2021 Lectures
January 19, 2021 • Sandra Johnson
Sandra Johnson’s Wearable Art
Sandra’s wearables reflect creative ways to upcycle favorite clothing, especially denim, as well as hand stitching that makes her projects unique. She’ll present techniques for improving and reimagining clothing to create personal, unique art—comfy to wear and to treasure. You’ll find yourself thinking in new ways about clothing and using and reusing fabric. Learn more on her website or follow her at Sandra Johnson Designs on Facebook or Instagram.
February 16, 2021 • Trudy Cleveland
Photographing Quilts with your Phone
Smartphone cameras now rival the best digital cameras on the market, and this Zoom presentation by SoCal photographer and long-arm quilter Trudy Cleveland will serve up a wealth of tips for taking quality photos of your quilts.
Trudy’s advice will help you do more with your smartphone, take great photos to share with family and friends, participate in virtual Sew & Tell events, meet the requirements of online quilt-show applications, and more. You may find yourself using these tricks for all your photography. Learn more about Trudy at her website.
PLEASE NOTE: This lecture will not be recorded.
March 16, 2021 • Lisa Walton
Leap and the Net Will Appear
Australian textile artist Lisa Walton takes us through her creative journey, showing her development over the years and highlighting the milestones and “leaps” she has taken. A teacher of quiltmaking and surface design for more than 15 years, Lisa has also published many patterns and books on quilting techniques, surface design and beading on fabric. She is a past president of Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). Learn more about Lisa at her website.
April 20 • Blair Stocker
Finding Value in Your Scraps
Did your grandmother make quilts using scraps left over from the clothes she made for your family? While today we buy many of the fabrics we use in our quilts, we’re also excited to use found and recycled textiles, from a thrift store, garage sale, or Free Table. Blair is most inspired when using fabric that has meaning or memories. She began her career designing textiles and made her first quilt for her daughter using many of her lovely baby clothes. Blair calls her style “Modern Traditional” and her esthetic appeals to all types of quilters. Her most recent book is Wise Craft Quilts: A Guide to Turning Beloved Fabrics into Meaningful Patchwork. Learn more about Blair Stocker at her web site.
2020 Lectures
January 21, 2020 • Maria Shell
Notes from the Field
Maria Shell started out as a traditional quilter, but soon found herself making abstract pieced art quilts that look surprisingly modern. Maria will share her personal journey in and about the traditional, art, and modern quilt movements. Can you be all three? Come to the lecture and find out. Learn more about Maria here.
February 18, 2020 • Silk & Salvage
Exquisite Quilts, Unexpected Materials
Before easy access to the local quilt shop, before internet shopping, how and where did one obtain materials for quilt making? And once a quiltmaker had a collection of available materials, how did those materials inform design and construction? What can we learn from quilts made with a restricted supply or unusual types or sizes of materials? Sue Fox and Julia McLeod—aka Silk & Salvage—will take a wide-ranging look at quilts made from silk, linen, wool and other fabrics, such as clothing and manufacturing scraps … as well as quilts made during times of privation and necessity. Their talk showcases both historical and contemporary makers, and highlights some pretty awesome quilts. The trunk show includes both vintage pieces and some of their own work. Learn more about Silk & Salvage here.
May 19, 2020 • Jane Haworth
Living a Creative Life
Jane learned to sew from her grandmother, studied textile design at college in England, and landed her first real job at a Laura Ashley factory. After setting up a small textile business and working in interior design in England, Jane moved to Auburn in 1998. A trip to Kauai inspired her to transfer the colorful images she saw to fabric. In 2012 she opened an Etsy shop, Happy Quilt Designs, where she sells personalized quilts using her customers’ own t-shirts and other textiles they send to her. In addition to describing her creative journey, Jane will also talk about setting up her Etsy shop and some of the challenges her clients present to her. Her goal: “to inspire quilters to go out of their comfort zone and just have fun creating.” To learn more, visit her website at www.janehaworth.com.
June 16, 2020 • Youngmin Lee
Bojagi, The Art of Korean Wrapping Cloths
Pieced together from small scraps of cloth, Bojagi occupies a prominent place in the daily lives of Koreans. They are used to wrap or carry everything from precious ritual objects to everyday clothes and common household goods and also to cover food. They can also be strikingly contemporary, with designs and colors reminiscent of modern abstract art. Youngmin Lee will talk about bojagi during this virtual lecture and show her own bojagi from her studio. Learn more about Youngmin here.
July 21, 2020 • Julie Silber
Keeping ‘Em in Stitches
A quilt collector for more than 40 years, Julie will dive into her fabulous quilt collection—early Album quilt, pre-Civil War quilts, museum-quality Amish quilts, quilts with thousands of pieces, trapunto’d quilts, and rare pictorial quilts—to spotlight quilts with a great sense of humor, Read more about Julie here.
September 15, 2020 • Sara Trail
Introducing the Social Justice Academy
Learn about the innovative and inter-generational work of the Social Justice Sewing Academy from founder Sara Trail. She’ll share the history of activist quiltmaking and the inspiration that led to the development of the organization. The SJSA is on the web here.
October 20, 2020 • Jody Alexander
The Boro Aesthetic
Jody’s talk will include an introduction to Japanese Boro textiles as well as a look at mending and reuse traditions in other parts of the world. She’ll explore contemporary artists working within the realm of the “art of mending.” Finally, she’ll present her own work, which is greatly inspired by mending and reuse traditions. Check out her web site.
Nov. 10, 2020 • Kathy Anso & Linda Rae
2 Kiwi Quilters, 10 Years of Nancy Crow
Kathy Anso and Linda Rae, longtime fans and students of quilt artist Nancy Crow, join us all the way from New Zealand, via Zoom. The duo will share their quilting journeys and show us how Nancy’s influence helped them develop their artistic voices. Don’t miss this opportunity to see state-of-the-art quilting in the land of the Kiwis.
2019 Lectures