever comes out of my imagination. There's no limit to my creativity. There are thousands of quilt blocks to choose from and over 100 quilt layouts, if I want to make a quilt design with a traditional feel. I can draw my own blocks, combining patchwork with applique (including Celtic knotwork, my specialty) if I choose, for a more contemporary style, or bring in images directly into EQ for editing and use in my quilt designs, however I decide to use them, for making that unique art quilt. Patchwork, applique, embroidery, quilting designs.... Traditional, comtemporary, art.... The list of quilts I can create is endless and I love it!"
- Scarlett Rose, quilt designer, teacher and author at www.ScarlettRose.com

"Dean and crew have outdone themselves with this latest release! Generally, with any new software update, we all tend to keep the 'old' version and use the newer version as our learning curve increases. This definitely has not been the case with EQ7. I installed the latest version and haven't ever gone back! There are so many new features to love. My favorites are Shrink and Flip and Fancy Star Serendipity Tools. These along with the return of an old favorite Clip and Flip allow me to create all kinds of wonderful new block from an old favorite out of the block library. Way cool!!

Appliqué lovers will be really happy to see increased precision in the drawing and tracing tools. Plus you just have to try the brand new Swath Tool. Have you ever wanted to put a meandering line of Flying Geese in a Fall Picture? Now you can and the swath narrows to give the illusion of distance. Art quilt designers will love that Swath also give same effect with diamonds!

I am truly blown away with the new worktable for images. We could place photo's on Layer 3 in earlier version, but now we can skew images, play with lighting and pixilation and coloration. The biggest 'Wow' factor was being able to create a kaleidoscope effect with an image and then save it as fabric to color blocks. This effect is simply amazing!!

Once you try this new version, you will love this newest version as much as I do... It's simply wonderful!"
- Jo Moury

"I don’t know how the staff at Electric Quilt do it, but they’ve done it again. EQ7 is not a revision, it is a true upgrade. EQ7 has so many new wonderful features! Designing art quilts is a snap with the new Image worktable and tools. The fun to be had with new Serendipity tools kept me busy designing for a long time! The drag and drop feature is sure to be a big hit with new EQ users since it's a more intuitive way of moving blocks to the worktable. The dynamic help feature, videos and EQ7 help manual built into the software make this an exceptionally easy program to learn."
- Katrina Hamer

"I have been using Electric Quilt since EQ2. I thought EQ6 was the easiest version to learn and have told others to jump right in and get EQ6. I have heard back that I was correct and that they are enjoying creating projects in EQ6.

I didn't think anything could beat EQ6. EQ7 is not much different from EQ6, in fact it looks the same and everything you had in EQ6, you get in EQ7. BUT, there are so many new additions to the program that I didn't know I needed! And after working with the new tools, I find I can't do without them!

Along with a Block Worktable and a Quilt Worktable, there is now an Image Worktable. No longer do I have to manipulate photos in another program (Paint Shop Pro) before I use them in EQ7. Designed a photo quilt and was so pleased that I didn't have to leave EQ7 to crop photos "to square". And all the photo effects that are in EQ7 have had me playing with photos for hours. Love the Apply Symmetries effects. Another place to get lost in. The Image worktable is really the coolest thing!

Kudos to whoever has written the Help files for the Image Worktable. Everything is described in an easy-to-understand manner. I am finding out what all those photo effects do, with descriptions that I can understand and then visualize their use.

Another place to go and have fun is Serendipity. In addition to Frame Blocks, Tilt Blocks and Merge Blocks that are in EQ6, there is also Clip & Flip, Shrink & Flip, Kaleidoscope and Fancy Star. We may have tons of blocks at our disposal, but Serendipity gives you the chance to create even more blocks from existing blocks.

I use Custom Set a lot and just loved the new grid tool that snaps the block in the quilt layout, along with the "drag & drop" feature that lets you click on a block and drag it to the quilt and it plops right in on the grid. On Custom Set, the size of block that you designed on the block worktable is the size that plops in on the quilt which you can then resize on the quilt, if necessary.

I like being able to Zoom Out on a block or quilt so that the block or quilt gets smaller and is of very good quality when needing a small image for webpublishing or a pattern or a class handout. Can then make a JPG out of a Screen Capture.

In addition to using the Eyedropper tool for finding an existing fabric or color in your quilt, you can find a matching fabric to a color and a matching color to a fabric. And you can also find a block. That comes in mighty handy if you have modified a block several times and can't remember which version you used in the quilt. Finds the coloring you want when you have made many minor color changes in a block. Works beautifully for Sampler quilts.

There are so many other wonderful things that are new in EQ7, but I'm not going to worry about learning them all at one time. I am just going to use the program and then will find out, over time, that all those new things are waiting for me, when I need them. And will just enjoy mastering one thing at a time.

I will be reading "What's New in EQ7" from Help from time to time so that I can pick up on the new things I might have missed.

Thank you Dean and Ann and the whole EQ gang for making such a wonderful program as Electric Quilt. I think that EQ has given a lot of us quilters the opportunity to go just a little further in our quilt designing - designing quilts and other items that we would not have attempted years ago."
- Pat in South Florida
http://anotherpatch.blogspot.com

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