About Us

Catherine Marion – Owner, Quilter

I design, create and quilt all of the specialty and theme quilts that we sell.  I also do all the free hand longarm work on our client's quilts.  I have enjoyed quilting for fifteen years and have been a seamstress for over thirty years.  I am now having the pleasure of working with others on their quilt-works-of-art.  My husband and I are quite honored to partner with our clients, and to share our knowledge and experience with so many talented people.

When I am not busy in my studio with client quilts (or on the rare occasion one of my own) or charity quilts for my Quilt Guild, I volunteer with the Rainbows Int’l program, working with children in grief.  I am always looking for a way to give back to my family, friends and community.

Neal Marion – Owner, Pattern Designer

While the world of quilts is relatively new to me, I am connected through the design and execution end of our longarm quilting business.  My expertise is designing quilting patterns and digitizing them so that our machine can stitch the custom design.  Our wholecloth heirloom quilts start with my patterns and are then finished with Catherine’s freehand work.

My background in graphics software engineering is a great match for our new business. The patterns that I digitize are stitched by the Compu-Quilter computer assist program on our longarm quilting machine.  They are now available for sale to other Compu-Quilter owners and are available to all our clients for use on their orders. We can also do custom designs from a photo or a drawing.

When I’m not working full-time at IBM, or working on patterns for the Compu-Quilter, my interests include digital photography, history and travel.  I find that I “see” quilting patterns in almost everything from leaves to ironwork on buildings. 

Together we enjoy traveling and spending time with our Miata Club friends as well as with our cat, Psycho, who enjoy running our lives.

The A-1 Elite with Compu-Quilter

Our longarm machine has two amazing capabilities. First, the A-1 Elite allows Catherine to free hand designs and work on quilts up to 120” wide.  We are able to do all types of quilting from large allover pantographs down to tiny stippling and everything in between.

The second capability is with our Compu-Quilter, a computer assist tool for the A-1 Elite. We are able to do repeated intricate patterns that are uniform across borders and blocks.  The truly wonderful feature of the computer assist is that we can create custom stitch patterns.  For example: Take a photo of a car, sketch the outline and details, scan it into our software and digitize the sketch.  This allows us to then custom quilt the pattern of the car in any size and direction on the fabric.  This can be done with almost any custom pattern. Let us help create something custom for your quilt.

Why Elegant Counterpanes?

Elegant Counterpanes’ name was inspired by a favorite children’s poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.  A counterpane is a British bedspread or quilt.  If you have ever been to Great Britain, you will recognize the "counterpanes" of the stone fences that are a hallmark of the British landscape. 

The Land of Counterpane

-by Robert Louis Stevenson

When I was sick and lay a-bed,

I had two pillows at my head,

And all my toys beside me lay

To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so

I watched my leaden soldiers go,

With different uniforms and drills,

Among the bedclothes, through the hills.

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets

Up and down among the sheets;

Or brought my trees and houses out,

And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still

That sits upon the pillow-hill,

And sees before him, dale and plain,

The pleasant land of counterpane.