Filling the background of a quilt with interesting patterns is not only possible with machine quilting, it is strongly encouraged! From the simplicity of stippling to elegant grids, background fillers can take us on an adventure of discovery. They can create dimension with a distinct purpose or create a silent foundation that allows dominant motifs to shine. From frolicking fills to formal patterns, the texture of the background for the quilt is explored in this presentation. Learn structure, suggested supplies and free-motion quilting advice. An extensive collection of Joanie’s own beautifully quilted background fillers of will be shown.

Take a look in the DREAM! Gallery to see many examples of how the background fills are used for structure and formality. (Edge-to-edge style patterns will not be covered.)

Joanie brings years of experience teaching thousands of students to become partners with their domestic sewing machine for completing their own quilts with free-motion quilting. This informal presentation focuses on the building blocks for mastering machine quilting and how learning the correct supplies and techniques work to support on one another. Over the years, Joanie has learned that to use your machine for a new task you may need to learn to use in ways she have not used for other tasks. She understands that to be successful quilting a large top with a small machine you must be willing to open your mind to some surprising new ideas.

Bring your questions as Joanie provides answers to problems you have encountered in the past in this open, hour long forum, best for a small group.

Heirloom Machine Quilting is an art form used to stitch the layers of a quilt together producing a deeply sculptured surface. As the name implies, this technique is based on the look of the heirloom quilts of the past, yet it differs significantly because with this technique quilters use their domestic (home) sewing machine to achieve a similar vintage look. Joanie has coined the phrase Refined Free-Motion Quilting to describe the process she employs for her quilted artwork.

Techniques, recommended supplies, procedures for planning and sizing the designs are included in the 45-minute presentation. Enjoy professionally photographed slides, an up-close look at Joanie’s award-winning quilts and a question and answer period following the lecture.

If you dread the marking process, are confused by all of the different tools that are out there on the market and are challenged by difficult to mark fabrics, Joanie has ideas for you! Learn about the latest innovations in marking tools, how to change the size of designs, how to use stencils and designs printed on paper, and how to make a quilting design that fills a block into several multi-sized border patterns. Transferring designs from paper to your quilt top using a light box, as well as many other inventive ideas that Joanie uses in her design process will be covered. Test out different marking tools on an array of different fabric choices.

Bring any marking problem for the question and answer session, your note-taking supplies and be prepared to be wowed!

Discover the outstanding dimension that can be achieved when fabrics are quilted just as the manufacturer printed them! In his truly unique presentation, you will learn to listen as your fabric indicates how it can be quilted without any marking! Students discover how fabric choices can be the basis for inventive quilting patterns that enhance fabrics to realize their full potential.

Joanie guides you through this easy process, explaining the categories of pattern designs, special considerations for creating a layout using these fabric choices, the selective fussy cutting techniques needed to be considered and some fast and fancy fusing tricks implemented in the construction of the many quilted examples. You will never look at your fabric the same after learning these inspiring concepts!

If you have been hesitant to stuff your beautiful quilt top under into that tiny space of your domestic sewing machine and drop the fee-dogs, you may need some prompting and professional advice! Join Joanie for a journey through the process of quilting any size quilts using a regular sewing machine.

Topics to be covered include how to set up the workspace for machine quilting, needed supplies, what to stitch first, last and why, understanding the anchoring process for free-motion quilting, beginning and ending threads, and traveling from place to place on the quilt. Wow, just think of how empowered you will be when you know all of that helpful information! Come with an open mind and fill it with the best strategies for completing your quilts on equipment you already own.

Joanie’s most requested lecture offers valuable resources for every member of your audience, hand quilters, longarm as well as domestic machine quilters. Learn from an expert, which tools she really uses routinely in the construction and assembly of her quilt tops and why she has chosen to use them as well as some she would not recommend and why.

Discover many special hints collected over forty years of working with an abundance styles and techniques for quilting. Information on thread, batting and which works best for different machine quilting projects will all be included. From the purchase of the fabric through the final stitch, gather tips and tricks that make the process go smoothly for you. Come prepared with questions you may have about struggles you have encountered.

Half Day Lecture/Demos

Each information-packed session include PowerPoint presentation that enables the entire audience to see the topic demonstration projected on your screen. The three hour format allows time for presentation, demonstration and discussion of each topic.

Choosing, what is the perfect quilting design for any quilt? Adapting, uncover how one quilting design can be  manipulated to fill the all of the various empty spaces of the quilt top with perfectly coordinating blocks, setting triangles and multi-sized border designs. Using, learn to look at different quilting designs to understand how to navigate the design for continuous stitching, and what to stitch first, last and why.

Using simple tools and skills from the art world, Joanie will demonstrate how you can discover new sources of designs, adapt stencils and images to fit your quilt tops, create continuous-line designs, as well as a explore variety of marking processes. This class will benefit all quilters, those who quilt by hand, on a domestic or longarm machine.

Did you ever consider how many similarities there are between learning to free-motion quilt and learning to driving a car? How do you know where to drive the machine without a plan for navigating each design? You better not take your project out for a spin if you haven’t made a plan of action.

Join Joanie for a light-hearted adventure of understanding the process of free-motion machine quilting. From planning intelligently, to beginning and ending your stitches invisibly, learn what to stitch first, last and why. Learn to determine the best stitching strategy for individual motifs, complicated quilting designs and the edge to edge adventure, or conquering a large quilt top when machine quilting on a domestic machine. This Solution Session is your travel pass to a future filled with successful machine quilting.