Always is a new digital pantograph design that is a breeze to stitch out. The curvy contours of this shape work so well in providing a pleasant contrast with the straight lines and angles of most patchwork.



There's a retro feel to this design, too, but will fit the "mood" of many contemporary or modern quilts.

The Name

You might know from reading my previous blog posts that I often use a working title for designs before they get released and need a "real" name. Well, the working title for this one was Lightdays because of the shape resembling a pad. And well, growing up I could count on that particular brand being tucked away in the bathroom cupboards, so that's what my mind went to. My sister thought this was hysterical when I texted her the design with the name, and that's all that really matters. 😂

But obviously I couldn't actually use Lightdays as a name. I didn't want it to be THAT obvious or cause anyone to avoid using the pantograph because of the name. I asked my fr...

The inspiration for the Groove design came from the subtle curve of lava lamps. I really liked the idea of non-symmetrical, gentle curves contained within the straight lines and perpendicular angles that "house" the lava lamp shapes.

Do I detect a "mid-century modern" vibe here? It wasn't intentional but I also wouldn't be mad about that. Not one bit!

The orientation of the design is more of a vertical nature, which just doesn't seem to be as common with digital edge-to-edge options. Much like the 'positive', sometimes you want to ac-cen-tuate the vertical! 

The repeated motif is staggered, meaning that when it comes to setting it up with your computerized system, you will not need to offset. Just close the gap between the rows and you'll be good-to-go. The stitch path can be viewed in the video at the top of this post. There is some backtracking, but overall it has a smooth and fluid stitch path.

This design would be great on modern quilt tops or like I mentioned ear...

The Longarm League's latest digital pantograph release is called Friends of P. Yes, it's a strange name for a digital pantograph design, but it's also the name of a quirky and catchy song from the mid-nineties by a band called The Rentals. Watch the video here and I'm so sorry if it gets stuck in your head!

I hope it's obvious as to why Friends of P came to mind when I was trying to name this design. My maiden name starts with a P also, so I guess I'm partial to the letter.

There is certainly a "mod" vibe to this design as well, so keep it in mind for your grooviest, mid-century-looking tops! :) 

This sample quilt size is approximately 45" x 50". For a reference in scaling the design, the pictures here show a 4.0" row height with a gap between rows of -0.396" which created a pattern height of 4.396".  

There are some small areas of backtracking, back-stitching, over-stitching, whatever you want to call it, but nothing that's too difficult to execute or line up. Ther...