Quilters Calendar & Guild Network
resources for quilt guild volunteers
Santa Rosa, California
Karen Bolan is a clear and patient teacher, thoughtful and entertaining lecturer, and clever and instructive quilt pattern designer. Her original award winning quilts and quilting philosophy integrate a love of geometry, experimentation, interconnection, depth, and texture. Karen offers virtual programs or travels to you from Santa Rosa, California.
Learn more about Karen on her website: Karen Bolan
Be sure to tell Karen that you found her on The Quilters Calendar!
Home: Fort Denaud, Florida
Carla first learned to quilt in 1976 and for the next 30 years completed 1 quilt per year, entirely by hand. She raised a family, ran a business – a closet quilter, never joining a guild or meeting other quilters. It wasn’t until meeting her new husband and moving to Vermont (kids grown and business sold) that she discovered the rotary cutter.
With her new rotary cutter skills, she developed a series of shortcut methods. Using only a 24″ quilting ruler, Carla makes a ‘sheet’ of units such as HSTs or QSTs. These methods are now published as a resource guide titled Shortcut Sheets – Laminated cards in a binder along with patterns, tips and worksheets. There are 8 different methods, each with 5 size calculations.
In May 2024, Carla released her second publication – a book titled Panel Play which shows 20 different patterns to surround a panel and uses shortcut sheet methods to make the blocks.
Carla is working on her third publication using her Talking Points block ideas. This block is paper-pieced. The book is expected to be ready by May 2025.
Carla has been published five times in the American Quilter magazine (twice on the cover) and has featured patterns with some of Northcott’s fabric collections.
She gives a 1 hour presentation titled From Quilter to Designer either in-person or via zoom.
Carla runs a small retreat in her home in LaBelle FL where she teaches her methods in a 4 day, 3 night event for a maximum of 6 quilters.
Trunk shows can be in person or via Zoom. Each attendee will receive a coupon which can be applied to online purchases. Class fees vary and can be discussed.
For more about Carla, please visit her website: kitsbycarla.com.
Please let Carla know that you found her on The Quilters Calendar!
Home: Wheaton, Illinois
Carol loves making quilts that incorporate many different fabrics and she enjoys machine quilting (walking foot, free motion, and quilting with metallic thread.) She enjoys making small quilted projects such as runners, tote bags, zipper bags and pincushions. Small projects facilitate play with color, design and new techniques with minimal investment in time and materials.
Carol likes to find ways to make the quilt construction process easier while producing better results. She has also refined techniques for building, organizing, and using a stash that make it a joy to have and to use. She has been teaching quilting classes for more than a dozen years. She loves sharing her ideas with others and encouraging students as they try new projects and techniques. She teaches both online and in-person, for quilt guilds and quilt shops, and at quilt shows.
Get your Stash Together: Organization for Quilters
Some quilters find that their fabric stash, scraps, quilting tools, books and magazines have become a burden, as they don’t have a good way to manage these precious resources. Knowing how to approach the task helps transform the dreaded stash into a collection that is a delight to use. This lecture provides many practical ideas for making your fabric, tools, thread, books, and magazines readily accessible. Topics include how to fold and store fabric so that it’s easy to view and locate, labeling, using your computer as a tool, and many ideas for actually using your stash.
Infinite Opportunity: Quilts Hidden in Your Stash
As quilters, we love to collect beautiful fabrics – yet we don’t always know how to put them all together to make quilts that we love. The term “scrap quilt” may bring to mind the use of leftovers that don’t look particularly good together. By contrast, while STASH quilts utilize your stash and scraps, they contain thoughtfully selected materials, and look BETTER because of the variety – not tired because they were created just to use up fabrics. The lecture addresses several key design principles that make multi-fabric quilts work and includes pairs of quilts to show the impact of incorporating these considerations. Multiple examples of color combinations are provided to give ideas for selecting and using fabrics from your stash to make fabulous multi-fabric quilts.
Learn more about Carol and find out about her classes and lectures on her Website at : Carol Quilts
Visit Carol’s Instagram page: Carol Quilts 123
Contact Carol via Email: carolquilts123 @ gmail.com [remove spaces]
Be sure to tell Carol that you found her on The Quilters Calendar!
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!
Home: Studio City, California
Tina Curran has been a quilter for over 20 years. She is known for her use of color and fun imagery in her quilts. Her work has earned multiple blue ribbons and the rank of Master Quilter at her local quilt guild.
