Anita Grossman Solomon lives in midtown Manhattan where she constructs artful bed quilts from classic blocks. Previously an art curator, she took up quilt making in 1990 becoming a full-time international teacher with workshops around the world including venues in Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg and the Panama Canal.  You may have watched her on “Simply Quilts”, “The Quilt Show’, and “Quilt Out Loud". She’s written three books for C&T Publishing and contributed to several others. Her quilts have been displayed everywhere from the ceiling of the International Quilt Festival in Houston to an enormous screen high above Times Square in New York City. Robert Kaufman Fabrics debuted her KONA® fabric palette of 32 colors. She is a two-time Instructor for Craftsy.com which published her column The Fiber of My Being. She’s blessed with a fine eye, curiosity, patience and a good sense of direction.

Ann Hammel, Editor in Chief of American Quilter (AQ) magazine since 2016, is a lifelong enthusiast of all types of textile arts, quilt and garment construction, and yarnwork. In her position with the American Quilter's Society, she has been closely involved with all aspects of the popular AQS QuiltWeek events held around the USA, including assisting many sets of judges at huge quilt contests while learning construction secrets from some of the most accomplished quilters in the world. Besides writing and editing countless articles, editorials, and biographical features for AQ, Ann was previously a university foundation development researcher. "I simply have to know details," she says, and she's already deeply committed to investigating locations and techniques that will be featured on the tour—just for the fun of it!

Beth Brown-Reinsel has been teaching historic and traditional knitting workshops, nationally and internationally, for over 30 years. Her focus has been to bridge the gap from 19th century knitting, fashion, and culture to present-day practices, making a connection to women, their daily lives, and their handwork. She has traveled to over 20 countries to research textiles, visiting museums to examine artifacts, gaining inspiration for the development of new knitting patterns and workshops. Her books, DVDs, and workshops explore historic knitting from many cultures, including the UK, Scandinavia, and the Baltic. Beth so enjoys working with knitters that she holds three retreats each year in Vermont beyond her busy teaching schedule. Her work can be seen on her website (www.KnittingTraditions.com) and on her Patreon project (www.Patreon.com/BethBrownReinsel).

Brandy Maslowski is a quilt teacher, speaker, judge, and the author of children’s book, Kristy’s Quilt. She has been a light-hearted stitcher for 30 years. From clumsy beginner quilter all the way to showing her fiber art in galleries, Brandy has a passion for fabric, stitch, color, texture and everything quilting.  She loves to travel the world with quilters to ignite their creativity with the tag line “More JOY, less OVERWHELM.” You can find her as the Quilter on Fire on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram or visit her website at www.quilteronfire.com.

Carol Soderlund, award-winning textile artist, educator, and master dyer. Carol has taught dyeing techniques nationally and internationally since 2002, and was nohe International Association of Creative Arts Professionals. Carol is co-author of Playful Fabric Printing with Melanie Testa. She has shown her quilts in juried venues across the country, winning awards including Best of Show at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. As a former French teacher, Carol has led numerous student trips abroad, and has lived abroad and traveled internationally frequently throughout her life.

While shopping with her mother in 1977, (really, that long ago!), Charlotte Angotti wandered into a quilt shop and everything changed from there. Educated in fine arts, speech and drama, she brings a variety of talents to the classroom in a most humorous way. She began to teach quilt making in 1978 when someone asked her to show them how to quilt. Her first quilt was sold right after making it. The International Quilt Festival Houston is one of her favorite places to teach and she has been filling classes there since 1991. She has taught for AQS, Road to California, Vermont Quilt Show as well as many other shows and guilds. Traveling with quilters on cruises and tours has also been a highlight of her career. Charlotte's Escapes have the magic charm of introducing quilters to each other, and over the years many friendships have been made through these adventures.

Jennie Hawkey is a weaver, weaving teacher and the owner of Hopewell Weaving. She has woven for over 40 years and specializes in accessories that incorporate intricate weaves, natural fibers and vivid colors. Although weaving has been a long-time craft, teaching is Jennie’s passion. She is an educator and teacher of children and adults and loves to pass on the skills of weaving. She finds weaving to be endlessly fascinating and a wonderful creative outlet. More information about classes can be found at www.HopewellWeaving.com. 

