Tutors' Biopics & Course OutlinesOur Tutors:
Wayne Attwell - Monday lunchtime address
Wayne is the founder and senior brand strategist at Bold Horizon www.boldhorizon.co.nz. He has over 25 years of international marketing and business experience across the corporate and small business sectors. Initially trained as an industrial designer, he has developed an avid professional interest in social media marketing, search engine optimisation, keyword marketing and blogging. Attendees from 2008 will recall the address he gave then.
Pam Clarke has been quilting since the late 1960’s and sewing for 46 years. She lives in Spokane WA and grew up in Sacramento CA. Pam has been machine quilting and teaching machine quilting, piecing and appliqué classes since 1988. She is the owner of Homes Stitches (see www.homestitches.com/index.html) a professional machine quilting business that was started in 1988. Her work can be seen in several published magazines and books. She quilts for Debbie Mumm, K-P kids, Fiber Mosaics, Mary Lou and Company, Fabric Sales, Kaufman, Bernantix, Retta Weirheim and Martingale. To this date she has quilted over 7500 quilts and has made several hundred. Pam has appeared on Quilt Central and with Linda Taylor for PBS. She has also been featured in Fons and Porter as a Celebrity Quilter.
Pam teaches all over the USA including IMQS, Innovations, Machines in Motion, The Home Machine Quilt IMQX in NH and several local shows in the Northwest. Her favorite type of quilting is appliqué mixed with simple piecing with a
scrappy look that has won her numerous ribbons across the USA. Designs with Lines is another business that was started by Pam Clarke in 1998. This technique was designed to help speed up the quilting process by using simple lines as a guide to create individual designs. Pam has been creating her own stencils for several years and this technique is used for the home machine quilter or the longarm machine quilter. She has available 11 videos From Beginning to the Advanced Machine quilter, along with Sketchbooks full of ideas to go along with her stencils.
Pam also expanded her business last year to include Log Cabin Dry Goods, the largest retail and machine-quilting store in Spokane. With machine rentals, drop-off quilting services, a broad range of classes, high quality, low cost fabrics, die cut services and meeting rooms, Pam is excited to see Log Cabin Dry Goods grow.
In 2009 Pam was voted Teacher of the year for the Home Machine Quilt Show in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Conference Classes
Block to Block Custom Quilting
Level: Confident beginner
This class is guaranteed to change the way you approach your next quilt. Learn Pam’s secrets to custom quilting the fast and beautiful way. Save loads of time and discover that you don’t need all those special tools to do custom designs.
Valuable information and designs will be provided in a workbook for each student to keep notes; follow along with Pam as she draws continuous designs from block to block using the sashing and borders to make the least amount of stops. Then sit back and watch as Pam demonstrates using the Longarm machine to quilt several different designs in different blocks with the least amount of stops. This class is for the serious quilter who wants to save serious time.
Bring a clip-board, colored pens or pencils, small sharpener and eraser
Cameras welcomed
Quilting Inside the Lines
Level: Confident Beginner
Whether you are a confident beginner to an advanced machine quilter using your mid-arm machine, longarm machine or your home machine, you will find this class packed full of valuable information so simple to learn that you will be amazed at the versatile and exciting ways you’ll approach machine quilting.
This workshop is designed to help speed up the process of machine quilting. Pam Clarke will share her convenient, proven and helpful methods of creating outstanding continuous designs. Discover the easy to follow instructions to customizing and personalizing your quilt tops.
This workshop will begin with sketching in a workbook provided by Pam Clarke. Follow along as she draws these designs using an overhead projector and discover the effective and convenient approach to unlimited designs using basic lines as a reference guide. Then watch as she demonstrates using the Longarm and shows you how to mark and stitch these designs.
Experience the dramatic difference in how you approach your next quilt and appreciate the outstanding quality you will be able to create and the confidence in knowing you can create a unique and invaluable style of your own.
