Each month in the Longarm League, we hold a coaching call with one of our members to talk about their business. This month I sat down with Emily Denkers of Sew Em Quilting. We talked about her success in  building up her longarm quilting business over the past year while working another full time job, her plans to eventually move to longarming full time, quilt photography, and more.

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Emily to share a little more about herself and her business with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Emily...

Emily Denkers, Sew Em Quilting

Located: Fielding, UT 
In business: 1 year
Machine and software: Babylock Crown Jewel 3 with Pro-Stitcher 
In the Longarm League: Since January 2023

Where to find Emily
Website: https://www.sewemquilting.com/
Instagram: @sewemquilting
Facebook: Sew Em Quilting
Best way for someone to contact you for quilting?...

Tread Lightly is named as such because of an embossed design I came across on Pinterest that looked like shoe tread... I don't think it was, but it very much could be, don't you think? 

'Tread lightly' is also a key phrase used in a pivotal moment in the series Breaking Bad. Since we watched that series again with our teenagers recently, it was fresh in my mind. Oh boy—on the last watch-through, I really hated Walter White! But that's a topic for another day.
 

Oh yes, back to "shoe tread". This design is sort of like a simplified serpentine meander with a well-placed circle within each shape. The alternating blob directions—pointing up and then down—make for an interesting way to fill space and result in easy-to-nest rows.

It's always nice to have some wiggle room when realigning an edge-to-edge design.

The design is quirky and fun and would be great for kids quilts or any modern top. I was so excited to use it on this vintage top...

Each month in the Longarm League, we hold a coaching call with one of our members to talk about their business. This month I sat down with Kim Tocci of Quigley's Quilts. We talked about the importance her website and Google Business Profile have had in building her clientele, her soon-to-be-completed purchase of a second longarm, and her plans for the future.

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Kim to share a little more about herself and her business with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Kim...

Kim Tocci, Quigley's Quilts

Located: Broomfield, CO
In business: 3 years
Machine and software: APQS Millie with QuiltPath
In the Longarm League: 2 years

Where to find Kim
Website: https://www.quigleysquilts.com/
Instagram: @quigleysquilts
Facebook: Quigley's Quilts and Longarm Quilting
Best way for someone to contact you for quilting? Through my website.

 ...

First thing's first. It's pronounced shandy.

I didn't want to spell it with an "s" because I think the descending circles give off big chandelier energy and wanted to maintain that attribute as part of the name. Also, I believe there are other chandelier named pantographs, so Chandy seemed like a fun way to distinguish this one.

As far as other design attributes, this pattern features repeated lines at opposing angles and at different intervals that provide interesting texture. Throw in some circles, and you get a dynamic result! 

The interplay of the rows is central to the design, so make sure to read the technical details before using this digital pantograph.



True story: I stitched probably a good 20" of another design (that I'll release soon) on this quilt before I decided it was all wrong and unpicked everything. It actually could have been cute at a smaller scale, but against the simple shapes of the patchwork, I...

Hi everyone! Cheryl here, Executive Assistant at the Longarm League (that's me kneeling down in the red Longarm League sweatshirt in the photo below). I'm taking over the blog today to recap my first trip to QuiltCon! Later in the post we're also highlighting several of our members' thoughts on the show. There's lots to dive into, so grab your favorite beverage (coffee anyone? ‍) and settle in for a fun read.

Thoughts on My First QuiltCon

I’ve wanted to go to QuiltCon for years, but it was either not in the budget, wrong timing, you name it. So when Jess mentioned the idea of vending last summer and asked what I thought, I was 110% in!

Planning for QuiltCon

Months before heading to the show we started planning and working on all the backend stuff, like renting the booth and planning / designing how we’d set it up. In my past corporate life I used to manage the tradeshows my company vended at, so it was fun to revisit tasks like mocking up and designing a...

This week our Longarm League and Digital Panto Club members are getting a bonus design in their inboxes from Heather Derksen of Red Willow Quilts. Meet Petal Pursuit! You can buy it here in Heather's shop.

Petal Pursuit

From Heather:

The initial iteration of this design had twice as many circles but required precise alignment between rows. However, with a bit of tweaking I was able to create a design with only a small amount of backtracking. It has the same feeling I set out to create with a small space between rows to reduce the difficulty of the alignment.

This design is set up with rows being offset, leaving a small gap between the rows. As I mentioned, there is a small amount of backtracking, but it sits right in the middle of the ‘flower’ design and shouldn’t pose too many problems as it’s not overstitching previous rows.

Technical details

Specifications for this stitch out test are as follows:
Row Height: 3.25”
Rows are offset by 50%
...

Each month in the Longarm League, we hold a coaching call with one of our members to talk about their business. This month I sat down with Leslie Reid of Reedy River Quilts. We talked about her quilting journey - moving from decades of hand quilting to finding a love of longarm quilting after developing arthritis, using social media to find your quilt community, and strategies for building a client base.

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Leslie to share a little more about herself and her business with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Leslie...

Leslie Reid, Reedy River Quilts

Located: Greenville, SC
In business: 8 months
Machine and software: Innova Mach 3 with Auto Pilot
In the Longarm League: Almost one year

Where to find Leslie
Website: https://www.reedyriverquilts.com/
Instagram: @reedyriverquilts
Best way for someone to contact you for quilting? Fill out my...

Unusable Wall Space

Since moving into our house over four years ago, I had accepted the fact that I would not have a design wall in my long, narrow sewing room (18.5' long x 10.5' wide). I felt lucky enough to have a space to accommodate my 12-foot longarm frame with some room to spare. In order for the huge machine to fit, it had to be positioned in front of the only wall that could have functioned as a design wall-wall. If I had to choose, I would had given up a design wall any day to have easy access to my longarm. It was a no-brainer.

Possible Solution

But, what if I didn't have to choose?

In mid-November of last year, I had an idea that would make the wall behind my longarm machine useful.

Furniture sliders.

I bought the product pictured below from Amazon (affiliate link.)

Please note, these are for hardwood floors, so if you have a different flooring surface, another variety of slider might work better for you. 

The picture...

This is Pluma! Not only was it on display in our booth at QuiltCon last weekend, but it was the most popular quilt in our booth! More on the pattern later in this post.

Pluma is a unique digital panto in that it features feather plumes going against each other in each repeat. It's almost as if the larger couplet of plumes swallows the smaller couplet. It makes for interesting movement.

As a way of connecting the two halves of the design, there's a circle in the center of the motif. This provides another interesting textural element.



The plumes are stitched out individually with each plume nestled closely with its neighboring plume. While there is some minimal backtracking/overstitching in the design, it does not occur in the feathers.

The Quilt Design

I used the 2023 Stronger Together Quilt designed by Michelle Ramsay of Quilts Made with Love. She hosted the Quilt Along for this last month during Black History Month. This...

Each month in the Longarm League, we hold a coaching call with one of our members to talk about their business. This month I sat down with Meghan Morris of A Piece of Quiet Quilts. We talked about the work she's put in building her business over the past year, smart branding, the recent release of her second quilt pattern, and prepping for Quiltcon!

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Meghan to share a little more about herself and her business with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Meghan...

Meghan Morris, A Piece of Quiet Quilts

Located: Durham, NC
In business: Just over one year!
Machine and software: APQS Lucey with Intelliquilter
In the Longarm League: 1.5 years - I joined the Summer 2022 Rookie Season cohort

Where to find Meghan
Website: https://www.apieceofquietquilts.com/
Instagram: @apieceofquietquilts
Best way for someone to contact you for quilting? I will gladly...