Martha Nordstrand

Martha is teaching classes 3007, 4007, 5008, 6009, and 7008

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Martha: All my life, but seriously for 30 years.

M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio.

M: My family room is my studio.

M: What do you consider your quilting ”specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

M: Applique is my specialty especially using unusual tools! Plus embroider to embellish the piece.

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

M: Pure colors plus lots of green.

M: What books or articles have you written?

M: Several articles for AQS and I have self-published my own books.

M: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

M: Music, movies etc.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

Martha: Nature and the natural world.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

M: A student spending 20 minutes trying to thread a pin!

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

M: Sharyn Craig fixing uneven blocks. I am not a good piecer, so I need all the help I can get. She can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!

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Lisa Coulombe

Lisa is teaching class 4032

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Lisa: I have been quilting for 22 years. I took my first quilting class, a traditional sampler made entirely by hand using templates we drafted ourselves when I was 8 months pregnant with my first child. After all, every baby need a baby quilt and there were no quilters in my family.

M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

L: Yes, I have a wonderful second story room, approximately 10 x 20 with lots of natural light and space where I create my art. My room is extremely organized with everything sorted by color. The most unusual thing in my studio is my “princess” pillow where my cat likes to sleep, although any fabric left on the floor is still fair game!

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world.

L: I love to learn new techniques and to enjoy making up my own techniques to create the visions I see in my mind. My specialty is wearable art, but I dabble in anything and everything!

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

L: I am consistently drawn to bright clear colors whether they are pastels, medium values or intense dark fabrics.

M: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

L: I listen to books on tape while sewing. Any genre will do: mysteries, romance, fantasy, thrillers.

M: What books or articles have your written?

L: I have had 3 vests and a jacket published in McCall’s Quilting and I wrote an article for them on free motion quilting on lamé.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

L: As an artist I feel it’s important to keep a journal or inspirational photos and clippings. What inspires me the most is color. I’m always on the lookout for a new exciting color combination. I also love the challenge of figuring out how to do something. I rarely read directions, but prefer to figure it out on my own way.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

L: I was teaching a free quilting class at a senior center when a new student came in during the lesson. I asked her name and welcomed her then continued with the lesson. I was quite flattered at first with the interest she took and all the questions she asked. A few minutes later I realized that she was drinking rather freely from a bottle she kept tucked inside a paper bag and was pretty much out of it. Fortunately she wandered off on her own soon.

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

L: I took a class from Ruth McDowell where we learned how to draft our own designs. It was very freeing and lots of fun.

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Linda Thielfoldt

Linda is teaching classes 1006, 1012, 2006, 2012, 3014, 4014, 5016, 5018, 8601, 8602

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Linda: I started quilting 37 years ago because my older sister was having a baby and I wanted to make a quilt for her – I was 13 but had been sewing since I was 9.

M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

L: Yes, actually I have two places – one is where I work and is known as my studio – it is fairly large and was custom built for my business. The other is where I play and is known as my sewing room. The sewing room is 12 x 15 and the studio is 15 x 38. I keep 25 different kinds of batting at hand.

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

L: I am a very traditional quilter who does not take the whole process too seriously. I do lots of feathers but with a company name like “The Quilted Goose” you might expect that. I am known for my wearable art.

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

L: Warm colors – but I do love weird combinations too – especially reproductions from the mid 1800’s.

M: What books or articles have you written?

L: I have written for Threads Magazine and have written many articles for On Track magazine , which is published by the International Machine Quilters Association. I usually have one or two in each issue.

M: What do you do while you quilt?

L: Usually I have TV on for background noise if I am piecing, if I am quilting I listen to talk radio or music. I am very into contemporary Christian music and listen to the internet station K-Love.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

L: Traditional quilts of the past – I find them so interesting and when I think about what they came up with and how primitive their tools were compared to today I am just blown away. Here n MI we have the Susan McCord collection at The Henry Ford and those are just jaw dropping beautiful! All made at a time when just doing the laundry took all day and the lighting came from burning something!

