Instructors Quilt Show Reno 2024

Megan Best – Handi Quilter National Educator

Megan Best has always loved fabrics and made her first quilt while in high school. She continued to foster this love throughout her education, achieving degrees in apparel design and merchandising/textiles. Thousands of quilts later, she still loves to create.

Megan’s career in the fabric industry includes experience in fabric stores, retail management, quilt shop ownership and as a professional longarm quilter. She excels in both computerized and free-motion quilting, winning many ribbons at local and national shows. She quilts on both her HQ Forte® and HQ Avanté®, both with Pro-Stitcher®.

Megan’s teaching career includes experience as a college instructor, a quilting teacher for local guilds and retail shops, and an instructor at national and international machine quilting shows as well as master of the ZOOM class.

Megan lives in NW Washington on a mini farm (in the making), has two children, and a very supportive husband.

Linda J Hahn - Frog Hollow Designs

Linda is the author of 14 books, several of which are award winners, a Janome Artisan, EQ Artist, and designer for Banyan Batiks.

Linda's classes are fun and empowering! Linda has a way of taking a project that looks complex and breaking it down in a way that's easy to understand. Linda adds her own sense of style while at the same time making it a WHOLE LOTTA FUN! Her infectious passion for quilting shines through in her classes. Linda is a high-energy - low-stress instructor.

https://www.froghollowdesigns.com/

Reeze Hanson - Morning Glory Designs

Reeze Hanson is a prolific designer, entertaining speaker, and an award-winning teacher whose company, Morning Glory Designs, features an eclectic variety of whimsical floral and bold geometric quilt patterns.

Reeze teaches a variety of workshops featuring precision piecing and machine applique drawn from her extensive collection of Block of the Month Quilt designs. In addition, she lectures widely on Color Confidence in quilting, inspired by her years of working as a pattern designer for fabric companies.

Reeze is an author and national educator for EQ8, and teaches all levels of drawing and design using EQ8 quilt design software. A designer, sewer, costumer, quilter, and custom dressmaker for more than 50 years, -- and now a retired college professor-- Reeze has lots of experience, wisdom, and humor to share.

https://www.morningglorydesigns.com/

Laura Heine - Fiberworks

Laura’s mix of artistic skills comes to play in her glorious art quilts.

She has expert collage skills and when it comes to cutting and pasting, her painting talents shine as she arranges fabric motifs to blend colors. Her quilting abilities are award-winning. Laura has created a candy-colored world where everything from cars to giraffes are adorned with beautiful florals.

Visit her shop Fiberworks in Billings Montana or her website www.fiberworks-heine.com.

Lorraine Henry - Lorraine Henry for Conselle

Lorraine is a specialist in sewing, fitting, and pattern alteration for the Conselle Institute of Image Management. She has been an avid sewer since age 6 when she started making hand-sewn doll clothes. Her friends loved to play dolls with her as she had more clothes than anyone. At age 10 experience with a real sewing machine began through the 4H program. With 8 years of clothing construction through 4H and high school Home Ec. Classes, she had a firm foundation in all aspects of clothing construction.

With a B.S. degree in Clothing and Textiles, she has been a university instructor and has taught classes nationally and internationally at sewing-related shows. Teaching the newest method of pattern alteration and fit is her favorite thing to do. She is the creator of the Two Easy Measuring tape set with an instruction booklet which has been an aid for achieving a good fit for fashion sewers throughout the world. She has also written articles on pattern alteration for Sew News Magazine. With 40+ years of experience as a custom dressmaker/tailor and teacher, she has a wealth of knowledge to share with you about sewing and fit. https://www.sewinghen.com/

Rona Herman - Rona the Ribbiter

Rona Herman, also known as Rona the Ribbiter, is an author, teacher, pattern designer, and YouTube host with a passion for experiencing all that life (and quilting) has to offer.

Rona’s unique pattern style of pairing traditional quilt block piecing with a modern look and utilizing direction and fabric placement allows her to combine both her love of art and mathematics. Her quilts may look difficult. But, in truth, they are as easy to assemble as any traditional quilt.

Today Rona is traveling the globe sharing her tips, tricks, inspiration, and travel adventures with quilters the world over. www.ronatheribbiter.com

Dorie Javier – D’s Quilting Design

Dorie designed her first quilt with the encouragement of her co-workers and friends and now has quilts patterns in local quilt shops and distributors. Dorie has been designing quilt patterns for over 20 years. She stays busy vending and filling orders of patterns, notions and kits and she still makes time for new designs.