Her quilts have hung in major shows including Road to California (Ontario, CA), the AQS show in Paducah, KY and the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX.
Tina’s work has been featured more than 20 times in magazines (Quilters Newsletter and Quiltmaker) and in three books (including Ricky Tims’ “Kool Kaleidoscopes”).
She has been designing patterns since 2002, began giving quilt lectures in 2012 and started teaching her designs in quilt guild workshops in 2013. In 2015, she started a free monthly email newsletter to chronicle her adventures in quilting, which is read by thousands of quilters around the world. Her patterns are sold in her shop on Etsy.com (tinacurran.etsy.com) and to date have been bought by quilters in all 50 states and 23 foreign countries.
She offers two trunk shows. The first is a reimagined in-person show, now using photos. The second one features quilts no longer in her possession, so perfect for sharing using photos. Her popular design lecture demystifies the process with the hope to inspire others to design their own quilts. She also has a talk tracing her career path — from the advertising industry to the quilting industry, highlighting the joys and the challenges along the way.
All her workshops are project-based, helping students to make their own versions of her quilt designs. Her most popular is “Whimsical Garden,” where students make a floral fabric collage. With four versions of American flags quilts, her flag workshops are also popular, as is her “California Poppies” class. The details of the nine workshops that feature regular piecing and the seventeen that feature paper piecing can be found on the “Lectures and Workshops” page on her website.
Tina is an experienced presenter/teacher on Zoom. More information can be found on her website at www.tinacurran.com.
Please let Tina know that you found her on The Quilter’s Calendar.
Home: Kansas City, Missouri
Jenifer is the author of 6 books since 2005 including: Nine-Patch Revolution, The Modern Appliqué Workbook, Grapefruit Juice and Sugar, The Circuit Rider’s Quilt, Quilt Retro, and Stories in Stitches. In 2015 she started publishing patterns under the name Everyday Stitches.
Jenifer literally wrote the book on machine applique – The Modern Applique Handbook – and also teaches a variety of piecing techniques including simple paper piecing and guided improv.
She has been talking to guilds for 15 years and teaching just as long. She offers an applique trunk show featuring 25+ quilts called “Because It’s Applique!” And a 25-year retrospective look at her best quilts called “25 Years, 25 Quilts.” Both offer lots of tips, hints and advice to make your own quiltmaking easier and more fun! Workshops include Invisible Zigzag Applique, Starburst, a Paper pieced showstopper (that’s really simple to make!), Exploding Nine-Patch, an explosion of color and fun! and more, which can be seen on her website.
Her Blog: www.42quilts.com and her website: www.everydaystitches.com
Please tell Jenifer that you found her on The Quilters Calendar!
Home: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Rachael Rossi is a creator of sewing and quilting patterns operating out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Originally from rural Pennsylvania, Rachel attended Harrington College of Design in Chicago, Illinois.
Rachel’s designs are clean, modern, and simple. Her patterns are easy to understand for beginners and streamlined for masters. Her collection of patterns range from quilts to aprons to home decor. You can see them all in her online shop.
Rachel is passionate about bringing quilting to the next generation. This mission is woven throughout her user-friendly patterns, exciting trunk shows, and educational lectures. She offers a range of classes including paper piecing, traditional piecing, and curved piecing.
To see the full selection, please visit her website: https://www.rachelrossi.design/speaking-engagements/
Please let Rachel know you found her on The Quilter’s Calendar!
Home: Manchester, New Hampshire
“Are you curious about paper piecing? Do you and paper piecing already have a love/hate relationship? Do you love the accuracy you achieve, but hat the process of getting there? Well, “No More Tears”™ will change that to a LOVE relationship. You’ll not only learn about the basics of paper piecing but also how the method will give you precise results in half the time of the old way of paper piecing. Oh, and by the way, You don’t need any specialty paper which means you can use regular copy paper. I’ve also got a few tricks up my sleeve for orienting the next piece of fabric to be sewn so that it fits every time, and you’ll learn how to join your individual blocks with your points matching on the first try. But most of all, I create a relaxed, fun environment in which to learn…be prepared to laugh.”
I’ve been teaching my method since 2004 and have become part of the Mancuso Quiltfest faculty, spreading the word nationally. So, please, come join me for a class or two.”
Learn more about Dave on his website https://www.quiltmavendave.com/
Please let Dave know you found him on The Quilter’s Calendar!