Bring a clip- board, colored pencils or pens, a pencil, a small sharpener and eraser.
Easy Elegant Borders
Level: Confident Beginner to the Advanced Quilter using the mid-arm, longarm or home machine.
(Includes 30+ page workbook with loads of ideas for each student)
Learn three borders techniques that will change the way you approach your next quilt. Several samples and techniques will be covered in class along with a workbook to keep notes. Using your workbook, follow along with Pam as she draws these borders using an overhead projector and learn how to design these effortless borders.
Working with corners and sashing/lattice is the goal using several straight line stencils as references points to develop outstanding designs to help speed up your marking and quilting time. Discover how to deal with problem borders or lattice and which design works best in these areas.
You will be amazed how simple borders can really be!
Designs from Simple Shapes and Blocks
Level: Intermediate/Advanced Quilter
(Includes 30+ page workbook with loads of ideas for each student)
Take a simple circle, swirl, 9-patch, heart and add a few basic shapes to create fantastic designs to be used in borders, blocks, sashing, corners and set-in blocks. No longer will you be searching through your pre-cut stencils to find the perfect fit. Pam Clarke will show you how with these simple shapes to make Amish feathers with a circle, beautiful swirl shapes for large borders or small sashing.
Discover how to use any size heart shape to create an elegant feather heartto be used in plain blocks or half square triangles. Take a 9-Patch block and using the piecing of the block as a reference, stitch outstanding designs with very little marking. Then see how simple this is achieved as Pam demonstrates using the Longarm from the free-motion side of the machine.
Block and Border Works
Level: Intermediate/Advanced level
Some knowledge on the Designs with Line techniques covered in earlier classes is recommended.
This class is based on Pam’s new book "Quilting Inside the Lines" as a guide to discover how to make elegant borders, sashing and set in blocks using her line stencils and very little marking. Never again will you need to search for that perfect pre-cut stencil that doesn’t seem to fit. This class is designed to go beyond Designs with Lines. Pam will discuss how to fill up the large empty fabric spaces between blocks, how to deal with large oversized borders and sashing. Large set-in half square triangles will be discussed along with flying geese type piecing. This class will take you into that next level of machine quilting. If you’re in a rut and need to step out of your box this class is for you.
Pre-Conference Hands-on Class
Half-day hands-on classes of
Fearless Beginnings to Free-Motion Quilting
Level: Beginner
Discover the secrets to smooth quilting and basic quilt designs using your longarm machine. This class is designed to
save time and gain confidence. If you are new to machine quilting or not comfortable with free-motion quilting this class is for you. Pam will guide you in this step by step no fuss-method. This workshop will cover how to mark a quilt top, several background stitches, and the seven basic quilt patterns to create unlimited quilt designs. You will be amazed how easy it is to do feathers, hearts, leaves, waves, etc. And with a little bit of practice, you will soon be finishing quilt tops faster than you thought possible. A workbook packed full of ideas and practice ideas will be provided in class along with several samples and demonstrations using the quilting machine.
Background Frenzy Sampler
All levels
Are you in a stipple rut? Join Pam as she shares with you her 25 favorite background designs. Provided in Kit a workbook, pre-stamped fabric for the student to stitch a sampler; draw along and stitch making a stain glass looking wall-quilt of all these great background fillers. Swirls, leaves, loops, stars, waves, ivy, herky jerky, echo, paisley, etc. along with several samples will be available along with hints where and when to use. This class is designed for all levels of quilters. Learn how to jazz up your quilting and show your friends and customers that you can go beyond stippling.
