This month in the Longarm League, I sat down with Katie Hanson of Modern Textiles to talk about her recent job loss and pivoting to focus full-time on her own business, Modern Textiles. Katie has longarmed for several years, and also designs patterns and digital pantographs. After being laid off from a full-time corporate job, she's putting her efforts into turning her part-time business into her full-time career.

I loved discussing ideas with her about how she's moving forward and where she'll be focusing her energy.

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

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

Katie Hanson of Modern Textiles

Located: Alexandria, Minnesota
In the Longarm League: I think late 2019 or early 2020...it was just before I got my first longarm (A-1 with EZ Butler, sold that in 2023 and purchased the new to me Gammill in 2022)
Machine and software: ...

This month in the Longarm League, I sat down with Rebecca Moyer of Purple Bobbin to talk about growing her business; she recently added retail space and longarm rentals in addition to her longarming services.

Rebecca's recently moved to a new state, purchased a shop and additional longarm machines, and added fabrics and classes in her new shop. I loved getting to talk with her about her journey so far, her perspective on pursuing your dreams, and her plans moving forward.  

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

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

Rebecca Moyer of Purple Bobbin

Located: Hendersonville, NC
In the Longarm League: Since 2020, I joined Rookie Season before my longarm was even in my house!
Machine and software: APQS and IntelliQuilter(IQ). I have 4 different models of APQS Machines.

Where to find Rebecca
Website: https://www.purplebobbin.com...

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...

As I was working on this design, I kept thinking how similar it is to the Wishbone design. It may even look more like a wishbone than Wishbone?! My husband thought I should call it Tuning Fork, which would have also been an accurate description. I decided the one-word name 'Liquid' represented the flow and drip of the design.
 


This has been one of my favorite combos of quilt pattern + pantograph for quite some time! I can't help but have favorites.



I think the simplicity of this design gives it versatility and can be used in different styles of patchwork: contemporary, modern, water-themed, you-name-it. The curvy shape gives it an element of fun and playfulness.

The Quilt

Quilt Pattern

The pattern I used for this quilt is called Amelia by Crystal Manning. Once again, I was prepping for a retreat and needed some ideas of quilts to make before leaving. I believe I found this pattern while browsing on Pinterest, and my star-loving heart pitter-pattered with joy! 

I love ...

Diamond Drift is an extended-width design. The primary file is designed to travel across the whole width of the quilt and then back to form the nested diamond design. Watch the stitch-out video posted at the top of the page to see how the stitch path travles.



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. 

I love how the diamond shapes emerge as negative space in the center of the echoed lines. I really love the tiny secondary diamonds that form as the lines crisscross across the quilt top!

After I design a pantograph and am ready to test it out, I usually look at the stack of quilt tops I have already sewn up to see which would work best with the design. I believe I had eight tops to choose from this time. I picked this quilt ...

This month in the Longarm League, I sat down with Erynn Truex of True Threads Quilting to talk about her recent acquisition and re-opening of The Panto Shop.

Erynn's been a League member and professional longarm quilter for a few years now, and I was so excited when I heard she would be re-opening The Panto Shop after the previous owners decided to close. I loved getting to chat with her about this new part of her business, what the transition process has been like, and where she's planning to go from here.  

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

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

Erynn Truex of True Threads Quilting & The Panto Shop

Located: Phoenix, Arizona
In the Longarm League: I joined Rookie Season in Sept 2022 and have been a member ever since!
Machine and software: Innova M28 with Autopilot Mach3

Where to find Erynn
Websites: https://www.truethr...

Before we get started, I'd like to get the theme music for Game of Thrones in your head while you read this blog post.
 


I thought this spin on a classic clamshell shape looked a lot like dragon scales, but when it came to naming it, 'Dragon' didn't feel right. So, I spent approximately 10 hours (only a slight exaggeration) using ChatGPT to come up with a name. "We" were going for Mother of Dragons energy, but also kind of soft and nature-inspired. In the end, I thought Embercrest sounded like it could have been a house in Game of Thrones. Naming things is hard! 🔥



I love using simple shapes to create texture-rich backgrounds for quilts, and that's what I hope to have done with this design. It would be a great, jazzy alternative to a traditional clamshell quilting for quilts that need just a little extra flare. 

The Quilt

Quilt Pattern

The pattern I used for this quilt is called Simple Joys by Then Came June. It went together quickly and was fun to make at a recent retreat...

Last month we attended one of our favorite events of the year - QuiltCon! This year's event was in Phoenix, AZ. After a couple years in the Southeast, it was fun to head west again.

This year there were two Longarm League members vending at QuiltCon for the first time - Kristen Lee of Mashe Modern and Kaitlyn Howell of Knot + Thread Design. We thought it would be fun to interview them about their experience going from attendee to vendor, and have been releasing those calls, as well as our own in-depth vending recap, over the last few weeks.

While League members have full access to the recording of the interviews, we thought it would be fun to share about our own vending experience this year and asked Kristen and Kaitlyn to share a little more about their experience with our blog readers as well.

Without further ado, let's dive in...

Our booth this year was at the end of a row, making it easy for people to stop in to chat or rest their feet. This was our third year vending, and ea...

I released a digital pantograph called Plus last summer (shown in the next image). Leading up to the release, I debated about which orientation to use for the little plusses because I was going back and forth between the up-and-down orientation of Plus and the diagonal orientation of today's release. I ended up deciding that they were different enough that instead of either/or, we could have both! The right time—or rather quilt top—came along, and I thought the diagonal version would look great on it, so here we are today.

Plus:

More on the quilt top in a minute, but the 45º angles of the star patchwork in this quilt was what made me think Cross-Stitched would be a good fit for the quilting.
 


The small-scale of the pantograph design lends itself well to creating a texture-rich backdrop. There have been a number of times when I look at the effect of the quilting, and my brain wants to think that circles are part of the design, even though they aren't. I also pick up subl...

I'll always prefer a "graphic" style of panto design over a novelty one. That's my preferred aesthetic. With that in mind, meet Lovebirds! It's a kinda-sorta, lovey-dovey (ahem) take on a novelty concept for Valentine's Day... and beyond.
 


In each repeat, you'll find two pairs of lovebirds joined in an amorous but discreet pose. Awfully romantical! 💕



The mirrored shapes, gentle curves, and circles still work together to give the design a graphically strong quality that will result in a nice texture when quilted.

The Quilt

Quilt Pattern

I hopped aboard the bandwagon and joined Quilty Love's Patchwork Hearts II Quilt Along that started a few weeks ago (January 2025). Having sewn many of Emily Dennis's patterns before, I knew this would be fast-n-fun and a great way to use the fabrics I already had instead of buying new. It is a quick-win kind of project. The original Patchwork Hearts pattern is smaller in scale and while it would take more time, it's also very cute and requi...