Lynn Koolish is a fiber artist, teacher, and author from Berkeley, CA with over thirty years of experience in the quiltmaking industry. Lynn was an editor at C&T Publishing for 20 years working on books ranging from traditional piecing, appliqué, and embroidery to art quilting, inkjet printing on fabric, and more. She loves to share her broad range of knowledge with students and groups. Lynn now travels and teaches a variety of quiltmaking, fiber art, and surface design classes for guilds and at quilt shows such as the International Quilt Festival in Houston; Quilters Affair in Sisters, OR; and AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah, KY. She has written or co-written five books including Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Dyeing, The Wonderful Colorful Wonder Wheel of Color, and several books on inkjet printing on fabric. Learn more about Lynn at lynnkoolish.com.

Cindy Grisdela, from Reston, VA, is an award-winning artist, teacher and author. She has over 30 years' experience creating eye-catching quilts, and she specializes in improvisational quilt designs and dense free motion quilting. Cindy travels extensively all over the US teaching and lecturing to guilds and groups about Improv Design. She is the author of Artful Improv: Explore Color Recipes, Building Blocks & Free Motion Quilting, as well as a new book due out Fall 2021.

Cyndi McChesney has been quilting for over 40 years and has enjoyed a wide-ranging and fulfilling career in the quilting industry including as an author, quilt shop owner, custom quilt maker, and instructor throughout the US and Canada at national shows, guilds and quilt shops.
Cyndi achieved the distinguished title of National Quilt Association Certified Teacher of the Year, has won awards in the Hoffman Challenge, the Colorado State Fair, Mancuso Visuals #1 2020, for Best Long-arm Workmanship and the Vermont Quilt Festival 2021 for Exceptional Merit. Her quilts have been exhibited at the Houston International Quilt Festival and AQS Paducah among other local and national shows.
Cyndi’s first book, Fun With Panels, C&T Publishing was released in fall 2022. Watch for her second book on panels coming in April 2024!
Cyndi’s passion for quilt making is evident in comments from her students and in her never-ending quest to find new techniques and skills to share so that quilting is a fun, enjoyable life-long endeavor.

Deborah Jarchow is a full-time weaver and artist who teaches and lectures on fiber arts, creates and sells wearable art, and has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the United States. Her commissioned pieces are held by churches as well as many private collectors. Deborah loves helping people discover the joy of weaving and during the past several years, has focused her teaching mainly on rigid heddle looms. She travels extensively to share her weaving enthusiasm and expertise. She is known as a generous teacher who makes weaving accessible and exciting to students of all levels. Deborah is the co-author of The Weaving Explorer: Ingenious Techniques, Accessible Tools & Creative Projects with Yarn, Paper, Wire & More and had a new book out in 2021 that focuses on rigid heddle weaving.

Denise was no stranger to cloth when she found SAORI™ weaving. The style spoke to her overly perfectionistic heart with a gentle nudge to simply, “Weave your heart.” Known for her use of color and her wackiness in the classroom, Denise embraces the concept of the Perfectly Imperfect in her weaving and other artistic endeavors. When not weaving/teaching/finding new ways to express her creative soul, she can be found at fiber festivals around the Southeast sharing her love of SAORI™ or traveling the world with her husband and reminding all that in life and art, “It’s all just a grand experiment!”

Echo Mae and Heather Seevers are Northwest Yarns' co-owners, fiber arts designers, and teachers. When not shamelessly encouraging everyone to learn a fiber art, yarn-bombing the tree in front of their shop, or dreaming up ever so slightly geeky and/or tentacle-y knit patterns, Heather and Echo can be found exploring fiber arts trends, culture, and history to share. Echo also writes the popular Know Your Fiber blog for the Northwest Yarns website, an exploration of the history and culture surrounding the animals and plants used by fiber artists around the world.  When not at their shop, Echo and Heather can be found bonding with llamas, reading with dogs, and supporting the eventual domination of the world by hand crafters.

Jane MacDonald has been interested in Japanese textiles and crafts for over twenty years, developing a specialty in the craft of sashiko stitching and design. Initially drawn to the quality and detail in the workmanship of Japanese textiles, Jane now teaches sashiko extensively throughout Australia and internationally.

Janet McDonald began quilting in 2011 when a friend gave her a copy of Roberta Horton’s book An Amish Adventure. She enjoys all aspects of quilting, even binding, and loves to learn new techniques. She hand quilts with Dorcas Quilters in San Francisco on Wednesdays and works part-time at New Pieces Quilt Shop in Berkeley. She so much enjoyed her trip to Japan in 2019 that she has begun exploring some of the things that inspired her including shibori, dyeing with indigo and kakishibu (persimmon), and sashiko and kogin (counted sashiko). Outside of the quilting world she still works part-time in her profession as a librarian.

