This is the fourth—and possibly last? (I said that last time) —design of my "Echoed" series. Originally, I created Echoed Swirls, then Echoed Curves. More recently, there was Echoed Circles, and now Echoed Stars!



This design takes after the original Echoed Swirls in its free-motion quilting look. Because of how the design is offset and nested, the rows are not easy to spot, which is why it could look like someone painstakingly fmq'ed it. 😉



I tried to make the stars vary slightly in size, without any of them being too big or too small. I also tried adjusting the tilt of the stars to give it a more organic look.



This design could be used for kids' quilts, modern quilts like this one, or even patriotic quilts. With the simple patchwork and a number of solid fabrics, I thought this quilt top could support quilting that's denser and more complex than with other quilt patterns.

The Quilt

Quilt Pattern

This is the Jelly Stripes quilt by Quilty Love. I finished it in October of 20...

Falling Star is a clamshell variant featuring a stylized star.

That's it! Thanks for visiting my blog! 👋 *waves goodbye*



This design has been hanging out in my sketchbook longer than its cousin Held Hearts (which was an emergency design made specifically for the quilt in the blog post linked above).



What makes this design distinctive is the split at the crown of the clamshell shape. And that split descends into a simplified star shape. Could we call it a twinkle? Yes, let's! The beautiful thing about the split is that it eliminates the need for any backtracking and is its own design element.

What I like about this little twinkle of a shape is that it echoes the same curves as the joining of the clamshells in the row below, nestling in just so.



It's a dainty little design that's meant to sparkle in the background, which is great for a busy, scrappy quilt like this one.

The Quilt

Quilt Pattern

I believe I stumbled upon this quilt pattern and purchased it through Etsy, but I'...

Earlier this year, Jess interviewed Stacey Lee of popular YouTube channel Stacey Lee Creative, about her partnership with Comfort Cases, a 501(c)(3) charity providing new comfort items—including quilts—to children entering foster care in all 50 states. In the call, Stacey invites Longarm League members to get involved with her community by donating quilting services and/or quilts made start-to-finish to Comfort Cases through her annual Quilt Donation Drive.

We wanted to extend this invitation to our public audience as well, as this is a wonderful opportunity to make a very meaningful donation to a child in need. Stacey collects the quilts and makes her annual donation on May 31, and promotes "Making in April, Sending in May" so this is a great time to make a quilt and donate.

Baby quilts should be approximately 30" x 40", and 'big kid' quilts should be roughly 50" x 50" to ensure they fit with other items in a backpack. For full details and requirements on how to participate in thi...

First, there was Peak Blooms. 

Then, I took the center motif and incorporated it into an organic-looking edge-to-edge design with spirals called Bloomlet.

Now, the same center motif is in its simplest form yet: in a gently undulating, rhythmic string of petals. 



At a glance, I love how overall this design reads like juicy, rounded shapes. The texture is spectacular, even on a quilt top with busy prints like the one shown in this blog post.



It's fast to stitch thanks to its simple design and smooth stitch path.

There's enough space between the four-petaled motifs for some breathing room, and yet the staggered rows (the offset amount is 25% with this one) create an interesting, off-kilter dynamic that isn't perfectly symmetrical. I believe that helps give this design a charming, somewhat loose, home-spun quality.



I think this design would be great for quilts with busy prints, floral-themed tops, or when a client requests quilting with a loose or minimal density.

 

The Quilt

Quil...

This month in the Longarm League, Cheryl interviewed League member Billie Jo Howard of SewBoji. Billie Jo has incorporated goal-setting in her private and professional life for years. We loved learning about her strategy and process. She shared lots of great info on the call—walking us through her background and evolution with goal setting, the many positive ways it's impacted her life, her current process, mindset advice, resources, and more. It was an amazing call with tons of practical information for our members to use and incorporate into their own businesses.

While League members have full access to the call recording, we asked Billie Jo to share a little more about herself, her business, and a few thoughts on goal setting with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Billie Jo...

Billie Jo Howard, SewBoji

Located: Spirit Lake, Iowa
Machine and software: APQS Millie with Quilt Path
In the Longarm League: Coming up on 2 years

Where to find Billie Jo
Website: www.sewbo...

Taffy is an organic, flowing edge-to-edge design built around soft, rounded capsule shapes — like ribbon candy, but looser and more relaxed.

The idea actually came to me on a walk. I was picturing a stair-step of vertical bars connected by a horizontal arch, something with a repeating, interlocking rhythm. When I got into my design software and started playing with the concept, the straight-angled rectangles looked too geometric and severe. That's when I deleted some shapes and rounded the corners. The curvier shapes not only looked better, but are also easier to quilt, so that was a change worth making.



The result reminds me of ribbon candy. But since there are plenty of ribbon candy-adjacent designs floating around in the quilting world, I landed on Taffy instead. It feels more organic to me — a little less structured, a little more free.



That tension between organic and intentional is really what I was after with this design. I wanted the capsule shapes that make up the ...

This month in the Longarm League, we published a coaching call featuring April Noyce of The Quilted Peony. I sat down with her to talk about recently launching her business, navigating social media and AI, building a local quilting community when there's not a ready-made group to join, and more.

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

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

April Noyce, The Quilted Peony

Located: Tuscaloosa, AL
In business: 7 months
Machine and software: Grace Q'nique 21X Elite with QCT 6 Pro
In the Longarm League: 9 months

Where to find April
Website: www.thequiltedpeony.com/
Facebook: The-Quilted-Peony
Best way for someone to contact you for quilting? Through the form on my website.

Q&A

Tell us a little about your business and the services you provide at The Quilted Peony.
I provide computerized E2E longarm quilting services, both edge-to-edge...

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...

This is the third—and possibly last?—design of my "Echoed" series of designs. Originally, I created Echoed Swirls, based on a design I used to freemotion before I added computerization for my longarm. In 2024, I created Echoed Curves because it was the most descriptive name I could come up with and I liked how it fit with Echoed Swirls.

This time, I started with the Echoed Circles concept to complete the trifecta, and the design followed the name. That's not usually how I work, but this was a fun change of pace!



I had some criteria in mind as I set out to create Echoed Circles. I wanted the circles to remain circles and not morph into ovals. I wanted size variation and a sense of movement. Lastly, I didn't want any pivot points, so the needle could move fluidly throughout the entire design.



In the final design, we have two main outer circles within the repeat, both the same size. I designed it this way to ensure equal spacing between rows when nested.

To add the 'variety' cr...

Well, this is embarrassing! For the second time in a month (here's a link to the first time), I found myself inspired by a Quilty Love pattern, and dropped everything to make it because I wanted to use a new panto inspired by the patchwork. More about the pattern in a bit.

Let's talk about the digital panto first, shall we? As you can see, it's a ridiculously simple design combining a clamshell with a heart. It's not earth-shattering, but it is exactly what I wanted for this quilt! 



This design is all about balance. The heart shape is "held" suspended at the center of each clamshell, giving it a little space to shine on its own.

The scale of the heart in relation to the clamshell is giving dainty cuteness! On this quilt, that's the same vibe as the little 9-patches in the alternate blocks, which are so adorable.



As an edge-to-edge design, there's a cascading effect across the quilt, which I find nice. I say this all of the time, but I love the texture that simple, repeated ...