Meeting Programs & Events
Unless otherwise stated, all meeting programs are held at:
Faith United Methodist Church
432 59th Street
Downers Grove, IL, 60516
January 22, 2025
Schoolhouse Demos
Each January, our guild starts the new year by sharing our quilting experience and expertise. Members present quilting tips, techniques, patterns, and other valuable quilt-related information. We meet in the church as usual, and view videos of the presentations.
Come join us and learn something new!
February 26, 2025
Legit Kits
Dana Altman
Join us for a personal journey into quilting along with a brief history of Legit Kits and foundation paper piecing, presented by Dana Altman.
Dana Altman is a certified Legit Kits instructor for the northern Indiana and immediate Great Lakes region. She is a passionate quilter in which began her quilting journey in 2015 when she inherited her late mother’s unfinished quilt. This led her to explore Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) as intricate art form.
Dana’s discovery of Legit Kit, known for captivating animal-themed quilts, fueled her passion with her first project “Flamingoes.” She is also proud supporter of the Quilts of Valor whose mission is to cover service members and veterans who have been touched by war with a comforting and healing quilt. Dana warmly invites others to join her on an enchanting journey exploring the artistry of quilting one stitch at a time and finding the joy in crafting intricate masterpieces.
A Legit Kits Certified Instructor fosters a supportive and encouraging learning environment, where youare free to ask questions, make mistakes, and grow as quilter without hesitation. What are Legit Kits? They are entire rainbow of Robert Kaufman Kona Solids packaged and labeled fabric along with patterns printed on best foundation paper as kit. It is a revolutionary block approach to foundation paper piecing that breaks large complex appearing quilts into manageable pieces. They are free of the Y seams and thoroughly tested by quilters from beginner to expert. Every Certified Instructor has undergone comprehensive training, ensuring they possess in-depth knowledge of quilting techniques, patterns and methods.
Visit website at https://legitkits.com for more information.
March 26, 2025
Quilt Trip Around the World
Trunk Show Presentation
Alice Ridge
I have been quilting for over 40 years, and for 35 of those years, my husband was Active Duty Army. He and I have traveled all over the world together, for both business and pleasure.
This trunk show presentation is an exploration of the different styles of quilting and needlework that I have encountered in my travels.
Some of the pieces are authentic to an area, some are my personal interpretation of a place or style, but, all of them are colorful and unique!
I hope that you enjoy my presentation, and afterward, I hope that you ask yourself not “what” you will quilt today, but “Where”!
Alice Ridge Quilts
April 23, 2025
Lecture: Antique Quilts
Pat Yamin
What makes a quilt an antique? The piecing by hand or machine, quilt pattern, weave and color of the fabric as well as the batting are taken into consideration when identifying the age of a quilt.
Pat Yamin Bio
Pat Yamin launched Come Quilt with Me in 1981, when there were very few sources of quilting supplies. She researched and networked, and found products for quilters to use, enabling and encouraging them to make quilts easily and simply. She has had multiple books published by American Quilt Society. Pat has taught at Houston Quilt Festival, Paducah, all the Mancuso shows, and Road to California.
May 28, 2025
Boro: Making Something Out of Nothing
Trunk Show Presentation
June Colburn
Boro stitching is a Japanese textile art form that involves repairing and reworking clothing and bedding using scraps of fabric and running stitches.
The story of boro in Japan is the story of lives lived in extreme poverty, by hardworking people who had little, but still admired beauty and kept/repaired their valuable textiles—not just for years, but for lifetimes.
The word boro means rags—tattered clothing and bedding mended, re-mended, and patched to make it usable as long as possible. Examine some authentic examples of indigo-dyed cotton with boro patches holding parts together. Not patchwork, just mending, and mending, and mending. Samples include kimono, futon covers, and modern quilts using the old indigo fabrics.
June Colburn Bio
Twelve years in Japan! What a wonderful opportunity to learn about Japanese textiles, design and color concepts! June took advantage of every opportunity to visit museums, galleries, kimono shops and temple sales. She brought home fresh design ideas, along with a vast collection of kimono, obi, art and antiques, which inspire her interpretations of iconic Japanese and Asian images.
Her modern designs combine traditional American sewing techniques with vintage and contemporary fabrics. June is a noted teacher and lecturer who loves to promote international understanding through the textile arts. Her students value the depth of her knowledge, as well as her ability to describe her cross-cultural insights, often by sharing humorous personal anecdotes.
