Spotlight – When One Moment Takes Center Stage

Some quilts grab your attention immediately. Others? They whisper.

Spotlight does both – and honestly, it's kind of a show-off about it. 😏

Picture this: nine bold blocks sitting front and center like they own the place (because they do). They're the main event, the headliner, the reason everyone's looking. And everything around them? It knows when to step back and let the star shine.

That tension between "hello, look at me!" and "ahhh, breathing room" – that's the secret sauce that makes Spotlight work.

A Bold Idea, Kept Intentionally Simple

When I designed Spotlight, I wanted to play with the idea of focus and negative space a bit.

Like, what happens when you let one area of a quilt absolutely own the spotlight – while everything else chills in the background?

Turns out? You get a design that's modern, graphic, and surprisingly zen all at once.

The nine center blocks are built from simple shapes – curves and half-square triangles – but I mixed up the composition just enough to keep things interesting. Your eye stays engaged without your brain going into overdrive. Nothing repeats, but nothing clashes either.

This is one of those quilts that looks way more complicated than it actually is. (And honestly? We love that for us. )

Spotlight is for quilters who know their way around a rotary cutter – but it's not going to stress you out. Promise.

Skill level: Intermediate (aka "I've got this")
Techniques: Curved piecing and half-square triangles (old friends, really)
Finished size: Queen (85" × 85") – because go big or go home, right?

The construction? Straightforward. Well-paced. You're working with techniques you already know, but the layout does the heavy lifting when it comes to wow factor. It's the kind of project that rewards your accuracy without demanding absolute perfection.

Modern, confident, and totally doable. Just the way we like it.

Designed for Balisong – But Honestly? It Plays Well with Everyone

Spotlight was originally created to show off Balisong in all its graphic glory.

Those slightly larger-scale prints and bold motifs? They love having their moment in those center blocks, where each one gets to strut its stuff without competing for attention.

But here's the thing: this pattern doesn't play favorites.

It works beautifully with: