Many years ago I was taught an important design rule: K.I.S.S. It stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid!" Maybe I need to come up with a nicer acronym, but the sentiment is definitely true. It's easy to get caught up in big overwhelming design ideas. A few of my renters have shown that sometimes simpler is just better. There’s an obvious star in Vivian’s quilt, that adorable applique alligator. Or is it a crocodile? I can never tell the difference! She made this for a lucky little boy who is going to give this quilt lots of love over the years. With all of this in mind, Vivian didn’t want to go crazy with the quilting. A simple flowing free motion meander gives this quilt some nice texture without distracting from that alligator’s smile! If quilting a free motion meander sounds a little intimidating you could always stick with the design board! Kym had used a longarm machine before her rental certification class, but she felt a little rusty. She wanted to use the design board because it’s a lot like driving the machine with training wheels. Her baby quilt is super cute and her wide open meander adds just the right amount of texture. If a plain meander sounds a little boring to you there are lots of ways to dress it up. You could add loopies, hearts, leaves, or any other shape that makes your heart sing! Kim’s quilt is very boxy, so instead of a loose quilting line she quilted a boxy geometric design. Kim’s design is super fun and easy to really get into a groove with!