QA Teachers A - K
Get to know our amazing Quilter's Affair teachers!
Quilt designer and author, Karla Alexander lives in beautiful Salem, OR. As the author of eight quilt books Karla also designs her own pattern line under Saginaw St Quilts. She also organizes and teaches workshops for Cascade Quilt Retreats. Karla is on the design team for Creative Grid Rulers having designed 8 specialty rulers to use with her methods and was featured on Simply Quilts & The Quilt Show. Karla's philosophy regarding quilting is to enjoy the process, learn from your experience and take what you learn from one project to the next.
Anna started quilting in 1993 and has been passionate about the art form ever since. She has published patterns, been featured in magazines, teaches, and writes about quilting for TheQuiltShow.com. Anna is especially proud of the YouTube Channel that she and her husband publish called “Quilt Roadies,” –traveling the country, visiting quilt shops, and connecting quilters one project at a time!
Colleen Blackwood has been quilting for over 45 years and teaching classes for nearly 40 years. Her quilts are designed based on traditional techniques with an individual flair added to help create quilts that reflect the quilter who makes them. Machine quilting on domestic sewing machines is a specialtythat she loves sharing. There is often laughter heard in the halls when she is teaching – our shared interest is supposed to be fun!
Deborah Boschert creates art quilt collages with layers of fabric, paint and stitching. The personal symbols and details in her work reflect her ideas and experiences. Her award-winning art quilts are regularly exhibited in quilt shows and art galleries. She has appeared on Quilting Arts TV and The Quilt Show and is the author of Quilt Collage: A Creative Journey in Fabric, Paint and Stitch. She is always eager to share her ideas about creativity and the possibilities of creating art with fabric.
Mathew Boudreaux, known in the crafting community as Mx Domestic, is a talented quilter and creative innovator based in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. With a passion for textiles and design, they have garnered a dedicated following through their vibrant quilts and unique crafting workshops. Their work often blends traditional quilting techniques with contemporary aesthetics, showcasing bold colors and intricate patterns. Mx Domestic is also an advocate for inclusivity in the crafting world, encouraging crafters of all backgrounds to explore their creativity. Through social media, workshops, and collaborations, they inspire others to embrace the art of quilting and crafting as a means of self-expression and community building.
Christina Cameli has endeared herself to fans all over the world through her quilting books and online classes. Christina’s gentle, supportive spirit is well suited to both teaching quilting and her career as a nurse-midwife. Her explorations include scrappy patchwork, free-motion quilting and wedge-based piecing. Christina hosts ongoing quilting instruction through Free-Motion Circle and is also a fabric designer for Maywood Studio. Outside of sewing and healthcare, she spends her days with her blended family and rescue lab mix in Portland Oregon, trying to get in an afternoon paddleboarding when she can.
Joe Cunningham began making quilts professionally in 1979, after a ten-year career as a musician in Michigan. His early mentors were steeped in the history and traditions of quilts, leading Cunningham to a life of study in quilt history and a love of traditional technique. Over the years his quilts have evolved into a unique, personal style. His quilts are in the permanent collections of museums, as well as in numerous private collections. He has written widely on the subject and has appeared on the Peabody Award winning PBS series "Craft in America," the HGTV series "Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson", the PBS series "Sewing with Nancy" and on "The Quilt Show" with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims." Cunningham has lived and worked in San Francisco since 1993.
I started quilting while in high school home economics classes and made my first quilt my senior year (1978), and I still have it: an incredibly ugly purple calico monstrosity! I enjoy instilling confidence in a quilter who is struggling to get to the next level of quilting. Teaching them that there is always an easier, faster, and more efficient way to sew a quilt together. “Mistake” is my middle name, and I share my blunders with my students, so they will see that it’s OK to make a mistake.
I’ve worked for the Stitchin’ Post on and off over the last 40 years. I’ve done many interesting things through my life with more to come but no matter where I go and what I do, I always end up back here in little O’ Sisters. The Best Little City in Oregon.
Sarah Fielke is an award winning quilt designer from Sydney, Australia. In her 24 years in the quilting industry, her 14 best-selling quilt books have sold over 200,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into five languages. Sarah's quilts have roots in both modern and traditional quilting, making her a firm favorite with quilters new and old. She describes her quilts as "contemporary traditional".
