Introducing our latest digital pantograph design: Verdance. The name is a play on the word verdant, which means green with grass or other rich vegetation. With its leaf motifs, Verdance will add a touch of nature-inspired curves to any quilt.
 


The main feature of the design started with the concept that leaves traveling in opposite directions would form a cute little orange peel. Originally, the larger circles were smaller and empty inside. Actually, the leaves were uniform in size, as were the orange peels and the blank circles. As I stitched out this first iteration, I didn't even get halfway through the first row when I decided to stop and re-work the design.

With the first try, I had to bump up the scale so that the leaves wouldn't be annoyingly small, but doing so made the circles too large for my liking, especially with nothing inside of them. I adjusted the size of all the leaves to create a subtly staggered effect, and I also enlarged the circle to add a decorative f...

What good is the Internet if you can't use it to jump on a trend? The first time I saw something relating to "very demure" was an Instagram Reel of a real estate agent in Des Moines, describing the city as "very demure". I thought that was an odd way to describe it, but I continued with my day. In a short amount of time, I saw "very demure, very mindful" pop up in so many other places that I had to google it. Apparently, it originated with TikTok influencer Jools Lebron as a way to describe her look and way of being. It has caught fire from there! Now "very demure, very mindful" is a phrase that is popping up everywhere, and just when I needed a name for my new design. It fits, doesn't it? 



Demure's design starts with the outer petals and ends with the medaillion-like framing around a center circle. The repeating shape is elongated. 



Every other row is staggered at 50% with this design. When arranged, the row-to-row nesting is minor and is not challenging to align when stitch...

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 pattern can be downloaded with a donation to ...

This is Sketch! Up until very recently, I'd planned to name it Cottonwood but when I discovered that's already another designer's pantograph name (with a related hashtag). I decided to go off-script and name it something unique.



The only trouble with having a really abstract design that could look like one hundred things and also nothing? Naming was hard. Why does it seem that I either have great name right away or I'm stress-listing stream of consciousness options and calling on friends and family for help? There's no in-between!

What I like about this design is that it's much more abstract and off-kilter than designs I normally create. There's a fun energy to this design—a bit folksy and quirky. I'm ordinarily not one to use negative space when it comes to pantograph designs, but I have to say that I like the organic-looking spacing of the motifs between the rows with this design. It looks more free-flowin', like a sketch!

I also like that the overall texture reads as ro...

I'm glad the time has come to release Pretty Petals into the world! As a designer, I can't help but have varying levels of excitement about the designs I work on. I'm sure this is totally normal with any creative job. I can't say this is my favorite design ever, but it's up there because of the overall texture it creates! 



What I like about the design is the relative uniformity of the lines and spacing throughout the top. It just makes my heart happy. I like that it produces interesting texture that you don't have to think too much about. I like that it creates a background of pleasant arc-shapes that'll allow the focus to be on the piecing.

Floral themes are common in quilting in both the fabric selections available and in the quilt patterns themselves, so I like that this digital pantograph has a floral element that should compliment a floral top.

I also like that this design would pass as an interesting geometric element to enhance a quilt top that has no floral element...

I feel like I owe you an explanation for the name of this design. That will be coming soon.

But first, I thought I'd tell you the inspiration behind it. Back in December of 2021, Josh and I were watching the series called Landscapers that had recently premiered on HBO. It is based on a crime set in the 1990s in England. The series is visually moody, drab, and dark. There's a scene in an upstairs bedroom that had deep red, ornate wallpaper and I found myself asking Josh to stop and go back to a frame that showcased the wallpaper better. 

This is what caught my eye.

While it's definitely not the same, this was my first sketch from the inspirational wallpaper:

After playing around with the design a number of times on my reMarkable tablet, I slowly let the feathers get plumper and more prominent as part of the design, allowing me to fill in the space more evenly while keeping the floral center.

Here's how the design evolved as I was sketching:

When it comes to feathers,...

You know what they say about April showers... they bring May Flowers!

April was a dreary, wet month where I live in Central Iowa and it's actually continuing into the first few days of May. But we have hope that sunshine and flowers will appear very soon!

I really love Scandinavian design and I hope that comes across in this simple tulip-esque pantograph. To jazz it up just a bit, I added a scalloped edge to the repeat. It should be a great choice for the upcoming spring quilts in your queue. 

May Flowers could be used both on traditional and modern quilts—the scale is adaptable, as well. I'll give you my details for this sample below.

 
Here are my specifics using a baby-sized sample in the photos (45" x 45" quilt size):
Row height: 3"
Gap: -1"*
Pattern height: 4"
Offset: 50%
Backtracking: none

*Gap refers to the space I'm allowing between rows. I use an Intelliquilter for my computerized quilting, and because that measurement is quantifiable, I provide it here.

The row h...

I'm going to be honest and let you know that this is likely the only whole garden you'll ever see me cultivate. The two "plants" I have in my house are plastic. I tell myself it's because of the naughty cats.

I know, I know! So many quilters also love to garden, so I feel like these are fighting words. But, I gotta be me!

I was captivated by the idea of making fanciful floral shapes that looked "illustrated"—if you will—with no particular directionality.

I think this design would look great on quilt tops for kids, or for modern tops, or even quilt tops with a Scandinavian theme, if you'll allow me to get super-specific about it and my influences.

I'll also state the obvious and say this digital pantograph design could also be great with floral-themed quilts! Or with quilts using a lot of solid fabrics or negative space. You know... to add some extra interest and texture.

As a digital pantograph designer, I like to disguise "hard rows" whenever possible. I experimented wit...