I have to admit, this digital pantograph is kind of showy. It's bold, it's eye-catching, it thrums with exciting texture! 



When creating this design, I began by exaggerating the length of feather plumes. I loved the concept of the feather "bump" (and therefore the backtracking) being so cute, tiny, and manageable, while the long lines of the design move the pattern forward; they are stitched in an alternating fashion without backtracking. What I ended up with looked so similar to a herringbone pattern, especially with the rows of feathers placed so close to their neighboring rows, even though they don't interlock or touch.



I wanted to keep the feather ends soft and rounded, which differentiates this design from traditional herringbone patterns. These columns (or rows, depending upon the direction the quilt is loaded) of feathers have finite ends and are "self-contained" without actually merging together. However, the eye wants to make sense of the overall texture, which read...

Every once in a while, a quilt comes off the frame and reminds me exactly why I love quilting. I feel so grateful to have my own longarm machine at home so I can make quilts—and quickly! 

This one checks all the boxes: classic patchwork, calm colors, and—of course—dense, traditional quilting that gives the whole project an exclamation point!

The Patchwork

I made this quilt for a good friend in September of 2024, who was going through a difficult time. She's one of the classiest people I know! The way she dresses and decorates her home can be described as a sophisticated, effortless style.

When I was deciding what kind of quilt to make, I knew it needed to be timeless, so I went with the Sawtooth Star. The layout is made with 10" blocks using the Magic 8 method of making half-square triangles, since eight are needed for each block.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Magic 8 method is a quick and efficient way to turn a large pair of squares into eight half-square triangles (HSTs) at once. It...

Bespoke is an extended-width design with hand-drawn, unique feathers meant to look like free-motion quilting.



If you are new to extended-width pantograph designs, I'd encourage you to visit this blog post, which provides more information about this unique format. These designs are different than traditional edge-to-edge designs and may require different configurations or settings with your software. 

When looking for inspiration for a new digital design, I looked back at my photos from before I had a computerized longarm. I used a meandering feather design like this way back in the day as both an "allover" design and in custom areas (examples below), and thought that by using an extended-width digital format, I could recreate an edge-to-edge version.

I decided to call it "Bespoke" because it can look like custom quilting. I intentionally did not duplicate any part of the design to give it a one-of-a-kind and dynamic look.

The Quilt

When I first saw this quilt calle...