new to EQ? me too!

When I stumbled upon a marked-down copy of EQ7 earlier this spring, I couldn’t help my slightly-addicted-to-online-shopping self.  Up until that point, I’d done a bit of research and found an awesome paper piecing tutorial by Joanna of Shape Moth and quite a few helpful videos on YouTube… so really the only thing missing was the program itself :D  (One click and virtual swipe of the credit card quickly solved that!)

I started toying around with it almost immediately, but still have so much to learn to be anywhere near as proficient as the likes of Joanna and Kristy of Quiet Play.  So imagine my surprise when Heidi over at EQ asked if I wouldn’t mind sharing my two cents on the software as part of their recent “New to EQ” feature?*  To the extent that lack of expertise is a qualifying factor, I certainly get high marks :)

So, what's there to love about EQ7?  Lots.

It’s made for quilters.

As much as I love my Creative Suite (shout out to any other long-ago aspiring copywriters out there), there’s something to be said for a program dedicated to one particular thing.  Especially when that one particular thing is quilting.  I think my heart skipped a beat the first time I whipped up a layout for my ‘shott{ing} stars design.  Not only is it super easy, but it also helps to quickly pair an image with a idea that turns out to be less than intriguing in real life (e.g., “Hm, what if I set the blocks on point?” “AH! That looks terrible.”  Crisis averted.)

Customizable pattern printing.

Printing patterns can be as easy or involved as you want it to be.  You can just click print, and voila, pattern printed.  Or, you can customize the line thickness, seam allowance, and even the font of the template labels.  As a former (#oldhabitsdiehard) Photoshop junkie, I *love* that I can easily generate seam allowance-free templates and block images using EQ, and then just as easily take those files and layer them into my go-to Photoshop pattern file.  (Having developed my pattern designs pre-EQ, that seamless transition is a major plus in my book.)

Support.

Last (for now), but certainly not least, a product is only as good as the people who stand behind it.  Lucky for EQ users, they’ve got great folks backing them up.

Now the only thing left for me to do is figure out what I need to do to get it running on my new mac so I can officially lay my poor old PC down to rest …preferably before it dies on its own.  (Side note:  I did recently read that EQ will be releasing a made-for-mac version in the near future (!) but I think I'll have to hold off until they come out with an apple-friendly Blockbase).

In the meantime, keep an eye out for more EQ posts in the works about framing blocks (à la forest and starry sky), and traditional designs inlaid with mini-blocks (à la diamond-studded DWR).  Because why not mix things up?  Stay tuned!

So, do you EQ?  Photoshop?  Paper and pencil? (All of the above?!)  Tell me, what's your design tool of choice?

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*In the interest of full disclosure, the kind folks at EQ have offered a few books in exchange for my thoughts.  All the same, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% unswayed by said literature.

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