Meet the Teachers

 

We take the time to search out the best in the industry, introducing you to exceptional designers, best-selling authors, creative thinkers and visionaries. Taking classes at Original Sewing & Quilt Expo adds to a memorable and satisfying experience.

 

Libby Ashcraft

Fort Worth, TX

libbyashcraft.com

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Libby has been teaching sewing, embroidery and embroidery software for over 20 years. She has specialized in embroidery software, but has recently expanded her expertise to include electronic cutters such as the Silhouette Cameo and Brother Scan 'N Cut. Libby is a Terri Johnson Creates Licensed Instructor and teaches the Silhouette Cameo at workshops and classes around the country. She teaches three software clubs a month in her local area, providing unique and detailed lessons for her students, with many lessons based on student requests. Libby is a presenter the All Things Silhouette Conference, Original Sewing & Quilt Expo events and other events. As a Martha Pullen Licensed teacher, Libby travels the U.S. helping bring the joy of sewing to many students. In addition to her teaching, Libby was a Technical Sewing Editor for Classic Sewing magazine.

 

Teresa Coates

St. George, UT

teresacoates.com

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Teresa Coates is nationally known sewing educator, accomplished quilt maker, travel writer, pattern designer and relentless adventurer. She wants you to fall in love with sewing. Teresa has been educating and fostering a movement of accessible sewing since 2010. She has inspired her audience to fall in love with sewing at nearly 100 local quilt shops in 42 states from 2016 to present. She has also appeared at various local and national sewing events. She designs her own line of patterns at Crinkle Dreams pattern collection. She has designs for beginners, and more challenging patterns for experienced sewists.

 

Zoë Cornwall

Cleveland, OH

Crochet was one of the first crafts that Zoё learned. She locked “eyes” with the crochet hook and has been a happy hooker for over 15 years. A self-proclaimed collector of hobbies, she also enjoys knitting, embroidering, sewing, quilting, and refashioning thrifted garments. She inherited her crafting tendencies from the matriarchs in her family. Their countless hours together in the craft room left a lifelong impression on her. One of her favorite things to do is discuss patterns, fabric choices, color schemes, and block placement. She loves to share the joy of crafting with others and inspire them to take the leap and learn a new skill. Zoë is passionate that fiber arts are the foundation that weave the fabric of our lives together.

 

Pam Damour

Champlain, NY
The Decorating Diva
pamdamour.com
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Known as the "Decorating Diva" Pam learned early in life, while spending time on her grandparents’ farm, that making something from "scratch" was not only a way of life, but it was the better way of doing things. Holding on to those values she went from farm to fabric and has had a very successful 30+ year career as an interior designer and sewing professional. Pam offers professional drapery workroom training. As a seasoned career speaker, she travels internationally teaching her specialty techniques that have brought her years of continued business as the "Couture of Home Dec Sewing". She is the author of Pillow Talk, Cheaper by the Dozen, Got Quilts?, The Tangled Home, Hold Everything and producer of 12 Home Dec DVDs. She has designed many patterns, rulers, scissors and other sewing related notions. An interior designer by profession and a quilter by passion, Pam lives on the shore of Lake Champlain in a log home, nestled at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, where she teaches sewing retreats. Her down to earth nature, never forgetting her roots, combined with her professionalism creates a warm and creative experience.

 

Kimberly Dodson

West Chester, OH
Oklahoma Embroidery Supply & Design
oesd.com

Kimberly Dodson is the Sales Manager at OESD and an Independent Educator specializing in Baby Lock embroidery machines and sergers.

 

Eric Drexler
Port Charlotte, FL
Sulky of America
sulky.com
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Eric has been in the industry over 40 years. Free-motion artistry has been his life-long passion. He has made numerous large and small works of machine art, some of which have been featured in Sulky Books and at Trade and Consumer Shows all over the country. Through his association with Sulky of America since the beginning, he has had the pleasure and honor of being inspired by some of the world's greatest creative sewers and quilters. Eric loves life and he loves to teach and share his exuberance for creative sewing. He is passionate about inspiring students of all ages so they can discover and enjoy a lifetime of creative fun. His infectious smile and warm humor puts everyone at ease and makes them ready and eager to learn. He is widely sought after to teach and share his contagious enthusiasm at Consumer shows, Sewing and Quilting Guilds and on many PBS shows.