Jane A. Sassaman worked in many design fields before discovering quilting in 1980. She was a window dresser, a sign maker, an illustrator and a designer of decorative accessories. All of these talents came into play when Jane began to quilt. Her exuberant quilts and fabric designs have attracted worldwide recognition. Under the influence of 19th-century Arts and Crafts designers, her work is abstracted from nature, but her colorful graphic style is contemporary and always recognizable. Her quilt Willow was recognized as one of the 100 best American quilts of the 20th century. She also translates her unique vision into exciting fabrics for FreeSpirit Fabrics.
When she isn’t working in her studio, Jane can be found teaching quilt classes, sketching in the garden, or browsing her library of design books. She is the author of The Quilted Garden and Patchwork Sassaman Style, which is a primer for using personality prints in quiltmaking.

Jeffrey Wall is a nationally renowned knitting instructor specializing in Norwegian knitting techniques.  Together with his husband, Dennis, he owns and operates Wall of Yarn, a local yarn shop in northern Illinois.  They also import and distribute Rauma yarns and patterns from Norway throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Jeffrey helps keep the knitting tradition alive by translating knitting and crochet patterns produced by Rauma from Norwegian into English.  He enjoys knitting, weaving, doing genealogy, and playing the French Horn.

Jude Stuecker is a studio artist who has created art quilts for over 20 years and also has a successful line of art clothing. She grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where at age 9 she learned to sew from a traveling puppeteer. Later she moved to Asheville, North Carolina, to study Biology and English at Warren Wilson College, sewing all the while. Extensive traveling inspired her as did classes at Penland School of Craft and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Focused on surface design, her projects start as white fabric before dyeing, printing, cutting, and sewing. She lives and works in Asheville with her husband and two daughters.

Award winning studio artist Julia E. Pfaff has been quilting her entire life and has successfully turned a family tradition into a contemporary art form.  For over twenty-five years she has been an adjunct professor in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts and maintains a vigorous studio practice. Her quilts have been exhibited at venues around the world, including the American Craft Museum in New York, the Textile Museum in Washington D.C. and Quilt National in 1987, 1995 and 2019. Her interests go beyond quilts and fine art having worked as an archaeological illustrator Egypt, Greece, and Jordan for 30 years. Popular on the lecture circuit, Julia has a wealth of experience and knowledge with both traditional and art quilts.  She is an adjunct professor who teaches quilting, textiles, and fabric dyeing and printing. An award-winning quilt artist, she has been exhibiting her quilts for over thirty years and has her work in many private and corporate collections.

Kimberly Einmo is honored to represent Janome-America as their National Spokesperson. She is an international author, award-winning quilter, fabric designer, and has been a quilt judge for more than twenty years. Kimberly writes a popular column called Stray Threads, in American Quilter Magazine, and she has written six best-selling books, published by the American Quilter’s Society. Kimberly has developed a signature line of Precision Rulers and she is a Featured Artist for the Electric Quilt Company. She is also a fabric designer for Benartex Fabrics and Timeless Treasures Fabrics. As a respected and prominent leader in the quilting industry, Kimberly loves to travel and meet sewing enthusiasts from all walks of life around the world!

 Known for her enthusiasm and clever solutions to quilting's tricky tasks, Susan Cleveland enjoys meeting quilters and teaching her techniques internationally. Her quilts have received eight awards at International Quilt Festivals in Houston and many other prestigious shows. Her books, tools, magazine articles, TV shows, and internet classes have been making quilting’s challenges more manageable for 20 years. Susan’s classes on Bluprint/Craftsy are among the most popular as they inspire quilters throughout the world. Quilters love Susan’s Piping Hot Binding technique/tool and also her patented Prairie Pointer Tool. Don't miss out on an opportunity to travel and laugh with Susan!

Kimberly Einmo is an author, award-winning quilter, fabric designer, international instructor, quilt judge, host of five popular classes on CRAFTSY/ Bluprint, and the National Spokesperson for Janome Sewing Machines. She has written six best-selling books published by the American Quilter’s Society, created a signature line of unique, specialty quilting rulers, and she writes a column called Stray Threads, in every issue of American Quilter Magazine. Her debut basics fabric collection, Solid-ish, is a best-seller for Timeless Treasures Fabrics and she enjoys teaching on quilting cruises and leading luxury land excursions to exotic locales around the globe.

