Previous Programs

Lecture – Stitch & Giggle Game Night

Lisa Baker of the SewEndipitous local quilt shop is joined us for a talk and games to get to know our fellow quilters better.

Zoom Lecture – “Thread Talk”

Bob Purcell of YLI Threads joined us virtually for a talk on the wonderful world of thread! He shared his expert background in thread production and how high quality thread is made.

Zoom Lecture and Hybrid Workshop – “Collage Quilting”

The Collage Quilter, Emily Taylor, joined us virtually to tell us about her method for collage quilting.

Collage Quilter is a woman-owned and -operated business that specializes in combining textile collage and quilting. They provide tools and tutorials to make it fun and easy to do. Check out Emily’s YouTube channel for more!

In Person Demonstration – “Rope Bowls”

Our fellow member and Hospitality Chair Kim Silva showed us a demonstration and gave a fun talk about her method for making fabric rope bowls. She also had a drawing to give away one-of-a-kind beautiful bowls to a couple lucky winners!

In Person Lecture – “Welcome to the Organization”

Our President Becky Foster and her fellow organization guru Marie Jackson gave us the scoop on how The Container Store can help you find what you need when you need it! Their presentation included tips, tricks, and favorite products for organizing any area, with a focus on our creative (but sometimes chaotic) sewing areas.

Becky Foster has been married to both her husband and The Container Store since 2010. She is the mother to miniature Doxies, loves all things thread and needle, and is an award-winning quilter. Her mantra is “Simple is easy, and easy is sustainable.”

Marie Jackson is a Fargo native, sports lover, Costco enthusiast, and loyal chewer of Trident gum. As a neurodivergent person, she has had to develop organization systems to help her thrive both personally and professionally. Marie is passionate about her business Organized Marie (@organizedmarie) which allows her to be a present mom (of three!) while making a meaningful impact on others’ lives.

Zoom Lecture – “Tying Up Loose Ends”

Loose Ends was founded in 2023 by knitters Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan. They were inspired by their own experiences to connect family and friends of crafters who have passed away before they could finish a project with volunteer “finishers”–local crafters who have the skills and desire to complete what they started. Loose Ends uses their database and platform to match project submitters with project finishers–many wonderful connections and stories have come of their work.

Jen Simonic has been knitting since she was six years old. Her grandmother taught her with steel needles from WWII used for bandage-making. She has been an educator in many forums for years and loves talking about Loose Ends to the crafting community.

Quilt to Jacket – In Person Lecture

Our fellow CQG member, Joanne Butterfield, gave us an in-person presentation on her garment industry career and quilted jacket designs. Joanne has a background in professional pattern-making and was inspired by the recent quilted clothing trend to design beautiful one-size-fits-most (and adjustable) jacket patterns–the Raglan Swing, Shawl Collar Dolman, and Long Shawl Collar Dolman. Each jacket design can be constructed from a vintage or newly-made quilt.

Quilt to Jacket – Patterns & Workshops

Joanne made the Raglan Swing and Shawl Collar Dolman jacket patterns available for purchase for two in-person workshops held on June 6-7 and June 20-21 where participants cut out and constructed their jackets.

Zoom Lecture

In 2023, Veruschka shared her Foundation Paper Piecing and design process with us. At this year’s QuiltCon, Veruschka’s “Dignity” quilt won Best in Show! We were excited to welcome Veruschka Zarate back again for another virtual presentation.

Foundation Paper Piecing Pattern – Zoom Workshop

Veruschka’s virtual workshop was held on Sunday, June 8 to learn how to piece her “Heart of a Lion” pattern. Check out Veruschka’s website for this pattern and more!

Learn to enjoy the appliqué process! “No stress, no fuss, no mess.” – In Person Lecture

In this lecture, our fellow CQG member Cindy Russell showed us her appliqué method (you may have seen her work in a meeting Show & Tell!). The beauty of this appliqué method is if you love hand work or prefer to use your machine, this will work for you.

Cindy Russell started quilting in 1988 while living at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska. As a military spouse, she looked for quilt guilds wherever her family was stationed. Cindy and her husband have raised 5 kids and moved 17 times! At each place they lived, Cindy fell in love with quilters and the support they give each other while learning new skills and techniques. Appliqué and tiny quilts are her favorites!

Cindy’s Appliqué Workshop

On May 1, we held an in-person workshop for Cindy’s appliqué methods.

During the March meeting we held our Quilt Show Awards Celebration and voted on our Paint Chip Challenge winners!

Thank you to everyone who made and celebrated our beautiful quilts!

“The Magic of Mixing Prints” – In Person Lecture

In this lecture, our guest Tara Miller showed us her methods for mixing fabric prints using color theory, shapes, and motifs. We enjoyed seeing her trunk show of bright and bold quilts!

Tara Miller is a quilt pattern designer, speaker, author, and instructor who loves playing with color and print motifs. Her work has been featured in Quiltmania and Simply Moderne, and she was recently spotlighted Quiltfolk magazine. Don’t be fooled by her mostly black attire – she’s a wizard with color and wants to help you unlock your own colorful creativity!

“Fan Girl” Workshop – In Person Workshop

Love fun stitching and bold designs? Tara taught us a variety of methods for how to make beautiful fan blocks inspired by crazy quilting!