 

Tamara Evans

Williamsburg, VA

Sewing has been a lifelong passion for Tamara. While raising her children, she discovered the limitless creative options of machine embroidery, software, quilting and began a home-based embroidered gift business. Coming back to the corporate arena as a professional in the sewing industry, focusing on new product development, creative project design, embroidery education and quilting with an embroidery focus was full circle. Her joy is education, publishing articles, teaching at trade shows, conventions, and other events. Her goal is to simplify the tedious and frustrating aspects and inspire creativity and confidence. Now, as an impartial independent expert, she will educate and inspire students of all skill levels.

 

Stephanie Folsom
Cape Coral, FL

Beach Potato Embroidery

beachpotatoembroidery.com

Stephanie is an embroidery instructor and business owner of Beach Potato Embroidery. She has been sewing since she was nine years old and learned about machine embroidery in middle school. She has been a part of the sewing, embroidery, and longarm communities for the past ten years. While she loves making new designs, helping others is her first passion. She is a former 911 dispatcher and mother of two. Now as embroidery designer and instructor she loves sharing new techniques and making unique in the hoop projects. Stephanie and her husband Joe travel the United States teaching machine embroidery as well as vending at large expos and shows. Stephanie is excited to meet you in person for an awesome hands-on event!

 

Michele Gillombardo
Middleburg Heights, OH
Pins and Needles
pinsandneedles.com
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Michele has been teaching for more than eight years at Pins and Needles in Middleburg Heights, Ohio and the sewitonline.com community. She has been sewing and quilting off and on for more than thirty years. Self- taught, using online certifications (Baby Lock Solutions Expert and The Martha Pullen Company), you-tube and perseverance, she has created a learning style that fits all students. Her passion is teaching embroidery, quilting and serging. Her approach is to teach within a relaxed, stress-free atmosphere. She enjoys sharing her knowledge, making sure everyone is comfortable and has the best time creating, whether a beginner or advanced student.

 

LuAnn Hartley

Lexington, NC

Sanluchell Designs

LuAnn Hartley has been teaching a variety of classes for over 30 years. Her background includes education consultant, sewing machine sales, and a store owner for over 25 years. She has a passion for embellishing, quilting, and creating new ways to use techniques for both sewing and serging. She has taught all over the country and at major quilting shows.

 

Jaymi Horne

Carmel, IN 

Cranky Kangaroo

crankykangaroo.com

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Jaymi Horne has been sewing professionally for over 20 years. She began quilting as a creative outlet, and fell in love with Foundation Paper Piecing. Dubbed the “FPP Queen” by her Instagram followers, she has designed over 50 Foundation Paper Pieced patterns, has been published in Make Modern Magazine and featured in local art shows.

 

Joanne Hubbard

Milan, OH

joanne-everyonedeservesaquilt.blogspot.com/

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Joanne Hubbard swears by the motto "Live, Laugh, Love and Quilt!" She is a wife, mother, and grandmother who loves everything quilt related. Quilting is her passion whether it's creating or teaching and she loves to share that passion with others at quilt shops, guild meetings/workshops, quilt shows, or by providing private lessons. Joanne has ventured into pattern design and writing and especially enjoys seeing what others create using her patterns. Staying true to her “Live, Laugh, Love, and Quilt” motto, classes with Joanne are fun, informative, and productive.

 

Virginia Jenkins

Millersburg, OH

Virginia's Sewing Tailoring & Alterations, LLC

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Ginny Jenkins has been sewing since age 9 starting out learning to hand stitch. At age 16 she bought her first sewing machine with money from her first job. She then taught herself to sew getting help and tutorials from other seamstresses along the way. At age 20 she sought-after her anabaptist roots and joined an Amish community. Living as a church member she learned the art of dressmaking. After her time with the Amish she met and married her now husband of 15 year. In 2010, after making her own wedding dress, Ginny started her sewing and alterations business, specializing in custom apparel for every body type. In 2019 she launched her first storefront. It was short-lived however when the pandemic hit she lost her storefront and started working for David's Bridal. Here she advance her skills in the bridal industry. Now Mennonite, she lives in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country teaching her craft and custom fitting formal wear to her clients.

 

Jessica Kaufman

Asheville, NC

WAXON Batik & Dye Studio

waxonstudio.com

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Jessica Kaufman has her M.A. in Crafts Education, and loves nothing more than creating and leading workshops in a variety of fiber and textile arts. She teaches up and down the East Coast, online, and in her Asheville studio. Before creating WAXON Batik & Dye Studio, she taught all workshops through her NYC-based business, happygocrafty.com, which still hosts over 80 free instructional knitting videos.