Kris Vierra has been sewing or quilting for over 20 years. She loves sharing her passion for quilting and all things related to fabric, believing that quilting should be fun and not stressful. Kris teaches at national shows and guilds across the country, and has won numerous national awards for her machine quilting skills over the years. Most recently, Kris won the Best Long Arm Quilting award at AQS Quilt Week Paducah and the PFAFF Master Award for Machine Artistry at the International Quilt Festival Houston. Two of her quilts, Tiger, Tiger and Star of India, are part of the permanent collection at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah. Kris is also the author of the Stress Free Quilting® book series. She loves traveling and meeting quilters from around the world. Kris believes that no matter what language you speak fabric is universal.

Lynn Koolish is a fiber artist, teacher, and author from Berkeley, CA with over thirty years of experience in the quiltmaking industry. Lynn was an editor at C&T Publishing for 20 years working on books ranging from traditional piecing, appliqué, and embroidery to art quilting, inkjet printing on fabric, and more. She loves to share her broad range of knowledge with students and groups. Lynn now travels and teaches a variety of quiltmaking, fiber art, and surface design classes for guilds and at quilt shows such as the International Quilt Festival in Houston; Quilters Affair in Sisters, OR; and AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah, KY. She has written or co-written five books including Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Dyeing, The Wonderful Colorful Wonder Wheel of Color, and several books on inkjet printing on fabric. Learn more about Lynn at lynnkoolish.com. 

This tour is designed and led by award-winning fiber artist Martha Wolfe, founding member of the international art quilting group, Viewpoints 9. Martha is a seasoned international traveler and has taught and exhibited in locations around the world. The tour is created for those who share Martha’s love of travel, and exploring with a focus on textiles and quilts, Japan’s rich cultural history and the beauty of the ever-changing Japanese landscape.

My teaching focus is living folk art crafts. I teach a wide variety, from painting techniques to weaving, the common thread being the techniques are all deep-rooted in a culture from around the world. You might say the techniques I teach have all survived the ‘test of time’. I have the best job in the world; I travel to various countries gathering folk art techniques, then return to the US to teach enthusiastic students!
The tours I lead is my other great thrill; I love taking weavers to meet weavers in far flung places.

Tucked into Antique Alley in downtown Nashville, Indiana, The Yellow Door Quilt Store opened to sewing enthusiasts and Brown County tourists on May 1, 2018. Owner Mary Beth Simms learned to sew more than 50 years ago and started making quilts soon after. Simms originally opened The Yellow Door Quilt Store as a home base for her travels in “Ernie the RV” to quilt shows around the country, but quickly her little quilt shop became the premier supplier of designer fabric in the Midwest. The Yellow Door Quilt Store is the destination for quilters seeking a particular designer fabric or to add something unique to their own sewing creations.

Sara Bixler is the owner and resident instructor of Red Stone Glen Fiber Arts Center in York Haven, Pennsylvania. Her love of travel and different cultures inspire her work and the curriculum offered at Red Stone Glen, set on an idyllic 50-acre property in south central Pennsylvania. There, students enjoy a unique opportunity to study a diverse range of fiber-arts courses, ranging from weaving to tatting. The center also presents informative lectures on relevant topics. Sara has devoted years to experimenting with color in weaving. She has focused on how color relationships are affected by yarn size, luster, sett, and weave structure. She is known for her ability to guide students through the challenging world of color theory, specifically as it relates to weaving. She is passionate about sustainability and the natural world, and that dedication is reflected in her work.

Tom Knisely has made his career from his interest and love of textiles from around the world. Tom has been studying, collecting and teaching others about weaving and spinning for more than four decades, making him one of the most well versed weaving instructors in
North America. In addition to teaching, Tom weaves professionally and is a frequent contributor to Handwoven magazine. Voted Handwoven’s Teacher of the Year, Tom is renowned among his students for his kindness, good humor, and “seemingly infinite knowledge on the subject of weaving”. His broad knowledge of textiles and textile equipment has brought him international recognition and he is frequently asked to teach and lecture to groups all over. Tom is the author of several books; Weaving Rag Rugs, Handwoven Baby Blankets, Handwoven Table Linens, Huck Lace Weaving Patterns With Color and Weave Effects, Spinning 101 and 2 children’s books The Weaver’s Surprise and Spinning Tails.