With her practical approach to quilting and her extensive experience Dorie has been instrumental in introducing many new and traditional quilters to the unlimited potential of quilt piecing and designs. “My students know me as an enthusiastic and patient teacher, one who encourages trying new techniques and expanding their repertoire of skills." In the classroom, Dories’ students are treated to the specific techniques involved in their class, and also to precision piecing tricks as well as efficient shortcuts which help to streamline the pleasures of quilt making. Dorie loves the concept of using basic geometric shapes to produce an infinite variety of designs. She also liked the idea of using her favorite Asian/oriental fabrics together with other blenders that makes her quilts exquisites and one of the kind. Fabric selection is discussed on every class as a result of her beautiful quilts and patterns. Dorie encourages quilters to enjoy the process, to gather as much knowledge as possible and to challenge themselves with new techniques and processes.

As well as teaching, her quilts are exhibited at local quilt guild shows, in Japan and at PIQF … and they win ribbons, too.

She makes her home in scenic Folsom surrounded by her much-spoiled pooch and her rose garden. She has been sewing since she was nine and has been quilting since 1984. http://doriejavier.com

Karen King – Handi Quilter National Educator

While watching her mother and grandmother sew, Karen was inspired at a young age to craft and create garments for herself. After years of machine sewing, she began to enjoy other forms of creativity including hand and machine embroidery, smocking, heirloom sewing, and quilting.

Karen was fascinated with longarm quilting and rented a machine in 2008 at a local quilt shop. In 2010 she purchased her own longarm machine and began a professional career as a longarm quilter. She loves the craft so much that she began to teach others to begin their career. Teaching in person is her favorite, but she also teaches on Zoom and FaceTime.

She quilts daily on her HQ Infinity® with Pro-Stitcher® Premium and has won three 1st place ribbons with her custom work.

Marjan Kluepfel – Marjan Kluepfel Fiber Artist

Marjan Kluepfel was born in the Netherlands. She has lived in Florida, Hawaii, Australia and South Carolina. After working in academia for many years, she is now a full-time studio artist in Davis, CA.

Marjan has been creating art quilts and dyeing fabric since 1990. Her work has been juried into many shows and she teaches her fabric art both nationally and internationally.

Marjan's work is for sale at several commercial galleries and artists' cooperatives in northern California. You can view her work on her website: http://www.marjankluepfel.com

Caryn Lee - Simply Featherweights

I have been sewing since I was a very young girl and quilting for 20 years. One day I learned about this tiny, cute little vintage sewing machine called a Featherweight and I was hooked! I started helping friends take care of their machines and realized that there was a need to teach a class in easy-to-understand language in a relaxed environment. Simply Featherweights was born!

https://www.simplyfeatherweights.com/

Phyllis Martin-Rennie – Sew Beadazzled

Phyllis Martin lives in San Jose, CA.

She has taught at Bead Fest Best Bead show many times as well as other shows and Bead Societies across the U.S. She considers her classrooms "Worry Free Spaces"!

sewbedazzled@gmail.com

RaNae Merrill – Free-Motion Mastery in a Month/RaNae Merrill Quilt Design

RaNae’s superpower is teaching free-motion quilting to beginners!

Like so many quilters, she got really frustrated trying to learn FMQ. Her “Aha!” moment came when she realized that, as a lifelong pianist and piano teacher, she already knew how to teach her hands to do complex movements. Using that experience as a springboard, she created Free-Motion Mastery in a Month, a simple step-by-step system for anyone to easily learn FMQ.

Before jumping into free-motion quilting, RaNae wrote three books about using spirals in quilt design: Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts, Magnificent Spiral Mandala Quilts, and Sideways Spiral Quilts. These fascinating designs are all created with straight lines using foundation piecing and are much easier to sew than they look!

https://ranaemerrillquilts.com/

Cindy Myers  -  A Couple of Old Broads

Cindy Myers, the owner of A Couple of Old Broads, a traveling quilt shoppe, has been teaching quilting for over 26 yrs.

She teaches many aspects of quilting and other crafts. She is currently focusing on One Block Wonder quilts using panels. She also teaches paper piecing and making ornaments using the medallion fabric panels by Paula Nadelstern.

Cindy also does custom quilting and makes custom quilts. She lives in Ontario, Calif with her husband and daughter.

www.wearablart.blogspot.com

Gina Perkes - The Copper Needle

Gina Perkes is an internationally award-winning quilter. In 2015, she received the Best Longarm Machine Workmanship award at the AQS Paducah show. Her quilt Nostalgia is now part of the American Quilter’s Society collection displayed at the National Quilt Museum in Kentucky.