Marsha Kirsch
Bay Village, OH
The past 12 years Marsha has been a national educator for SVP worldwide. She is greatly loved for her enthusiasm and lively presentations while sharing masterful technical skills or the inspiration that sewers take away from her events. Using her education background she imparts an empowering "can do" attitude, opening up doors to creativity, and fun ways to embellish projects with exciting results. Student smiles at the end of her events are her reward. Marsha enjoys creating and designing garments, purses and home decor projects which incorporate a creative touch, especially through embellishment. She has had publications in Design in Machine Embroidery and Classic Sewing magazines and had appeared with Sue Hausmann on PBS and Behind the Seams, an internet sewing show through SVP.

 

Susan Luaces

Tampa, FL

susieluaces.com

Susie began sewing at nine, taught by her mother, and honed her skills through high school classes, sewing magazines, and books. She created her clothes, including tailored suits. Despite college and a career in engineering limiting her sewing time, her passion never waned. After leaving engineering to focus on family, she dedicated more time to sewing. Susie has sewn clothing, Halloween costumes, wedding dresses, home décor items, quilts, toys, and nursery items, with garment sewing being her favorite. She has teaching experience from her engineering career as a part-time fitness instructor and as a sewing instructor at Joann Fabrics. Since 2002, Susie has found the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo a great source of knowledge. She discovered the Seam Method of pattern alteration; from there, the sky was the limit. Susie has spent years training with Lorraine Henry and Judith Rasband to ensure the method's continued availability and is now ready to share her expertise.

 

Donelle McAdams
Marion, IN
Representing Sew Steady
sewsteady.com
sewbizmarion.com
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Donelle McAdams is the owner of SEW BIZ, Marion, Indiana, now an online quilt resource. Donelle is the designer of Quick Easy Mitered Binding and Border Tools for the Sewing and Quilting industry that are sold internationally and she is also a pattern designer. Previously a Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher, she has been a quilt store owner for 36 years. She has taught a variety of SchoolHouse and Take & Teach classes and Business Management Seminars at International Quilt Market, Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff Sewing Conventions, Vacuum & Sewing Machine Dealers Trade Association Convention and has participated as a Quilt Store Owner/Educator on numerous panels and advisory boards. She writes a column Profitable Promotions - for FabShop News, an industry magazine and also writes for VDTA. As a promoted Educator for Sew Steady/Westalee Design Templates, Donelle teaches classes in Ruler Work Quilting. Her love and enthusiasm for sewing and quilting is infectious. Taking a class with Donelle is guaranteed to be information-packed, inspirational and FUN!

 

Jill McCloy

Toledo, OH

Jill McCloy Designs
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Jill's sewing career started at an early age – she received her first sewing machine for Christmas just after her fourth birthday. In high school, she did custom sewing and taught at fabric and sewing machine shops using original patterns. In 1992 Jill was hired by Viking Sewing Machines, Inc. as a national educator designing projects for the Viking Club and teaching at Viking World Conventions. She then became an independent educator working with many brands of sewing machines. Jill was featured in the Threads magazine design challenge in 2000, wrote for McCall’s and Threads magazines, designed embroideries for Cactus Punch and taught at many Expo events. Her specialties are machine knowledge and creating original designs. She has over 50 patterns and recently had a truly beautiful line of fabric come out with Northcott fabrics. 

 

Linda McGehee

Shreveport, LA

Ghee's

ghees.com

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Designer, Linda McGehee has a diverse sewing background with 50 years experience from garments to handbags, piecing to heirloom, surface manipulation to combining a variety of methods into a sampler of various techniques. Linda has traveled the globe demonstrating and lecturing from her books and patterns. She is much sought after at trade and machine conventions, consumer shows, guilds, shops & television. Her style is easy and fun with a flair for detail.

 

Elisa Milano

Canton, OH

Chestnut Ridge Sewing

chestnutridgesewing.com

I have been sewing since I was six when I received my first sewing machine. I learned to sew through my mother and grandmother who worked in commercial sewing factories. All things sewing related are my passion and I especially love garment patterning, fitting, and construction. I have learned many tips and tricks along the years and love to share my passion with others through teaching. Although I have worked at Ford Motor Company professionally for 35 years, I have owned and operated a sewing business offering alterations, embroidery, garments and all things sewing related for over 30 years, as a side business, to fund my children’s college educations. The last several years I have shifted my attention to working with Bernina dealers as an educator. Serging has become my specialty and I LOVE the Bernina L Series machines.

