Home: Gilpin County, Colorado
After too many years of dreaming about making quilts, I decided it was time to live into that dream in 2003. I began taking classes and attending quilt shows whenever possible.In 2007, I began teaching.
In 2009, I moved to Colorado where I landed a job as an editor with Quilters Newsletter magazine, and less than a year later, I was running the magazine. I also had the opportunity to do a two-year stint as editor of the SAQA Journal (Studio Art Quilt Associates) before stepping down from that position to research and write my book, Pagtinabangay: The Quilts and Quiltmakers of Caohagan Island. I spent several years on the road telling the amazing story of the more than 100 women and men on this tiny, 13-acre Philippine island.
I was honored to assist in mounting exhibitions of the island quilts at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky; the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in San Jose, California; and Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado.
I now live at 9,200 feet in Colorado in the Rocky Mountains where I watch the wild critters from my quilt studio that faces Mount Thorodin. I enjoy designing and making quilts and teaching others to do so. And I enjoy speaking and writing about quiltmaking and quiltmakers.
I have a special passion for foundation piecing so many of my quilts and classes incorporate that technique. I’m also addicted to insetting circles and find great joy when I help others see how easy it is to do.
I’m a regular teacher at multiple quilt shops in Colorado and have taught at Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.
Most popular booking is my lecture: Pagtinabangay: The Quilts and Quiltmakers of Caohagan Island. You’ll be transported to a tiny island — just 13 acres — in the central Philippines as you enjoy images and stories of the colorful quilts and quiltmakers of Caohagan Island. You’ll see photos of more than 50 of these handmade, one-of-a-kind quilts plus be introduced to the unique techniques developed by these quiltmakers whose tools are simply fabric and scissors, needle and thread. I spent more than a month on the island, quilted with the women and men, went fabric shopping with them on nearby Cebu Island, and snorkled the reef that surrounds Caohagan. Those who view the quilts come away smiling, inspired by the creativity of these islanders. (Flexible/Under $400)
My most popular workshop is Peace Cranes Over Hiroshima. You’ll learn a lot about color value, which is key to creating this quilt’s three-dimensional look. The pattern and foundations for the quilt are included in the class fee. I designed and made “Peace Cranes Over Hiroshima” after a visit to the peace park that is at the epicenter of the World War II atomic bombing site in Hiroshima, Japan. This foundation-pieced quilt is based on an Origami folded peace-crane image from the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Find out more about Dana on her website: https://www.danajonesquilts.com/ and be sure to tell Dana that you found her on The Quilters Calendar!