Nic Bridges
Nic Bridges has been involved in patchwork and quilting since 1992, and became a professional quilter in 2002. Since then, Nic has established herself teaching contemporary quilt making techniques in Sydney, Wollongong and on the South Coast of NSW, in addition to her longarm quilting business and artistic endeavours. A regular contributor to Australian quilting magazines, Nic has been featured in profiles in Australian Patchwork & Quilting, Down Under Quilts, Quilters Companion and Homespun over recent years. Nic’s website www.nicquiltz.com is well worth a lookNZMQ5 SYNOPSIS
Nic teaches contemporary patchwork and quilting techniques on a regular basis at Patchwork shops and Quilt Guilds in the Southern Sydney, Wollongong and Shoalhaven areas. She has taught Longarm Quilting at The Finishing Touch, Camden and the 2008 Longarm Quilters Symposium at the Sydney Quilt & Craft Expo. Nic has taught at several Southern Cross Quilters Retreats, at the 2008 Be Creative By the Sea Retreat at Coffs Harbour and the 2008 Janome Conference.
Nic has been regularly exhibiting in the Sydney Quilt Show and Wollongong Quilt Show for the past decade.
Recent Achievements
Client quilt belonging to Sue Rowles, “Sue’s Garden” won 3rd Prize in the Commercially Machine Quilted (Amateur) section at the 2009 Sydney Quilt Show.
Client quilt belonging to Lisa Walton, “Bushfire Sunset” won 3rd Prize in the Large Wall Quilts: Longarm/Midarm Machine section at the 2009 AQS Quilt Show & Contest in Paducah, Kentucky, USA.
“Touchstones #2 – Gingko Garden” was selected to be shown in the “Best of Australia” exhibit at the 2009 Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne.
“Touchstones #2 – Gingko Garden” won the Best Use of Colour Award at the Quilters Guild of NSW Inc. 2008 Sydney Quilt Show.
“Touchstones #3 – Outback at Dusk” was awarded 3rd Prize Art Quilt (Open) at the 2008 Sydney Quilt Show.
Client quilt belonging to Lisa Walton, “Bushfire Sunset” won 1st Prize in the Commercially Machine Quilted Quilt (Professional) Category at the 2008 Sydney Quilt Show. This quilt was also juried as a finalist in the Houston International Quilt Festival.
Conference Classes
Organza Artistry
Demonstrating my prize-winning technique of combining layers of organza with machine quilting to enhance and embellish the finished quilt. This technique has scope for use in both client quilting and personal art quilting projects.
Letting the Quilt take the lead
Demonstrating my approach to developing unique quilting designs from the appliqué or fabric motifs already present in the client quilt top. This technique has proved very popular with clients and quilt show judges alike.
Choosing the Right Filler for the Quilt
There are so many quilting fill patterns available, how does one select the appropriate filler to suit the quilt and enhance the finished product? In this class I will share my process for choosing the design best suited to the quilt and its intended use.
Pre-Conference Hands-on Class
Arty-Farty Free Motion Techniques
Learn a variety of Contemporary background filler techniques to complement both your own work and your client’s quilts, as well as nine ways to embellish and enhance quilts with the Longarm quilting machine.
Machine Trapunto Techniques
This class aims to demonstrate three different machine trapunto techniques – traditional white-on-white trapunto, coloured trapunto and shadow trapunto. We will work through the various techniques and end up with a small wholecloth quilt as a sampler for future reference.
New Zealand Tutors
Jenny Allen
I bought my first longarm machine in 2002, and very quickly developed a large customer base. I soon found a real need for innovative custom quilting, and also found I needed to be able to complete quilts quickly, and still offer excellent design ideas. To keep cost effective time frames, I needed to develop my own freehand designs for quilting. I run a parallel business - see my website www.stitchworks.co.nz - specialising in supply of wide backing fabrics, threads and templates.
Conference Classes
Tempting Templates
Having recently been appointed NZ retailer for Pam Clarke’s range of quilting accessories, I will offer a class demonstrating the use of templates and other tools take your quilting to the next level. Helpful hints and thinking outside the square using a variety of templates, rulers stencils and marking tools. I will bring a large collection of stencils for use on the day.
I am looking forward to teaching at the 2010 New Zealand Quilting Conference, and to meeting up with many of you again.
