FORUMS

Calling all machine quilting enthusiasts! Six of the top machine quilting artists from the Quilt Festival faculty will present this focus, coordinated by Sarah Ann Smith. Each will give a 20-minute digital presentation as they demonstrate their topic listed below or a show-and-tell of their particular expertise. Then spend the last 45 minutes visiting each machine quilting artist to view their samples up close or purchase items for sale. Machine Quilting Forum II, 445, follows the same format, but topics and teachers vary.

Go home with a booklet consisting of a handout from each presenter, new machine quilting skills, and lots of enthusiasm.

Teri Lucas—Teri’s Top Twenty-One Free-Motion Quilting Tips
Lucas shares her top tips for free-motion quilting, including choosing just the right chocolate and how a seam ripper is a quilter’s best friend.

Jenny K. Lyon—Free-Motion Quilting—Small Changes for Big Results
Sometimes the slightest tweak can fix the peskiest of problems. Lyon will share with you some of the top tips she has learned in her 20 years of free-motion quilting. Whether it's a thread nest on the bobbin side, unattractive stitching lines, marking issues, or just difficult quilting, she’s got some easy fixes that will have you happy and quilting again!

Marti Michell—More Machine Quilting in Sections
Do you think "making a quilt" actually includes quilting it? Would you like to machine quilt on your domestic sewing machine but don't know where to start? Nearly everyone can machine quilt a small crib quilt or a table runner. So, learn basic "divide, quilt, and join" techniques on simple projects and in no time; be able to apply those skills to much larger and more detailed projects.

Catherine Redford—Walking Foot Quilting—Beneath the Surface
Take walking foot quilting another step further with this beautiful combination of organic curves, evenly stitched grids, and hand sewn embellishment. A subtle layer of color under the whole cloth surface makes for an eye-catching finish instigating the question "How did you do that?" Discover how, as Redford shares her tips and tricks for smooth curves and sharp corners. Be inspired to set off on your next quilting adventure.

Sarah Ann Smith—Fun and Fancy Thread
Intrigued but intimidated by fancy, fussy threads? Don't be! Smith will share her tips and tricks so you too can play with variegated, shiny, poly, metallic, and holographic threads. www.sarahannsmith.com

Carol Wilhoit—Alternatives to Marking for Machine Quilting
Quilters often mark quilt tops with lines to follow for quilting or with guidelines to assist in positioning quilting motifs.  However, some of us are hesitant to use pens, pencils, chalk or markers that need to be removed. Learn how to use a dozen alternatives to marking! Having a toolbox full of options to use in various situations can help avoid the need for marks on many quilts. www.carolquilts.com

Calling all machine quilting enthusiasts! Six of the top machine quilting artists from the Quilt Festival faculty will present this focus, coordinated by Jenny K. Lyon. Each will give a 20-minute digital presentation as they demonstrate their topic listed below or a show-and-tell of their particular expertise. Then spend the last 45 minutes visiting each machine quilting artist to view their samples up close or purchase items for sale. Machine Quilting Forum I, 355, follows the same format, but topics and teachers vary.

Go home with a booklet consisting of a handout from each presenter, new machine quilting skills, and lots of enthusiasm.

Nina Clotfelter—Ruler Work on Your Domestic Machine
Learn the tips and tricks to help make Ruler Work on Your Domestic Machine easier. www.ninaquilts.com

Sue Heinz—One…And Done!
Imagine taking ONE simple shape and transforming it into unique, custom quilting designs that blend effortlessly together. Let Heinz show you how fun, fast and easy it can be!

Jenny K. Lyon—Fat and Skinny—The Scoop on Thin and Thick Threads
The right thread makes all the difference. Mid-weight threads are great for most purposes but if you want to shout or whisper, a thick or thin thread is just what you need. Lyon will walk you through the details of how to work with both 12wt and 100wt threads so you can use them with confidence in your own quilting projects.

Marti Michell—Quilt As You Sew?...Go?...Piece?
You won't find a definition in Webster's, but Marti Michell will share her definition, and more importantly, her techniques, for several very popular Quilt-As-You-Piece blocks. For many people this is the first step to successful machine quilting. Learn tips on selecting suitable blocks, preparing layered units, sewing and joining blocks, as well as reducing bulk in the seams.