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

L: Well, one was funny and one was scary… The funny one was when a pregnant student’s water broke… and the other was when a student cut the tip of her finger off with a rotary cutter only minutes after me going through the whole safety thing about using them. What is really amazing is that 1) I don’t do blood and yet managed to get a wet paper towel and pick up the finger, wrap it in the paper and at the same time help the student get off to the emergency room 2) she had never taken a class before and didn’t want to miss a minute of it – she got 13 stitches and CAME back to the (all day) class! She and her friend actually got quite a bit done in spite of all the excitement. 3) After class I felt like throwing up when I replayed the day in my mind. Another funny moment was in a DSM class when a student sewed her top to the quilt she was working on and had to take it off to unsew it – that was interesting.

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

L: Well I am mostly self taught and I have not taken that many classes. When I started there were not many options for learning and I had to do it the old way – you know lots of mistakes and a success here and there just to keep you going. I did take quite a few long arm classes in my early years and one that does come to mind is a drawing class with Janet Fogg several years ago. Just hearing how her mind works in regards to the design process was worth the price of admission.

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Linda Taylor

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Lee Fletcher

Lee is teaching class 6032.

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Lee: I am the daughter of a seamstress and “free motion” embroidery artist. Sewing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started with garment sewing and alterations and have added from there. We had a Meistergram embroidery machine with no foot, no feed dog. The width of the stitch was controlled with your knee. We used it for embroidery, but that skill has come in handy for quilting.

M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

L: I do all kinds of sewing including machine embroidery, free motion, serger work, etc. I have three machines set up all of the time. I keep one machine set up for embroidery, one for general sewing and the serger is always ready to go. I have a small machine that travels. There is a cutting table, two computers and a ton of books, etc. The room is only about 12’ x 14’, but it functions as my studio and office. I love it!

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

L: I like small, quick projects. My projects are practical items with piecing, quilting and free motion art. My association with Sulky and their products has expanded and refined both my techniques and my projects. I love teaching free motion work and thread painting.

M: What is your favorite color scheme to work with?

L: Personally, I wear bright jewel tones so I naturally gravitate to them.

M: What books or articles have you written?

L: I have several projects published in Sulky books including and have contributed projects to the Sulky Teacher Certification programs. In addition, I publish patterns under the Pat-e-Patterns brand.

M: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

L: I love to listen to music when I am working. If I am doing repetitive work, I will watch some HGTV, but when I need to concentrate, it is music.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

L: When I am working on a small project, cosmetic bag, organizer, wallet, purse, etc., I love to try to invent a new twist to a block that works with odd shapes. I am also beginning to offer more free motion work into my projects.

M: What is your funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

L: This is tough! I try to add humor into all of my classes. In my very first Sulky event, I was criticized for being too serious. Hopefully all of my classes have some humor, usually at my expense!

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

L: My first training class for Sulky was their Teacher Certification which was fabulous. Teaching them has been fabulous! I am grateful to Sulky for everything that they have taught me.

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Lisa Bongean

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David Taylor

David is teaching classes 3008, 4501, 6011, 7009

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

David: I started quilting in 1999. I was encouraged to assist my friend Madeleine Vail in creating a charity quilt for our local chamber music festival. When the quilt sold for $25,000 at a silent auction, I was hooked. Nothing “made” me begin quilting. I have had a love affair with fabric since childhood. It just took me 40 years to figure out what to do with it. In July of 2009, I shifted my career as a graphic artist into a full-time quilter and quilt instructor.

M: Do you have quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

D: Quilting has taken over my life and my house. I live in a small apartment and my fabric stash dominates the entire space. I love keeping my fabrics on open shelves so I can always see them. And, yes, they are out of direct sunlight.

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

D: The most appealing aspect of my work is my use of fabric and thread to create art quilts that appear to be paintings. I use hundreds of fabrics in my quilts and miles of variegated cotton threads.

M: What is your favorite color scheme to work with?