Sharon Bradley
Sharon has been exploring her passion for colour for a long time and now has her own studio “River Ranch Designs”. She has been influenced by tutors like Karen McTavish, Pattern Makers like McKenna Ryan and Fabric Designers like Valori Wells.
Sharon loves to see her students leave her classes having the knowledge to complete their projects, having grown in confidence and skill, knowing that they can extend themselves beyond their previous expectations.
Conference Classes
Whole Cloth in Colour
 You don’t have to be an artist, just try to paint what you see. Learn how easy it is to apply colour using ordinary everyday colouring pencils using bold colours and stark contrasts to create drama. Also learn how to do shading in order to make your designs look dimensional. It is a lot of fun and very relaxing.
Kit fee is $20 payable direct to Sharon
Dye by Numbers
 Students will learn to create their own hand dyed pictorial fabric. Previous drawing experience is not necessary. You will be making a hand painted piece of fabric that can be used as part of a quilt, wall hanging or where ever your imagination leads you.
Kit fee is $20 payable direct to Sharon
Diane Caskey
I have been longarm quilting now for 10 years - initial in partnership with Colleen Burr who has now moved away from Taranaki. I will be attending MQX in USA in April so I hope to be able to share some of the ideas from those classes.
Conference Classes
Things I Like To Do
The thread play sessions will introduce you longarm thread work and hopefully encourage you to try it out, and create your own ideas and style of playing with threads. I will cover easy sashing designs, free motion leaf and flower designs, background fillers, McTavishing (my style), and easy feather designs.
Carol Fearon
Seven years ago I made a quilted banner for my church – I copied techniques from books and magazines, combined machine and paper piecing and then hand quilted (very large stitches) the whole thing; I was addicted! Joining APQGI opened my eyes to wonders and techniques and at Calico Christmas I saw a longarm machine – I WANTED one. It was of course impossible; but a small business course later and I was up and running. I have been quilting as Quilt Arts for five years now, using commercial pantos, designing my own pantos, and much freehand custom quilting.
Over this time I have exhibited my own quilts: at Calico Christmas where I have picked up some nice prizes, the highlight being best Professional bed quilt in 2008; at four symposia getting a merit in the art quilt section in Wellington. I have also sent a quilt to the USA for the World Quilt show the last two years. It was a real thrill to win Best Machine Quilting at Hamilton in 2009. I also love to create wearables – totally impractical but fun to do. Because I like to work big and since I do not have a patient nature I am always looking for ways to produce wonderful effects quickly and on a large scale. The longarm is wonderful for this. My blog page www.carolfearonquilter.blogspot.com shows some of the work I have been doing.
Conference Classes
One-Step Wall Hanging on the Longarm
I will demonstrate a super fast way to create a wall hanging of virtually any size. After drawing a design on plain fabric you load up the quilt. Then using snippets of fabric, threads, etc. you create the background then any shapes or letters are added. This is covered with water soluble film or organza/net. Then it is all quilted down at high density, the result can be a wall hanging or the fabric to make a bag, book cover or other item.
Longarm Machine Lace
Yes you can use the longarm to make machine lace – on water soluble fabric or organza or net - to use with artwork, on garments or as motifs to attach to other work. I will demonstrate basic machine lace rules and different techniques for many different effects and purposes, and how different threads produce special effects.
Ross Munro
Ross and Maria Munro of Karamu Quilting have been the New Zealand agents for Gammill and Statler quilting systems since 2005. In 2009 Ross won a major prize at Houston for his design and execution of a computerised piece. He is going to share secrets of Gammill maintenance with us as well as run a forum on the Statler computerised system.
Conference Classes
Gammill Maintenance
Any quilting machine needs some TLC from time to time. Learn how to handle those everyday issues. A few minutes tweaking can save you hours of frustration ... maybe even downtime. Ross will take you through ...