Norm Himebaugh – In Person Lecture

Norm Himebaugh of Himebaugh’s Sewing Machine and Vacuum Center shared his knowledge with us about sewing machine tension. We got a hands-on crash course on valuable sewing machine troubleshooting methods from Norm!

Originally founded in New York in 1905, Himebaugh’s has been a fixture in the Charlotte sewing community since 1983.

“IMPROV FOR EVERYONE!” – Zoom Lecture

Learn the basics of Intentional Improv during this fun lecture. Maria will share her story while also giving tips, tricks, and bits of good information about how to make the leap from traditional patchwork patterns to designing your own freewheeling compositions. This is a hybrid lecture—part personal story and history of improv with a slideshow demo of how to cut and piece improvisationally.

“Making Prints Out of Solids-Lines, Tracks, & More” – 2 Part Zoom Workshop

“My Quilts Don’t Fit Beds!” – In Person Lecture

For Susan Edmonson, large projects can be overwhelming and daunting to finish… by the time the project is over, she is tired of it! So she found that working “tiny” was just her style. In her lecture “My Quilts Don’t Fit Beds!” Susan will explain how working small will challenge your creativity and give you great results. Fabric books, fabric jewelry, purses, and prayer flags are some of her favorite projects. From her slide show you will see all the detail in her tiny unique art pieces. Susan will also bring original art pieces for the trunk show.

Susan Edmonson has been published in Quilting Arts, Altered Couture, Sew Somerset, and Haute Handbag, and has been featured in Quilting Arts TV 1700 & 1800 Series.

“Free Motion Made Easy” – In Person Lecture

Nancy Sapin is a Freelance National Educator representing Sulky of America. Nancy has been working with Sulky for the past 18 years, both as a National Educator, designer, and a sample maker.

She has lectured and taught at a wide variety of consumer shows representing Sulky and at various quilt and sewing guilds across the United States.

You can find some of Nancy’s designs in the last three Sulky books and see some of her other works on her website – https://nancysapin.com

“Free Motion Made Easy” – In Person Workshop

“Exploring Fabric Collage” – In Person Lecture

Sue is a retired Indiana music teacher and choir director who moved to North Carolina in 2005.  

Sue has been an avid quilter for many years, but 5 years ago she transitioned to the art of fabric collage.

She is a member of Matthews Artist Guild, Mint Hill Arts, and Waxhaw Art Council. Over the past year, she has been teaching all levels of collage in Mint Hill, Monroe, and Matthews for the Parks and Rec program. 

“Building Community Through Quilts” – Zoom Lecture

In 2014, Maria Shell spent two months as an artist-in-residence at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation in Charlotte, North Carolina. While there, she worked weekly with a formerly chronically homeless community now living in Moore Place. By teaching basic sewing skills to the residents, she developed a relationship with the residents of Moore Place that eventually led to the making of a community quilt that celebrated the residents and their journey towards finding a home and a community. Since then, Maria has gone on to work with communities and organizations across the US helping them to also build quilts and share their stories.

Maria’s community quilt projects are the inspiration for what CQG’s Community Ed is planning for our Guild to do with the Tyvola Senior Center in May 2024.

“Make Your Scraps Work” – In Person Lecture

Kelly is a wife, mom, pattern designer, and quilt teacher living in west Tennessee. She embraces a wide variety of quilting styles, but especially loves making scrappy quilts with lots of color. Kelly previously taught elementary school, and uses this experience to introduce quilters to new techniques through her book, blog, and class, all while keeping things lighthearted and fun!

Kelly’s lecture will include all the quilts from her books “Scrappy Improv Quilting” and “Stash Statement.” 

“Structured Improvisation with Scrappy Improv Quilting” – In Person Workshop

During Kelly’s workshop, we learned three methods for improv piecing outlined in her book, Scrappy Improv Quilting. These methods allow us to use plenty of larger pieces (even though all the pieces in the finished quilt appear tiny!). This fun method is versatile, and with step-by-step patterns to follow, it is doable for every single quilter no matter the skill level and even if you have never attempted improv piecing. 

Finding Pride & Joy in Quilting – Zoom Lecture

She spoke on her journey into quilting and a combination of topics regarding foundation paper piecing.

Modern Foundation Paper Piecing Fundamentals – Half Day Zoom Workshop

The pattern, “Windows Into the Soul,” was used for this workshop. Veruschka went step-by-step through the process of piecing this beautiful piece together. You can see Veruschka’s work and exciting patterns on her website at prideandjoyquilting.com.

The October Block Exchange and Scrap Fest was a wonderful time to engage and have fun with other quilters, plus it was a way to shed guilt-filled UFOs and unwanted scraps.

Reverse Appliqué: Revealing Beauty – In Person Lecture and Trunk Show

The lecture was informative and allowed participants to personally see some of Margaret’s great work.

Machine Reverse Appliqué – Full Day In Person Workshop

Participants learned the steps in Eye of the Beholder’s trace, snip, iron, and stitch process to machine reverse appliqué.

Shoot Your Quilt – Zoom Lecture

This lecture was full of practical smartphone tips quilters could start using immediately to get better photographs of their quilts. 

Shoot Your Quilt – Full Day Zoom Workshop

In this 6 hour workshop, participants went over how to find the best lighting and how to use all of the features their smartphone to create professional looking images of their own quilts.