When Sarah Ann Smith was six, her family returned to the US after living on four continents. Sarah was not a “natural born” artist and her route to art was circuitous with university, a Master’s Degree, and life as a US diplomat. Sarah says her birthplace was a geographical accident, it should have been Maine, where she arrived in 2004. Maine’s everyday beauty in all seasons inspires her work. Playing with color, cloth, dye, paint, line, shape, form, light and shadow is simply pure joy. Sarah's work has been juried into shows around the world including the inaugural Rising Stars exhibit at International Quilt Festival 2017 and is in public and private collections. She authored ThreadWork Unraveled and The Art of Sarah Ann Smith…so far, has been published regularly and internationally in magazines, online and in books, teaches nationwide, has a video workshop Art Quilt Design, from Photo to Threadwork and appeared on Quilting Arts TV and on The Quilt Show. Please visit www.sarahannsmith.com.

Sherri Falls started a machine quilting business with her mother who owned a quilt store in scenic Waconia, MN. It was at that store that she met Eileen Taylor, designer of the Holly Taylor fabric line from Moda. Eileen encouraged Sherri to try creating patterns with her fabric and This & That Pattern Company was born. For over 18 years Sherri had been a quilt pattern designer publishing many books and over 300 patterns. Working with fabric companies such as Moda, she is always designing something new. Sherri’s love of fabric began with being taught to sew by her mom at a very young age and loves all things textile related since childhood. She has been passionate about travel for as long as she can recall. She loves to travel the UK and wants to ensure that you have the best possible quilt tour experience.

Known for her enthusiasm and clever solutions to quilting's tricky tasks, Susan Cleveland enjoys meeting quilters and teaching her techniques internationally. Her quilts have received eight awards at International Quilt Festivals in Houston and many other prestigious shows. Her books, tools, magazine articles, TV shows, and internet classes have been making quilting’s challenges more manageable for 20 years. Susan’s classes on Bluprint/Craftsy are among the most popular as they inspire quilters throughout the world.  Quilters love Susan’s Piping Hot Binding technique/tool and also her patented Prairie Pointer Tool. Don't miss out on an opportunity to travel and laugh with Susan!

Susan Lenz grew up in a family travel business and has a passion for international travel.  She stitches both by hand and machine but also indulges in book arts and 3D found art objects.  Susan is looking forward to introducing famous sights and textiles in London; the arts & crafts style of Cardiff Castle; the open-air St. Fagans National Museum; Forge Mill Needle Museum, and exploring the ruins of Bordesley Abbey.  Hands-on classes with local artists will be enhanced by Susan's approach to sourcing inspiration while on the road. Two days at The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England and time at the Welsh Quilt Center make this the opportunity to experience Great Britain through the eyes of like-minded artists. You can learn more about Susan at www.susanlenz.com.

Suzie Liles has taught weaving for over 35 years. Suzie is very enthusiastic and loves to share her knowledge. She has taught workshops and seminars for adults and children in the United States and Canada. Suzie has an MFA in Fibers from the University of Oregon. She is a member of the Handweavers Guild of America and has written many articles for Handwoven Magazine.  She is the owner of Eugene Textile Center and co-owner of Glimakra USA with her daughter Sarah Rambousek. Sarah has been weaving since she was very little; even before she was 10 years old, she helped Suzie teach. She has become deeply knowledgeable about looms and yarns. Sarah is the CEO of Glimakra USA. Glimakra USA imports most of their products from Sweden, which gives her insight into the Swedish community and textile traditions.

Vickie Clontz is an award-winning textile artist celebrating 31 years of business with her unique pattern company Annie’s Keepsakes! Vickie has published over 100 patterns for quilts, home décor, sewing and wearable art, and just finished writing her 4th book for Leisure Arts. Her one-of-a-kind projects have appeared in 60+ magazines and books across the US and abroad. Vickie began sewing when she was 5 years old and developed a passion for textiles all through school, earning a Bachelor of Science in Clothing Design in college. She has continued her love of sewing by sharing her skills and expertise through teaching classes and workshops at shows, shops and for guilds across the US as well as in France. To see Vickie’s work, please visit her web-site at http://www.annieskeepsakes.com