Statler Forum
For Statler owners - there are said to be 25 of you in NZ and we expect most of you will want to be here for a jam session with Ross.
Lori Neels - Convenor
Lori has been doing patchwork since the 1970’s and, in 2000, became one of the earliest people in New Zealand to operate a longarm machine . She and her husband Mike started Quiltique back then, Mike having secured the Nolting agency for Australasia. Since 2002 these biennial conferences have been a source of inspiration to all attendees.
Conference Classes
Pantographs
Lori will take you through all the stages of sewing an edge-to-edge pattern from pinning on to taking the finished quilt off the machine. This course will be suitable for owners of light frames as well as beginning longarmers.
Mid-Arm 101
Lori presents the class she gave at Quilt Wellington Symposium 2009 on the basics of free-arm quilting. Suitable for owners of mid-arm machines and anyone else looking to make a start or wondering what it’s all about.
John Nielsen
Introducing John Nielsen, of Quiltfairies at Baylys Beach.
I originally hail from Denmark, but I have lived in New Zealand for almost 20 years; I reside with my partner (Darwin) at Baylys Beach (near Dargaville), right on the wild West coast of the North Island. I have been doing patchwork and quilting for seven years, and for the last three years quilting for customers on my A1 Longarm machine. In July 2009 we added the IQ Quilt Computer System to my longarm, - which of course is like a "Quilter’s dream come true".
I like bright bold colours, repetitive blocks and designs with strong symmetry and tessellation’s - the endless combinations and possibilities you have to sew, cut, join, stack and whack! In my Quilt studio I have three favorite tools. One of them is Pre-Design! (If you ask me I will also tell you about the two other ones later!)
I can do free-hand quilting, but have never been good drawing with pen on paper, and did not like to draft and doodle quilt designs, - well that was until I found Pre-Design Studio 2 years ago. Pre-Design is a computer drawing software , - vector based, where you can draw or trace block or panto designs to your hearts content, print on paper and / or convert the drawings to "sew-files" (dxf-files) to be sewn on either your domestic embroidery machine, or on a computer guided longarm machine.
The files or drawings you make can also be used for appliqué, exported to other embroidery software, to trace and resize a scale garment pattern...... actually there are lots of options and possibilities!
Just imagine tracing your kids or grandkids drawings - to be able to make them into redwork or quilt-designs!
As you can see I am really excited about the use of this software, I find that I can now be creative on my computer
- a creativity which I can complete in my quilt studio!
Please come and join me in my classes in Pre-Design - and see yourself how you can extend you creativity! I have also been asked to take over Jenny Scott’s IntelliQuilter classes as Jenny cannot make it to this year’s conference. I intend to retain the structure of her courses.
Conference Classes
Pre-Design
Learn the powerful features of this advanced graphic design tool. A full description of content is available under the Pre-Design tab on the menu bar.
Getting Started: the basic skills for using IntelliQuilter
This class is for new users of IntelliQuilter, and is also suitable for people considering a purchase. The emphasis will be on becoming familiar with various screens in the program, and the basic techniques for using IntelliQuilter, such as utilising the tablet help screens, loading patterns, setting up the pattern libraries, taking screen shots. The class will include an exercise to set up a pantograph design including setting interlocks & resizing the pattern. Students should be able to work along with the demonstration on their own tablet or alongside someone else who has one. There will be a machine available for the class to include techniques for rolling the quilt on, re-aligning the pattern and restarting in the middle of a design.
Pantographs and Beyond using the IntelliQuilter:
Learn how to take a pantograph design further by setting it within borders, with no sew zones or within a block. Pantograph designs are versatile. Find out how they can be used for sashes, borders and backgrounds. Jazz up the designs by splitting out motifs for swapping or stitching in multiple colours. Students should be able to work along with the demonstration on their own tablet or alongside someone else who has one.
IntelliQuilter Classes: each includes a 15 minute open class forum for student questions/contributions.