Gina has been quilting for nearly two decades and has developed many tools for machine quilters including ruler templates and stencils for longarm and domestic machine quilting. She has appeared on several quilting shows and is the author of: Mastering the Art of Longarm Quilting, Appliquilting, Guide to Grids, and Tips for Longarm Quilting.

She operates her shop, The Copper Needle, BERNINA sewing machine and longarm dealership in Payson, Arizona. Gina loves working with other quilters, sharing her techniques and helping them find inspiration and gain confidence. She teaches both domestic and longarm techniques and believes that quilting is therapeutic and strives to create a stress-free, fun learning environment for her students.

https://thecopperneedle.com/

Sue Purdy – Sue’s Sparklers

I've always been involved in embellishment. I started sewing when I was 9, got a BS degree in textiles and business, and then went to work for the post office.

Little did I know, that that experience would help when I started Sue's Sparklers. We started out with street fairs, graduated to craft shows, and then indoor quilt shows. My product is lightweight, easy to pack, and just made for shipping. Ta-da, post office experience. Sue's Sparklers has been in continuous business for 25 years.

We started with only 10 iron-on designs and now have hundreds. Along the way, we added a laser cutter so we could cut our own line of stencils and appliqué kits. They are all great products. All are no talent, no time! www.suessparklers.com

Cindy Seitz-Krug - Quintessential Quilting

Cindy Seitz-Krug, owner of Quintessential Quilting, has been quilting award-winning quilts on her domestic sewing machine for more than 25 years. Some of Cindy’s top awards include Best of Show honors at Road to California, Pacific International Quilt Festival, and American Quilter’s Society Quiltweek.

Cindy has taught quilting classes all over the country and has even taught in China. Her teaching method is fun and relaxed, and her students rave about all they learn from her. She has authored two popular books on “grid-based” quilting designs. She also has 3 online quilting classes.

For more information on Cindy, please visit her website: www.quintessentialquilting.com

Connie Spurlock – Sew Wonderful Dreams

Connie is the owner and designer for Sew Wonderful Dreams in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a pattern company founded in 1989.

Teaching across the country in many sewing venues, she presents dozens of workshops and seminars to students annually on various sewing-related topics.

www.sewwonderfuldreams.com

Joe Vecchiarelli - French European, Inc.

With 40+ years in the industry, Joe Vecchiarelli has learned all the tricks in the book to perfect all your garment making.

Joe will show you how to fit and build patterns for your exact body measurements just like he does when working with celebrities on Dancing with the Stars.

www.frencheuropeaninc.com

Beth Watts - Fabric-Chicks

Beth has been sewing and quilting since she was a young girl. Beth went to work for elinor peace bailey Cloth Dolls when she was 15 and has been involved in the quilting industry for the past 30 years.

Beth's greatest passion is Dimensional Fabric Art Quilting. Beth doesn't believe in rules- she believes, we make quilts because we love to create and be inspired. None of us ""need"" another quilt!

Beth is a Certified Sulky Instructor who specializes in Thread Painting on fabric.  www.fabric-chicks.com

FREE STAGE VENUES ONLY

Ashley Coffey / Pieces of Love Quilt Shop

Ashley Coffey, the owner of Pieces of Love Quilt Shop in Oroville, California, is a dedicated quilting enthusiast who has turned her passion into a thriving business.

With her warm and inviting shop, she provides quilters of all levels with a wide range of fabrics, tools, and expert guidance. Ashley is not only a skilled quilter but also a respected teacher who imparts her knowledge through workshops and classes, fostering a sense of community and creativity.

https://www.piecesoflovequiltshop.com/

Sherri Flynn- Nevada Textile Tales

Sherri Flynn has been studying quilts and textiles since 2016 when she became a member of the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG), a 501(c)(3) corporation based in Lincoln, NE (established 1980). She has served on their Board of Directors and as President. Members study, collect, and enjoy textiles ranging from the earliest quilt fragments to studio art and modern quilts [to] discover the history, the story, and the meaning of quilts across time.

Sherri has a collection of quilts and coverlets spanning more than 150 years of age. She has gained her knowledge via constant education through workshops, seminars, and her extensive research library. To this end, Sherri is also a member of the American Quilter’s Society, Midwest Fabric Study Group, International Quilt Museum, SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates), Northern Nevada Quilt History Group, Nevada Quilt Registry, and Truckee Meadows Quilters Guild. She has provided quilt history-related talks and bed turnings (exhibiting and talking about quilts) in the Reno-Sparks area. She is currently working towards certification by the American Quilters Society as a quilted textile appraiser.