I added a robotics package to my longarm last November and have been practicing and getting to know that new technology in between doing custom quilts.  I finally feel confident about how to use this efficiently on quilts using an edge to edge pattern or digital patterns in blocks.  As a result, I’m offering a 10% discount on all quilts using a digital pantograph. This discount is good only on quilts received during the month of June.  Mention this post to make sure you get your discount! Overall designs are a great way to finish those quilts that don’t need a custom treatment – plus it’s a lot easier on your pocketbook!  See my pricing page for info on pricing.

I purchased a robotics system mainly because I was not precise enough to suit my tastes while doing hand-guided pantographs from the back of the machine. I also hope to convert some of my designs to digital.  While the learning curve (on my own) was a bit harder than I anticipated, I feel great about how my skills improved with each new technique learned.  The package I added to my A1 longarm is the Quilt Gallery robotics system (the Butler system when purchased through Quilt EZ).  The price — relative to the features — was what finally persuaded me, as well as the ease of purchasing it as an add-on to my longarm directly from A1.

Below are a few pics of some of the quilts I’ve used robotics on so far (both overall patterns and digital block motifs).  I need more quilts that want overall quilting!  I will be running two calendars in the future – custom quilt and digital quilt calendars. I plan on trying to put at least one or two digital quilts in between each custom quilt job.  While the machine is stitching out a digital pattern, I can work on creating the design plans for the next custom quilt in the queue. Sometimes I’ll spend a week on getting the designs planned out for a custom quilt and being able to do a quilt with a digital pantograph at the same time is a great way to multi-task. I can finish a lot of digital quilts during the time I spend designing a custom treatment!

digital blocks with custom quilting.

back view of t-shirt quilt – Rodeo panto

peacock feather panto (back view)

peacock feather panto (back view)

Hindi elephant and Spring Fling blocks

peacock feather panto

Rodeo panto

Serpentine Feather panto

maple feather block (in red squares); all other designs were freehand.

Serpentine Feather panto