Pre-Conference Hands-on Class
Art & Stitch
If you have any of the computer-guided longarm systems, or if you are keen on machine embroidery - then this class is for you! Art and Stitch is the new computer drawing software, especially made for longarm quilters - if your computer quilting system is the "cake", then Art and Stitch is the "icing on the cake"! It will enable you to make your own digitized quilt designs, redwork for embroidery, and much more. Art and Stitch comes with lots and lots of great tools, as well as some quilt designs, a great browser - and will make it possible for you to import and export files to and from your different "design-softwares"! Bring your laptop, or if not - at least an USB memory stick! For more information check out http://www.artnstitch.com/overview.htm
Sharon Perry
Sharon has been designing, quiltmaking and teaching for many years. She has designed and produced patterns for tapestries, knitting, patchwork and quilting. She is known for ‘giving things a twist’, ‘looking at things differently’ and having a passionate persistence for finding solutions to problems. All her techniques and designs are prepared for ease of use by the quilter.
Sharon has taught maths, accounting and economics to year 9 - 12 students. She has also taught craft, dressmaking, embroidery and patchwork classes over many years, as well as giving private tuition in Longarm Machine Quilting techniques. She is a joint founder and organiser of New Zealand’s Quilt Show and Sale. A biennial event in the capital, set up in an exhibition/House and Garden style setting. Quilts are sold from quilters all over New Zealand. The public is educated about what a quilt is, how it is made etc. After two successful events the third is scheduled for October this year.
Sharon has been quilting for many years with her quilts appearing in National and International publications. She has exhibited and won awards locally, nationally and internationally with her most recent prize being 3rd place in the Traditional Section of the World Quilt & Textile Show, a show which travels through New England, Pennsylvania, California and Florida.
Conference Classes
p-2-p (Line Pattern) Designing
I have developed some new quilting designs and techniques which bring great efficiency gains to longarm quilters. I am keen to share with quilters just how these techniques work. They are not techniques which are immediately obvious, but once the concept is grasped they become second nature and one wonders how one ever survived without them. This might sound like over promising – but I have yet to find anyone who has not agreed with me after I have shown them these ideas. Click here for more on this. When producing quilting designs I am guided by the following ideas:
 • the need for designs to fit particular spaces,
• the requirement to have balanced designs – within the design itself and between designs
• wanting the designs to be able to be set up quickly
• wanting the designs to stitch out efficiently
• wanting to be able to maximise the capabilities of computerised longarms
• they must look beautiful!
AutoSketch
I will be offering a class teaching beginners how AutoSketch operates and how I use it. I have found that I can use AutoSketch for whatever I need and do simple to very fancy stuff with it.
Clive Sandham
Clive is an engineer by training with a background in computer guided CNC machinery. He designed, developed and manufactures NZ’s most popular tracking and roller system - the SwiftQuilter. His course is aimed primarily at SwiftQuilter user but will apply to anyone with a home quilting frame for use with a domestic machine.
Conference Classes
Techniques for Mid-Arm Stand-Up Quilting Systems
This course will appeal to anyone aho has invested in a quilting frame designed to take a domestic sewing machine. Areas to be covered include ...
- Setting up the Swiftquilter , assembling, etc
- Loading the backing and quilt on the bars,
- Setting the sewing machine up for quilting,
- Using the pointer for following patterns,
- Basics of Free motion and sewing etc
- Using the new Extra function to gain more quilt space. (Older Swiftquilters are upgradeable to this feature)
Cynthia Read
I was born and brought up in the North East of England where there is a strong unbroken tradition of quilting. My earliest memories are of Nana teaching me the basics of sewing, knitting, crochet and rag rugging. In the 1970’s I taught Art Textiles to 13 to 18 year olds and, as so many others did, took up patchwork. This did not become fully fledged until the early 90’s when I did my first Durham Quilt. In that decade I won my first major award at Quilts UK for surface texture and embellishment, and joined the prestigious Devon Guild of Craftsmen . A chance meeting at a quilting group in 2001 led to a full time job, which lasted until the Great Move to NZ. I’ve had a go at most things to do with fabrics but this move opened up a whole new world of spinning and fibre. I now have a fibre stash as well as the vivid jewel colour fabrics I love. For quilting I prefer traditional designs done by modern methods, with unexpected materials and dramatic colour choices. I don’t do beige.