Sarah Ann Smith—Find Quilting Design Inspiration Everywhere!
Stumped for ideas on how to quilt your quilt? Design inspiration is all around you. Learn to translate images and photos into a quilting pattern even if you think you can't draw! www.sarahannsmith.com

Carol Wilhoit—Quilting with an Embroidery Machine
Machine quilting can be done with an embroidery machine. Using embroidery motifs designed for machine quilting, the machine will stitch beautiful and intricate quilting designs on your project. Embroidery machine quilting can be used in a variety of ways to create lovely quilts and small projects. Get great results while you let the machine do the work! www.carolquilts.com

See what this exciting event is all about! Six of the top mixed-media artists from the Quilt Festival faculty will present this focus, coordinated by Sarah Maxwell. Each will give a 20-minute digital presentation as they demonstrate their topic listed below or a show-and-tell of their particular expertise. Then spend the last 45 minutes visiting each artist to view their samples up close or purchase items for sale. Go home with a booklet consisting of a handout from each presenter, new ideas, information on products and processes, and lots of enthusiasm. Vickie Clontz—Fabulously Felting Your Design Opportunities! Add pizazz to your projects with the addition of needle-felting! Expand your creative horizons to add texture, color, design elements, and more! Elevate your creativity and "design opportunities" by coloring "outside the box" to take your designs to the next step—to infinity, and beyond! June Colburn—Capturing Color with Oil Pastels on Silk Follow one artist's journey from inspiration to exploration to frustration and finally to happy satisfaction. Fascinated by Qing Dynasty Famille Rose porcelains without the financial ability to buy and collect, Colburn decided to use the lovely vases, ginger jars, and bowls found in books and magazines as inspiration for a large framed still life. See the steps from research, selection, designing the layout, experimenting with various techniques, and ending with reproductions of museum quality ceramics, painted on silk with artists' oil pastels. Cameras welcome! Susan Edmonson—Fairy Garden Magic Edmonson will explain how she loves to mix any and all materials (fabric, twigs (nature), found items, paint, packing peanuts, beading, and much more) to create unique collaged works of art. The use of many unusual quilting techniques are also used in her collaged banners, fabric books, prayer flags (buntings), and mini quilts. Much of her work is 3-D with lots of hand embroidery using hand-dyed threads and fabrics. Her love of nature is expressed in all her work! Edmonson will demo as many of these techniques as time allows. www.susanedmonsondesigns.com Cindy Lohbeck—I Like Big Backs!—Itajime Shibori As a textile artist, Lohbeck has been enamored with Itajime Shibori for a long time—the endless possibilities that exist with different folds and different templates. Lately, she has challenged herself with the idea to use the technique on a quilt back. After some special templates were made that could handle the fabric thickness, Lohbeck set about learning to fold a 108in x 108in quilt back single handedly! The dye was applied very generously and deliberately, fingers crossed, with hopes that the patterns would be as sharp and crisp as on smaller pieces of fabric. Susan Edmonson—Passionate Stories in Cloth Edmonson will demo her love of making fabric books with all types of products for construction, such as batting, Peltex, canvas, cardboard, and more, to give a soft or rigid type book.  Each of the pages (signatures) are like making a tiny collaged quilt with a short story to tell.  She will show simple painting techniques, collage, hand embroidery using hand-dyed threads and fabrics, and many natural elements used in all of her unique work.  Listen to her creative process as she walks you through steps to create your own Passionate Story! Nancy Roelfsema—Creating Layers on Painted Fabrics When it comes to foods we love, each layer provides a flavor that combines into something wonderful. Printing your own fabric can be like that. Using gel printing plates and mixed-media paints and tools, it is easy to create complex fabric designs that are uniquely yours. Start with a base color and add texture and more color with each print you pull. Create blenders or statement prints. Play with colors and let your creativity flow. These fabrics can be used in mixed-media projects, Art quilts, and quilts you use every day.