D: As my work is pictorial in nature, (pun intended) there’s not really a ‘color’ scheme chosen. I work from photographs and painstakingly recreate the color in the photos from hundreds of fabric choices. I do gravitate toward the colors provided by Mother Nature.

M: What books or articles have you written?

D: My first book is still being written, but I wrote an article about my technique for Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine in 2008.

M: What do you do while you work? Do you listen to music?

D: I am not a good multi-tasker. I can only work on one quilt at a time. And if I am quilting (which I enjoy doing more than anything else), then that is what I am doing. I love getting so involved in my work, that nothing else matters. All I’ve ever wanted is to live in the mountains and be surrounded by peace and quiet. I’m fortunate to have that now. Since the secret to machine quilting is finding your rhythm and relaxing into your design, I find music very distracting. As the tempo changes, so does your quilting speed. The words “background noise” is an inane concept to me.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

D: I am inspired by my environment, living in Northwest Colorado. My actual quilting is inspired by the image I am creating.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

D: I am not sure I’ve had a ‘funniest moment” during my teaching. I do want my students to have ‘fun’ and enjoy what they are doing. As I’ve only been teaching for three years, I am learning more, I think, than my students are. I can only hope that with every workshop, I get better. It troubles me to think I have had students who have not enjoyed my classes or who were disappointed in my efforts. That is very hard for me to get past.

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

D: I’m not a very good student and have only taken three workshops since I started my quilting journey. I can say I have learned something in every one of them. So, in that sense, they were all my best class. It’s hard to measure one experience against another. Learn something new as often as you can, and thank every teacher for the time they’ve shared with you.

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Debbie Busby

Debbie is teaching class 5033

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Debbie: I started sewing small wall quilts about 15 years ago but mostly love to work with wool!!!

M: Do you have quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

Debbie: I have a studio in my home basement that has a fireplace and an office. We are currently turning one of our garages into a wool dying room.

M: What do you consider your quilting “specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

Debbie: Beside working with wool I don’t consider myself to have a quilting specialty….but I would love to appliqué a quilt someday.

M: What is your favorite color scheme to work with?

Debbie: I love RED!!

M: What do you do while you work? Do you listen to music?

Debbie: I like to watch a good movie that I have seen before or watch the cooking channel.

M: Where do your inspirations come from?

Debbie: My inspiration comes from the outdoors and the things around me.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

Debbie: It is always just fun to sew in a group and share laughter with the group!! One time a student sewed a chicks bead on top of it’s head pointing the wrong direction and we had a good hardy laugh with her.

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

Debbie: Primitive Primer Class

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Karen Brow

Karen is teaching class 7003

Matt: How long have you been quilting? What made you begin quilting?

Karen: Fourteen years ago I was astonished by the workmanship and beauty at a regional quilt show. I walked away with my mouth and mind wide open.

M: Do you have a quilting studio? How big and is there anything unique that you keep in your studio?

K: My quilting studio is a 15” x 20” room with three walls of windows and a small neurotic dog.

M: What do you consider your quilting ‘specialty” or what makes you unique in the quilting world?

K: My sense of humor and the combination of colors (fabrics) are most commented on by students and pattern customers. I’m know for animals who steal squares or leap off the edges of quilts and for a patters with toilet paper themed blocks.

M: What is your favorite color schemes to work with?

K: I like cool-colored quilts with warm accents or warm-colored quilts with cool accents. There is a lovely sensitivity to the balance of these two and the concept can add vitality when understood.

M: What books or articles have you written?

K: I have authored and illustrated over 60 patterns.

M: What do you do while you quilt? Do you listen to music?

K: NPR radio is my constant companion as is a cup of dark-roast coffee.

M: What is your quilting inspiration?

K: Animals and color inspire me most, as does nearly any clever idea.

M: What is the funniest moment you have had happen while you were teaching?

K: The slide projector never showed up so I had to “wing it”. Students were completely supportive and took turns being my assistants. I bought them all chocolate.

M: What was the best class you have ever taken?

K: A Ricky Tims class on piecing curves completely freed my concept of construction.

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