Conference Class
A Simple Japanese Bag
Ever wondered what to do with those practice pieces and unloved quilts? This simple project is a great way of using up all of those bits and pieces you don’t know what to do with. Using mostly hand techniques for a change there are a variety of approaches and sizes to choose from. I will show you how to get started with this, although some fast stitchers may even get it finished on the day. We will provide everything you need. Bring your camera so that you have a record of all the variations.
Sally Smith
I started quilting in 1997 while sailing up the east coast of America in a small boat with my husband. I was instantly hooked and a few years later on the way down the west coast of America, still in the same boat and still hooked, and still with my husband, I was lucky enough to stumble across a new quilt shop in the town of Antioch, California. It was here that I was introduced to longarm quilting and spent four happy years quilting customers’ quilts. I had no formal training and we had no panto’s so I taught myself to quilt free-format on a manually guided machine. I have never been able to follow a line so essentially make it up as I go along. In my time in Antioch I quilted more than one thousand quilts and in doing so have developed a number of basic patterns which I build on and tailor to the quilt of the moment. Each pattern has a rhythm and a flow and this is what enables me to be consistent. I love to share my approach and my students have found it to be a liberating experience. I am now resident in New Zealand and have built up a satisfactory quilting business quilts and teaching patchwork. It enables me to freely indulge in my favourite hobby (second only to sailing!)
Conference Classes
Breaking Boundaries
In this class we will be working mainly on whiteboards with marker pens. This will enable you to practice to your heart’s content and if you don’t like what you see, it can be erased in a second. The aim is to get you to relax and discover just how talented you are at making shapes and building on them. All the tools will be provided and you will take away a handout for future reference. You will also have the opportunity to see the techniques demonstrated on the machine and have a go yourself. Come along wih an open mind, a relaxed approach and have some fun!
Helen Townend
I bought my longarm back in early 2006 and began quilting for customers within a month. At the time I was the President of the Taupo Quiltmakers. I quickly built up a customer base of local quilters and it did not take long before I had enquiries from out of town. I was blown away when I had a quilt to do from Dunedin.
My main interest is in freehand quilting. This enables me to make any quilt look beautiful and give it some originality.
I love sewing feathers of various styles. The style of Karen McTavish has captivated me and I love doing my version of her feathers and the McTavishing background fillers. I have also been very interested in Whole Cloth Quilts whether they be one colour, shadow trupunto or coloured. I will be teaching this locally at my studio early this year for domestic sewers.
I find longarm quilting to be an exciting and fulfulling form of art. The moment of most satisfaction is when my customer says... I LOVE IT!!!
Conference Classes
Wholecloth leading into Trupunto Techniques, Design Choices and Background Fillers (double session):
I will teach you how to go from the blank top material right through to the finished product. This will include White Work, Shadow and Coloured Trupunto. Begining with choosing designs to work with and simple ways to alter the size to fit the area you are working in. Then we will cover the various techniques of Trupunto, finishing with the many options of quilting in the background. It is very exciting learning how to do Trupunto. You will be able to apply this technique easily to many different styles of quilts.
Julie van der Putten (Puddle)
People in the world of patchwork know me as "PUDDLE" I got that nickname about 15 years ago now and it has stuck. Even my Ray says "I am Puddle’s husband". I have a wide and varied job(s). I demonstrate the Clover brand of products throughout New Zealand - at independent Patchwork shops, at craft shows like ’Craft & Quilt show’, ’Dunkleys’, ’Calico Christmas’, and for local quilting groups. I take a patchwork group in Hamilton. My friend Sue and I run a on-line book store that has been going for 5 years. Quilters Book Shop/Quilt Books NZ www.quiltbooks.co.nz. We are looking forward to being merchants at Conference.
