Shelley Cavanna is a quilt and textile designer and author of one of the hottest books, Barn Star Quilts. She loves modern, intricate, mosaic-inspired quilts. Shelley makes it her mission to turn these exquisite designs into approachable projects for quilters of all styles and skill levels, living up to her design mantra, "Stunning quilts made simple!"
Keynote Presentation: Community Threads
Learn how to build community with Barn Star Quilts! Inspired by grassroots, community-based projects during the height of her family’s pandemic quarantine, she designed a spectacular sampler quilt using blocks that were meaningful to her, with the dreams of someday being back with her sewing community.
Join Shelley for a chat featuring bits of the history of Barn Stars and Barn Quilt Trails, a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of her Barn Star Sampler quilts, and how the heart of quilt making - even using paint and wood rather than needle and thread - binds communities together.
Belle Brunner began quilting in her mid-40’s and quickly fell in love with the craft. She believes that everyone, regardless of age, can learn to quilt. Having spent years helping non-profits and boards of directors, Belle expanded her Seams Sew Me business to also specialize in providing leadership, governance, consulting and education for quilt guilds’ boards of directors. She leads and teaches with her two leading values: compassion and understanding.
Piece Easy Cathedral Windows
Piece cathedral windows with confidence! If you've ever wanted to make the cathedral window quilt block but were intimidated by the old 'envelope method', then you will love learning how to make this classic quilt block with a modern method. With Belle, you'll be able to create beautiful cathedral window blocks in no time!
Cheryl Arkison is well known for her use of bold colour and the quiet whispers of low-volume fabrics, but she will use anything in between. Through The Quilters’ Playcation, she led many improv adventures! She has three published books, including Sunday Morning Quilts. Cheryl has also traveled the world to teach quilting and has even judged the Modern Quilt Guild’s show, Quilt Con.
Improv Slabs - Using Fabric Scraps to Make Fabric
Become an expert in improv piecing! Too often, we ignore our scraps. Or worse, turn them into precuts and then never use them. Learn how to use all your fabric scraps and make new fabric pieces to be used in a myriad of ways.
Jenny Novinsky is the Director of Education at Electric Quilt. She caught the quilting bug while working at EQ–you can only see so many beautiful quilts before you want to try making one yourself! She has had quilts published in countless quilting magazines through her job at EQ. Her favorite part of the job is helping customers learn to use the software, whether it’s through lessons, blog posts, or teaching EQ’s online and in-person classes!
Janice Frisch works in Product Development at Electric Quilt. She assisted with the creation of BlockBase+ and the publication of the 3rd edition of Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. Janice is a quilt historian with a doctorate in Folklore from Indiana University. Her doctoral dissertation was published in the International Quilt Museum's catalog, titled American Quilts in the Industrial Age.
Make Your Quilting Dreams a Reality: Designing in Electric Quilt 8
Learn how to create a quilt from scratch in Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8) software, the industry’s leading quilt design program. This demonstration will show you how to set up a quilt layout, play with different colorways, create unique blocks, and print your blocks to make them. You’ll also get a peek at the latest add-on collection of log cabin blocks from Judy Martin!
Julia McLeod is passionate about piecing with reclaimed and upcycled textiles. As a skilled and swift thrifter, you can count on Julia to root out gorgeous fabrics at thrift shops and estate sales. With a background in textile design, she is skilled in creating color palettes around unique materials. She specializes in making silk quilts from neckties, kimonos, and saris. Recognizing that silks will fray, slip and stretch, Julia's workshops deliver the techniques you need to tame these challenging qualities.
Three Ways to Fabric Foundation Piecing
Anything that can be paper pieced can be fabric foundation pieced! In this workshop, learn about fabric foundation piecing, a traditional American technique. Leaving a fabric foundation in place (as opposed to tearing out a paper one) brings stability and accuracy to lightweight, slippery, fraying fabrics, so it’s ideal for piecing with silks from neckties, saris, kimonos, etc. In this workshop, Julia will demonstrate how to draft using muslin, a pre-printed product, and free-style without drawn or printed lines.
