The Newest Tool in my Toolbox

The Newest Tool in my Toolbox. . . The Elevate by Gammill

Combining Simple Computerized Designs with Ruler Work and Freehand Quilting

By Jodi Robinson, JR Designs
Gammill Quilt Artist

I have to admit, I was not so sure how the new Elevate by Gammill was going to fit into my quilting. I am seriously passionate about freehand quilting! Up until a little over a year ago, I didn’t even have a stitch regulator (in 20 years of longarm quilting). I love everything about freehand and ruler quilting; the creativity and design aspects, as well as the physical part of actually stitching. I have to say, I had never even considered computerized quilting. When I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to play with the new Elevate System, I was quite simply amazed! It didn’t take much playing, before it hit me … I CAN use this in my quilting. And, the ideas came pouring out. I discovered that I could have the computer stitch out a simple design, that I could add to with freehand quilting and ruler work. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but the Elevate has become my new favorite tool! I have had so much fun playing with it! I am excited to share with you, how I combined digital designs with freehand and ruler quilting, to create some pretty awesome designs.

Design 1

The basic digital design stitched.

The design is from Intelligent Quilting – Square Filler 29 by Karlee Porter

Using a ruler, I stitched ¼” lines and then ½” lines in each section.

You could simply stop at this point for a more open design.

I added pebbles in the center areas of each section.

You could substitute any filler you like in these areas. You might also choose to add quilting to the center square.

Before

After

Design 2

Here I used the same design, but stitched two of them together.

For a border, you would just stitch additional repeats of the design.

Using a ruler, I added (1) ½” echo and (2) ¼” echoes to the upper and lower areas

My next step, was to fill the center diamond areas that are created where the two designs come together with woven ¼” lines.

Before

After

Design 3

This is the same design, but I added three repeats, which created a more narrow design.

You could easily add additional repeats for a more narrow look.

In this design, I filled the upper and lower triangle shapes with angled straight lines. I then then stitched a I through each of the diamond shapes. Next, I marked a small diamond in the center of the larger diamonds.

I then stitched the small diamonds and filled in the areas I created.

Before

After

Design 4

This is another pattern I stitched using the Elevate.

Of course if you were quilting a border, you could stitch additional repeats.

I decided to experiment with flipping the design, and stitching it over the first design.

I then marked some additional lines in the large triangles, as well as some additional lines through the center grid.

It would be fun to add these additional lines in a contrasting thread.

Using a ruler, I stitched the marked lines.

I stopped quilting at this point. But, you can see how easy it would be to take the design one more step farther by adding fill designs to some of the areas within the lines.