Sally always wanted to be a quilt shop owner; it’s been her dream since she took her first quilt class in 1993. She went on to work in her local quilt shop and began teaching classes. She began teaching at Sisters’ Quilter’s Affair in 1998 and has taught here every year since. Once she connected with co-owner Jacque, she realized how fulfilling running a business could be. Sally is happy to be living her dream, sharing knowledge and inspiring quilters.
Pati studied painting, calligraphy and textile design before committing to a career in graphic design. Add to this, a 25-year love for both traditional and modern quilting, mixed media and hand stitching gives her quite an eclectic background. All of the sea venues impact the work she is creating today as a textile artist. Teaching and sharing her passion for creativity with others is the driving force that keeps her pushing boundaries and exploring the “what ifs."
Scott Hansen is the self-proclaimed Mad Color Scientist behind the wheel at Blue Nickel Studios.
Scott designed his first quilt at 14. That first quilt traveled with him, and after collecting a few vintage quilts, Scott picked up the quilting bug again and has been playing with fiber and color ever since.
Scott's patterns are widely published in numerous quilt magazines and has his own self-published line. His "Painted Forest" quilt pattern has become a classic, but he has plenty more modern "Urban Folk" quilt patterns via his website and Etsy. He has designed two lines of modern batiks for Banyan Batiks as well.
Lane Hunter is a passionate and skilled quilter known for his dedication to the craft and eye for intricate detail. Lane is continually exploring a range of quilting techniques from traditional to contemporary and even "what would happen if" styles, to create unique, memorable pieces that captivate audiences. Though he has been sewing garments since his mother taught him as a teen, Lane's journey in quilting began in college where he was captivated by the geometry, color and pattern mixing. He has taught locally in Portland, OR and has been a part of the BERNINA Longarm Event Team for several years. Lane's work has appeared in several exhibitions including Portland Textile Week in collaboration with Cargo, Quilt Con and right here in Sisters. He is honored and excited to share and learn with all of you at the 50th anniversary of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. You can find all of Lane's makes on Instagram @tworightfeetlane. Did we mention he used to be a
professional dancer?
Art has always been a big part of June’s life. Majoring in Art Education, she focused on oil painting, but enjoyed sketching, water colors, charcoal drawings and more. In 1969, she began quilting, and in 1980 she was teaching quilting and began to design as well. By 2000, she had designed many patterns for various companies and branched out with her own company, Log Cabin Quiltworks. She has also written two books. Her work features landscape and nature appliqué, and she has recently added painting and inking on fabric.
Leslie is an artist who makes contemporary quilts. Surface design using dye and paint are integral components of her work. Photography frequently informs her designs, literally or by way of inspiration.
She has been a guest on numerous television and streaming shows featuring quilt-making and mixed media. Leslie’s work has been the recipient of numerous awards and has been featured in numerous publications. Her work has been shown internationally, and is part of corporate and private collections. She designs fabrics for Wishwell, a division of Robert Kaufman fabric company.
Outside of the studio Leslie loves to travel, cook, garden, and paint. She is a novice beekeeper and a happy member of a rather eccentric family of artists and nerds.
Lynn Koolish is a fiber artist, teacher, and author. She is most known for her bright colors of handdyed fabric and mixed-media fiber art. Based in Berkeley, CA, Lynn teaches online, and in person throughout California and nationally.
In her current work, Lynn uses her hand-painted and hand-dyed fabrics to create improvisationally designed and pieced art quilts. In her work and her teaching, she always maintains a strong focus on applying basic design principles while maintaining the spontaneity of the improv process.
Lynn was an editor at C&T Publishing for almost 20 years, working on books ranging from traditional piecing, appliqué, and embroidery to art quilting, inkjet printing on fabric, and more. She has written/co-written five books including Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Dyeing, The Wonderful Colorful Wonder Wheel of Color (with Kerry Graham and Mary Wruck), Innovative Fabric Imagery for Quilts (with Cyndy Rymer), and More Photo Fun (with the Hewlett-Packard Company and Cyndy Rymer).
