GYLEEN FITZGERLAD | Grand Rapids 2017 Instructor Gyleen Fitzgerald makes quilts that blend color, pattern, and texture to provide a contemporary essence in traditional quilting. Her strength as a quilter is demonstrated by the infusion of engineering tools and innovative techniques to simplify visually complex quilts. She shares her enthusiasm for quilting through interactive lectures and workshops.

An avid quilter, Gyleen has earned best of show honors. She is also a prolific writer, with published books of Haiku poetry, quilt project books, magazine articles, and children’s books. As a writer-publisher, she is a Gold Medal winner for Quilts: Unfinished Stories with New Endings (2008). She is best known for the inspiring Trash to Treasure Pineapple Quilts (2010) and the creation of the Pineapple Tool by Gyleen. Her book Polygon Affair…So Easy You’ll Fall in Love (2014) explores her fascination with polygons, made easier with her polygon tools. Gyleen has appeared on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims and Lifetime TV. See more at www.colourfulstitches.com.

To view Gyleen’s classes CLICK HERE

SALLY MANKE  | Grand Rapids 2017 Instructor Fiber art was Sally Manke’s passion long before it was called fiber art. Retired from teaching home economics and art at the high school level for 25 years, she designs original art quilts with a wide variety of techniques using artistic expression and precise technical quilting skills. As a national-award-winning quilter, Sally teaches at quilt shops, guilds, and art centers in addition to maintaining an Etsy shop. Although she enjoys crafting traditional quilts, her perfect day is one spent in her home studio with fabric spread far and wide, creating confetti art. Each confetti quilt has thousands and thousands of tiny bits of batik fabric “painted” on batting and backing. From her home in Arcadia, Michigan, she visits coastlines, trails, and farmlands during all four seasons for inspiration to create these fiber art quilts.

To view Sally’s classes CLICK HERE

BONNIE LANGENFELD  | Grand Rapids 2017 Instructor Award-winning fiber artist Bonnie Langenfeld uses thread painting and raw-edge appliqué techniques to create realistic fabric pictures. Her subjects are primarily landscapes, but she often includes people and animals among her subjects. She never adds paint or marker to her pieces but carefully chooses tiny parts of commercial fabrics, glues or fuses them together, and adds dozens of colors of machine-stitched threads to create depth, accentuate details, and make her work come to life. Bonnie’s professional history includes numerous art shows, awards, and membership in galleries in Florida and Minnesota. Her proudest accomplishments, and the ones that are the most fun, are teaching her techniques to adults and children. She focuses on the elements of art so that students can use those skills in other pieces. “Everyone will be successful!” is her motto. Please take a look at some of her recent work at www.landscapesinfabric.com.

To view Bonnie’s classes CLICK HERE

TOBY LISCHKO | Grand Rapids 2017 Instructor Toby Lischko’s philosophy is “quilting should be fun, not hard.” Toby has been quilting since 1985 and teaching quilting classes/workshops since 1995. She considers herself a traditional quilter who loves working with traditional quilt blocks, but adds her own special flair to the designs. She has won many national awards for her quilts including the 1^st Entry in an AQS Contest award sponsored by YLI for CELESTIAL CROWNS in Paducah in 2005. Toby designs patterns and templates under the name of Gateway Quilts & Stuff, Inc. The focus of her business is to inspire others with her love of quilting through teaching. She also does commissioned work for many of the major fabric companies and has been published in most of the national quilt magazines. Her background in special education has helped make her an excellent quilting teacher. See more at www.gatewayquiltsnstuff.com.

To view Toby’s classes CLICK HERE

LINDA THIELFOLDT  | Grand Rapids 2017 Instructor Linda Thielfoldt—an award winning quilter and owner of The Quilted Goose in Troy, Michigan—has been quilting for over 40 years. She loves to share quilting knowledge as a teacher of quiltmaking and machine quilting for over 25 years. Linda’s classes are taught in a no-rules, fun, and lively style that provides inspiration and new ideas.

Linda teaches at major shows and guilds and specializes in fearless quilting. She offers a wide variety of classes including quilting, piecing, appliqué, and everything in between. In addition to designing quilts and machine quilting patterns, Linda is a writer of all things quilting, and her articles have appeared in many top quilting and sewing magazines. She has appeared on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims and is the author of On My Way to Baltimore (2016). Find out more at www.thequiltedgoose.com.

To view Linda’s classes CLICK HERE