Linda Sullivan, co-owner of Colourwerx, is a color and fabric design expert with over 25 years of experience as a professional quiltmaker. She is passionate about bold bright colors and perfect piecing and machine appliqué! Linda always searching for new ways of tackling everyday quilting issues and finds any frustrations can be overcome with just a few tips and tricks (and maybe some machine appliqué, rickrack, and buttons)!
Tips & Tricks to Perfect Your 1/4" Seam
Mastering your scant 1/4” seam doesn’t have to be frustrating! Join Linda as she shares her tips and tricks for fabric preparation and how to set your machine up for stitchin’ success, pick the right thread/needle choices, and perfect your pressing. You’ll also get insight into the best tools and techniques for achieving your most accurate scant 1/4” seam allowance!
Lynn Rinehart is the quilting queen of Cotton Art Studio, ruling over a kingdom of fabric and thread with a steady hand. With over 20 years of experience in the craft, she's a veritable Jedi master of all things quilting, teaching her flock of loyal disciples the ways of the needle and thread. Lynn's artistic style is a mashup of traditional techniques and modern design elements, resulting in quilts that are as stunning as they are cozy.
Curvy Blocks
Put a new twist on your quilting projects! In this curved piecing class, learn nifty techniques to make those curves as smooth as butter on hot toast and tackle those curves like a boss with the help of Lynn. If you are looking for a challenge that you will have hooked, whether you are a newbie or a seasoned pro, we guarantee you'll be blown away by what you can achieve with curve piecing. So what are you waiting for? Let's get curvy!
Quilt projects can have a mind of their own and Marci is open to the possibilities. With over 35 years of teaching internationally, Marci is truly a resource for student success. She has published eight books, created ten tools and rulers, and developed unique methods for strip-piecing 60-degree designs, chain-pieced set-in seams, foundation piecing, and successful binding.
Frustration-Free Sewing
Make sewing fun again! Are you tired of dealing with the same old machine problems every time you start a sewing project? Your machine might be eating the fabric, making a thread nest, narrowing end seams, or the needle becomes unthreaded—you're not alone! With a two simple tricks of the trade, you can eliminate these frustrations and receive many more benefits. Join Marci and you can enjoy your sewing even more!
Maria Shell is an obsessive piecer who loves cutting and reassembling pieces into super cool quilt blocks. Maria Shell’s work is grounded in American quilt-making tradition and craft. She strives to take the classical components of a traditional bedquilt (also known as CRAFT) and manipulate them to create surprising combinations of pattern, repetition, and color for the viewer. She views her work as a celebration of patchwork. She is the author of Improv Patchwork--Dynamic Quilts Made with Line & Shape.
Pinwheelers--Fun with Pieced Strips!
Learn how to create a pinwheel block for your next quilt project! Maria will share how to create pieced stripes (or strip sets) and then cut them into half-square triangles to form pinwheels! Discover how to select a dynamic color palette and get tips for cutting and piecing a hi-optic modern pinwheel block. It is SEW cool!
Rebecca Bryan is an award-winning quilter, author, and fabric designer. Rebecca experienced a color revolution when she began using rainbow colors in her designs, moving her from color muddler to color master. Inside her popular virtual club and workshops, she has taught thousands of busy quilters how to turn their quilty "to-do" lists into "ta-da" moments to celebrate together.
Freezer Paper Magic - Meet Your Next Foundation Piecing Obsession
Discover the creative possibilities of Freezer Paper Magic! It's the mess-free way to paper piece and not waste your precious creative time ripping paper foundations. If you love the accuracy of paper piecing but hate how long it takes, then Freezer Paper Magic is your next obsession. Join Rebecca as she walks you through the general process and ends up making her "modern triangle" foundations together.
