Connecting Designs ~ On Point
Take everything you know about continuous quilting and turn it 45 degrees.
If you've ever looked at an on-point block, a diamond-set quilt, or an angled border and thought “I have no idea where I'd even start quilting that,” this course is for you.
Connecting Designs ~ On Point teaches you how to take the same connector-and-filler thinking that makes continuous quilting possible — and apply it to on-point grids, blocks, sashing, and borders. You'll learn nine design variations, see them drawn out step by step, and see demonstrations across both domestic machines and longarms as you go, so you can finish more of your quilts with confidence, no matter which machine you sit down at.
New here? You do not need to have taken the original Connecting Designs course first — On Point is fully self-contained. If you have taken it, you're going to feel right at home.
Enroll in Connecting Designs ~ On Point — $65Why On-Point Designs Matter
Here's something a lot of quilters don't realize until they're staring at their own quilt top: on-point blocks and diamond settings aren't quilted the same way as straight blocks. The grid is turned. The intersections land in different places. The travel paths you'd use on a horizontal grid don't just drop in — they have to be re-thought.
That moment of “wait, how do I even enter this shape” is exactly where a lot of quilters stall out. Tops sit folded in a closet. Longarm time gets avoided. A quilt that was exciting to piece becomes a project you're quietly dreading finishing.
This course exists to take that moment of hesitation away. Once you understand how a connector travels through an on-point shape, the design stops feeling like a puzzle and starts feeling like a plan you already know how to execute.
How This Course Builds on Course 1
Connecting Designs ~ On Point is Course 2 in the Connecting Designs series, and it picks up right where the original workshop leaves off.
If you took Connecting Designs (the original, horizontal-grid workshop), you already have a head start on the core concept this whole series is built around — and you'll see quickly how it carries over once a grid is turned on point instead of squared up.
If you haven't taken Course 1, don't worry. On Point teaches that same foundational concept from scratch, right in the first module, so you're not missing anything you need. That said, if you'd like a deeper well of practice with the basic connector shapes on a simpler grid first, Course 1 is a great place to build that muscle memory before you come here.
New to the series? Start with Connecting Designs, Course 1Who This Course Is For
- Quilters of every experience level — whether you're just getting comfortable with free-motion quilting or you've been custom quilting for years, this course will sharpen your skills.
- Domestic machine, sit-down longarm, or stand-up longarm quilters — you'll see these techniques demonstrated across different machine types throughout the course, so you can watch the instruction that best matches your setup.
- Anyone who has an on-point quilt top waiting to be finished — diamond settings, on-point blocks, angled sashing — if you've got a project like this sitting in your stack, this course was built for it.
- Quilters who want to keep growing their custom quilting vocabulary — especially if you've completed Course 1 and are ready for the next challenge in the series.
What You'll Learn
- How the core connecting-design concept carries over once a grid is rotated on point, building from the ground up so nothing is assumed
- Nine connecting design variations — including curves, loops, petals, spikes, leaves, waves, curls, and curl backtrack — worked into an on-point setting
- How to size and lay a stencil so your grid lines land exactly where you want them, corner-in or corner-cut
- How to apply on-point designs to three different real-world settings: blocks, borders, and sashing
- How to mark your fabric using several different methods (chalk powder, iron-off pen, water-soluble pen) depending on your fabric color and the level of detail you need
- How to add filler motifs — like curls, leaves, and feathers — into the spaces a connector alone won't fill, and how to decide in the moment where those fillers belong
Skills You'll Develop
- Reading an on-point grid and planning your travel path before you ever put a stitch down
- Planning a single, continuous start-and-stop path across a full quilt section — block, sashing, and border together
- Confidently switching between connector designs (loops instead of curves, for example) while keeping the same underlying approach
- Making real-time design decisions about density, filler placement, and where a design does or doesn't belong
- Machine control and hand positioning for on-point work, whether you're at a domestic machine or a longarm
Course Curriculum
Module 1: Course Introduction
Module 2: Drawing the Foundation
Module 3: On-Point Grid — Block Design
Module 4: On-Point Grid — Border Design
Module 5: On-Point Grid — Sashing
Module 6: Longarm Quilting — Nine Design Variations, plus Closing Thoughts
Benefits
Learning these techniques means more than checking a box on a list of quilting skills. It means:
- You stop avoiding on-point tops. That diamond-set quilt or angled-block project stops being the one you keep putting off, and becomes the one you're excited to load next.
- You quilt with a plan, not a guess. Instead of hoping you can figure it out as you go, you'll know your travel path before you ever start your machine.
- You finish with one start and one stop. Fewer thread breaks, fewer buried tails, a cleaner back of the quilt, and a faster finish overall.
- You build a design vocabulary that keeps growing. Every connector and filler you learn here can be combined, layered, and reused in future quilts — this isn't a one-and-done pattern, it's a skill.
- You gain real confidence at the machine, whether that machine is a longarm or the one already set up in your sewing room.
Before This Course
You piece a gorgeous on-point quilt top, and then it goes into the closet — because you genuinely don't know how you'd quilt it without a plan, and you're afraid of getting partway in and getting stuck.
After This Course
You look at that same on-point top and immediately start seeing intersections, travel paths, and design options. You know exactly where to start, how to keep moving, and how to bring it back to one clean stop.
Meet Your Instructor
Hi, I'm Dorie — owner of Forever Quilting in Nixa, Missouri, and I've been professionally quilting for over two decades. While a lot of people know me as a machine quilter, I think of myself first as a teacher. Helping quilters finish the projects they're excited about — confidently, and in their own quilting room — is the whole reason I do this work.
I don't want you to just copy what I do. I want you to understand why a design works, so you can start making these decisions on your own. That's why every design in this course is shown drawn out first, then demonstrated at the machine, with the reasoning explained along the way — not just the motion.
I'm also genuinely available if you get stuck. Every lesson has a place to ask questions, and I'm quick to respond.
What's Included
- 6 modules covering block, border, and sashing designs, on point
- Nine connecting design variations, demonstrated both drawn and quilted
- Video lessons on marking fabric with three different methods
- Video demonstrations across domestic machine and longarm quilting throughout the course, so you can watch the technique that fits your machine
- Downloadable companion notes for every lesson, so you can review without rewatching the whole video
- Self-paced, lifetime access — work through it on your own schedule, and revisit any lesson as often as you need
- Optional add-on, sold separately: the custom pre-printed practice panel used in the longarm module, for quilters who'd rather skip fabric prep and get straight to stitching.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to take Course 1 before this one?
Will I need to buy special tools to complete this course?
How much experience do I need?
Are the lessons live?
What if I have questions or want feedback on a project?
Do I get lifetime access?
You don't have to leave that on-point top folded up for one more season.
Connecting Designs ~ On Point gives you a clear, repeatable plan for quilting on-point blocks, borders, and sashing — with nine designs to choose from, demonstrated across machine types, and a teacher who's just an email away if you get stuck.
Also in the Connecting Designs Series: Watch for the next workshop in this series, coming soon — Connecting Designs with Brackets. Future courses will also cover applying connecting designs to specific block shapes, coordinating them with other designs you already know, and layering multiple connectors in the same space.
Already comfortable with the basics? Explore Course 1What Students Are Saying
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