At the end of October we hosted our 2nd annual Longarm League retreat!

We retreated again at Heartland Retreat Center in Kansas City, MO. and had an amazing time. We had around 45 of us this year, mostly Longarm League members as well as a few other friends!

The whole retreat was so much fun - lots of laughter and chatting, but there was also an amazing amount of productivity. Each time we had a finish, the person would ring the bell so we could all celebrate with them. I’ve included just a few finishes in this post, but you can see them all on our Retreat Highlight on the League’s Instagram account.

Chris Batten of Looped Quilting with a fun Halloween Cabin Nights Quilt:

Nichole Ganoung of Paradise Flats Quilt Co. with an Archie quilt:

Jess with a Redford quilt:

The setting at Heartland works so well for our group - lots of space inside for sewing, and large grounds with trails for walks and other activities. This year we added a second room for our group with iron...

Camber features repeating floral-inspired motifs with petals radiating from a center circle — a clean pattern that feels classic without feeling fussy.

Many of the new pantographs I've designed over the last several months (Modra, Wifi, Bloomlet, and Smokescreen) have had a "freestyle" or a handguided feel to them. In contrast, Camber feels geometric and structured.

Camber also bridges traditional and modern—my favorite way to live life! ☺️ The echoed line within each petal reminds me of Orange Dream, which is my take on a traditional orange peel. Except this design is a lot easier to use because precision alignment between rows is not required.

The slight curvature between rows creates a gentle wave effect that adds dimension. The word camber means the slightly convex or arched shape of a road or other horizontal surface. It’s a nod to movement—a tiny architectural nudge that softens the repeat and keeps the eye moving. Plus, I love the little triangle shapes that emerg...

Some designs start with a technical idea. Others begin with a feeling.

This one started with a story.

I recently finished making a baby quilt based on The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt — a sweet picture book about a ghost who feels different because he’s made of patchwork instead of a plain white sheet. It's such a cute story, and I knew it'd be perfect for a cousin of mine (born on Halloween!) who recently had her first baby. 

As I worked on the quilt, I wanted a gender neutral quilting design that felt soft but not sleepy — something with a steady rhythm and a bit of mystery, like smoke or fog curling through the air. That’s where Smokescreen came from.
 

Smokescreen is a fresh take on the meander — simple enough to blend beautifully into any quilt, but with a bit more attitude. The lines shift between gentle curves and tight turns, creating the illusion of movement without any hard angles or stops.

It’s an edge-to-edge design that gives just enough texture to enhance p...

Geometric, architectural, structured, linear. This edge-to-edge design has a distinct vertical orientation; it's simpler than a maze, more complex than straight lines. Since the components resemble a capital letter L followed by a lowercase "l" (and then mirrored and inverted), I thought it would be fitting to name it Lloyd.

When Josh and I recently went away for a long weekend and stayed at an Airbnb on Lloyd Street, I decided now was the time to release it. I actually set aside the design I already tested and went ahead with this one. It'll keep for another time!

 


I was delighted by how the design gave this scrappy version of the Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt a unified and cohesive look. I love how it turned out! 

As for the digital panto, I decided to round the corners of all the line segments, and I love how that simple element adds the slightest softness to an otherwise rigid and angular look. 



Lloyd would be great for quilt tops that feature vertical or linear ...

Fresh, fun, and full of charm—our newest edge-to-edge design, Bloomlet, is ready to make your quilts shine.

Bloomlet combines playful spirals with simple four-petal flowers, creating a joyful mix of curves and blooms. It has that lighthearted, whimsical feel that instantly brings a quilt to life. The design flows continuously, so while it looks sweet and detailed, it stitches efficiently from edge to edge.

 


When I created Peak Blooms (four years ago—wow, time flies!), I loved the little flourish at the center of the blooms. I pulled that same shape out for this design. By enlarging and isolating the petals and then repeating them in this motif, they become a stronger feature of the overall design.

I kinda, sorta designed this pantograph for this quilt. I didn't think a strong geometric design would work well with the patchwork, and the floral prints were inviting a softer, whimsical look. The petals of Bloomlet aren't uniform, and the spirals are asymmetrical as well, m...

This month in the Longarm League, we published a coaching call featuring Ligia Colello of Dearly Quilted. I sat down with her to talk about her quilting journey, which started in 2018 as a way to honor her late mother. Fast forward to 2025 and she's started her longarm quilting business and is transitioning to focusing on her business full time. We talked about her passion for branding and marketing, the strategies she's using to build her online presence and mail-in work, design collaborations and more.

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

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

Ligia Colello, Dearly Quilted

Located: Illinois
In business: Since March 2025
Machine and software: Bernina Q24 with QMatic
In the Longarm League: Since February 2025

Where to find Ligia
Website: www.dearlyquilted.com
Instagram: @dearlyquilted
Best way for someone to contact you for quil...

This month in the Longarm League, I sat down with Emily Denkers of Sew Em Quilting to talk about what it's been like leaving her day job to quilt full time.

Emily had her first child last year and had a goal to stay home with him full-time. I first talked with Emily back in 2023 in the early stages of her business (you can read more here), and I loved getting to hear about how she's worked to grow her business over the last couple years, and how she made her goal of quilting full time happen at the start of this year. She shared her strategies for how she approaches her work each week to make the most of her time, and also how she plans which quilts go on each machine to be most productive with her two longarms.

We covered so much ground on this call, getting into the details of Emily's arrangements with two local quilt shops that she works with where clients can drop off and pick up quilts, her streamlined pricing strategy, setting boundaries to have weekend time with her family, an...

Say hello to Wifi—a tech-inspired motif that blends mid-century curves with a playful, almost doodle-like feel. I've been on an "organic" kick lately, spending more time doodling since my class back in May with Karen McTavish. I'd really like to load up a practice sandwich again on my longarm frame and explore more shapes with free-motion quilting, just to see if any other pantograph ideas emerge.

With its arched echoes and nested half-circles, the design has a rhythm that hums along the quilt top like invisible signal waves. It’s bold but not overpowering, structured but still organic. These quirky motifs could also pass as rainbows. In fact, as I was watching this design stitch out, I caught a glimpse of an adorable rainbow on one of the pink prints. What a happy accident! 

 


Wifi might be a tech term, but this design doesn’t feel cold or clinical—it’s lively with just a hint of retro styling. It's fun to reimagine the ubiquitous symbols on our devices that we largely ig...

This month in the Longarm League, we published a coaching call featuring Paula Melendrez of Doodle And Stitch Studio. I sat down with her to talk about finishing the final pieces to fully launch her business, honing in on the client base she's looking to serve, and how embracing the take imperfect action mantra has helped with making progress on her business while still working full-time.

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

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

Paula Melendrez, Doodle And Stitch Studio

Located: Poway, CA
In business: 1 year
Machine and software: Innova M28 Longarm Machine with the AutoPilot Computerized Quilting System on a 12ft frame
In the Longarm League: 3 years

Where to find Paula
Website: Coming soon!
Best way for someone to contact you for quilting? The fastest way to get ahold of me is to call me: 858-442-8463

Q&A

Tell us a litt...

In the summer of 2022, we asked longarm quilters what their current go-to pantographs were. I invited quilters from the Longarm League membership—along with other quilters who follow our social media accounts or subscribe to our email newsletter—to chime in with their current favorite edge-to-edge designs. Since it's been a few years, we thought it was time to revisit and see which pantos are at the top of quilters' current go-to lists. These are the designs that are not only easy to use but also work well on many different types of quilts, a win-win for sure!

Ninety-five quilters participated in our survey this year (up from 2022), submitting three of their top choices for edge-to-edge designs. We compiled the list and sorted it according to the number of mentions each design received. Where we had a tie in votes, the designs are listed in alphabetical order.

We tried to be as accurate as possible when compiling this list and crediting all of the quilters and designers involved in each ...