Conference Classes
Meshwork
This will be an overview of the technique and the tools I use and why. I have used some of the tools that are in the ’Japanese’ text book and some are tools that I have already had in my sewing kit. I like my tools to be multi-functional so that I get my money’s worth. I will be talking for approximately one hour and I will have plenty of part samples to show so you can understand the technique and perhaps even have a play with my samples.
Chenille
I will present this from a domestic sewing machine point of view but the method can be easily transfered to the longarm machine for big projects. Different fabrics can be used for different effects. This technique can be for a cushion, large quilt, even bags and clothing. I have some tips on the tools and why they have worked for me ... and not to mention the word ’WASHING’. I will have some part samples so you can see the flow from step to step. Also tools for you to have a play with.
Donna Ward
Donna has a strong background of both local and international recognition for her quilting skills using a domestic machine. In 2007 she bought a longarm and has never looked back. She has brought her unique skills to the longarm industry and will share them at the conference
Conference Classes
Simple Steps to Free-Form Quilting
Free Motion quilting is not impossible or even difficult. Learn to make free motion quilting fun and enjoyable by using simple designs that you can individualise to make them your own. Face the fear and dispel the myth that is takes a great deal of skill or artistry to free form machine quilting. Two classes on this theme: one for the longarm and the other for domestic machines.
Linda Young
I have been longarm quilting now for six years, the first four on a Nolting IS-98 longarm machine (which I loved to bits). I now have two Nolting PRO-24’s. My business is called QUILTASTIC.
I aim to make each quilt I receive special and unique for the person it is going to. Consequently I am on a mission to try different techniques and styles in order to find my own individuality with my quilting. I very rarely use pantographs, and most of the patterns I end up doing free hand as I find it difficult to follow other peoples’ designs.
Having always admired decorative threads and stitching done via a sewing machine - both free motion and computerised, I really wanted to try the techniques on my machine, but I had never had the time. However, I was lucky enough to have a client who gave me the freedom to quilt “whatever I wanted” on her quilt. So after asking her if she minded me doing some thread work on the quilt, and getting her permission I embarked on my little journey.
The technique I am using is a combination of those used by Libby Lehman and Ellen Anne Eddy.
Conference Classes
Control of Tension and other basic problems encountered in the first year.
Level: Beginners and Newbies
This class will be a more generalised version of the one hour hands-on classes I am offering on the Sunday before conference. I will cover many of the issues that new machine owners wrestle with. I will deal mainly with how to control the tensions on your machine but also get onto keeping the quilt under control, how to deal with different threads and materials, and some common trouble-shooting.
Thread Play
The thread play sessions will introduce you longarm thread work and hopefully encourage you to try it out, and create your own ideas and style of playing with threads.We will talk about different threads, and ways to help manage them on a longarm machine to minimize breakage. I will demonstrate my way of thread play. If it can be drawn, you can work it with thread. It all depends on how much time you want to invest, and your own creativity.
Feathers
A no stress (chocolate infused) class to demonstrate the basics of quilting feathers. We will cover both traditional and Victorian feathers, double spine feathers, square feathers, curly feathers, continuous line feathers, and many other variations.
We will also look at using feathers as background fillers and background features. The aim is to help you develop your own techniques and style. This class will be based on the "if you can draw it you can quilt it" concept.
Pre-Conference Hands-on Class
Control of Tension and other basic problems encountered in the first year.
Level: Beginners and Newbies
These four classes will be for two students at a time and run for one hour each. In them I will cover many of the issues that new machine owners wrestle with. I will deal mainly with how to control the tensions on your machine but also get onto keeping the quilt under control, how to deal with different threads and materials, and some common trouble-shooting.
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