 

Susan Miller

Doylestown, OH

Susan has been quilting, sewing and embroidering for many years. She has a quilting studio in her home where she provides longarm quilting services to her customers. Over the years, she has taken Martha Pullen’s Teaching classes for sewing and surging, also Quilt in a Day teacher training and event training with Eleanor Burns Master Quilter in Paducah, Kentucky. Susan has taught at a local quilt shop many classes: longarm program, Kids sew, machine usage classes and embroidery programs. Susan also plans event classes for quilt guilds in her local area. Sewing and quilting has been her love and hobby for over 40 years.

 

Carol Mitchell

Taylorsville, NC

Barn Quilt Squares by Carol

www.barnquiltsquares.com

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I am a traveling Barn Quilt square painting teacher located in Taylorsville NC. I have been teaching for 12 years. Barn quilt painting is something I am very pasionate about and really enjoy teaching others how to make a 2 x 2 MDO board come alive for them. My boards are weatherproof and will last outside a very long time. We live on a farm in NC and this is part of my agriculture background but barn quilts are also for houses and garage and can also be mounted inside the house.

 

Shanna Neylon

Ashland, Nebraska

GlitterBugFairy

glitterbugfairy.com

GlitterBugFairy started in 2014 with Shanna and Andy Neylon selling embroidery vinyl out of their tiny living room and has grown to offering all sorts of embroidery and crafting supplies for both small and big-time crafters, long timers and newbies, experienced sewers and others just getting your feet wet. They print custom vinyl with their specialty printer, which means endless possibilities of new vinyl and bag designs!

 

Pattie Otto
Falling Waters, WV
Great Copy Patterns and Embroidery
greatcopy.com
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Pattie Otto, the creative force behind Great Copy Patterns, brings boundless enthusiasm to the world of sewing. With expertise spanning garment design, machine embroidery, and alterations she not only creates but also imparts that knowledge and shares her inspirations through classes across the country. Beyond her professional endeavors, Pattie finds joy in spending time with her husband, Rick, and their grandsons in Ellicott City, MD. Their travels along the East Coast further enrich their experiences. In her well-stocked home studio, Pattie's passion for sewing shines through as she crafts patterns for beautiful garments and accessories. She has also been busy building her alteration business which encompasses everything from prom and pageant attire to menswear and for everyday. Pattie Otto is not just a sewing enthusiast; she's a creative powerhouse whose love for the craft knows no bounds.

 

Judy Phillips

Stow, OH

Sew Deja Vu

sewdejavu.com

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Ten years ago Judy Phillips opened Sew Deja Vu's doors with a mission to meet the needs of modern sewists. Bringing the newest notions, technical skill classes, and modern trendy fabrics to the hands of sewists and quilters everywhere. The quilt-covered walls and bolts of fabric provide creative inspiration for anyone who enters the store.

 

When Judy shared her passion for the art of sewing, she created a community of not only amazing customers but life-long friends. The home store is located in Stow, Ohio but on occasion, you can find Judy Phillips and the Sew Deja Vu crew traveling to different quilt expos and events. Giving her the ability to share her expertise with a larger audience, and watch their creativity bloom with every class she teaches.

 

Rhonda Pierce

Willowbrook, IL

Schmetz Needles
SCHMETZneedles.com

SewMoreStitches.com

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Rhonda Pierce has a dream job. . . teaching sewing enthusiasts about the hardest working 2” piece of steel in the sewing machine – the SCHMETZ needle. She lives in the Chicago area. Whether presenting SCHMETZ virtually or in-person – she averages 100+ presentations annually and happily provides SCHMETZ facts to make your stitching easier. Rhonda created and published 100 issues of the now archived SCHMETZ Inspired to SEW ezine. She publishes the “must read” SCHMETZ needles monthly newsletter. Her quilt, Color Splash, hung at three International Quilt Festivals. Rhonda’s personal website is www.SewMoreStitches.com. With quilt shop, wholesale management experience, and the love of sewing, Rhonda delivers a unique perspective as VP/Marketing Director of Euro-notions, and Spokesperson for SCHMETZneedles.com North America. Sew SCHMETZ!

 

Nancy Scott

Geneva, IN

BERNINA

bernina.com

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As a BERNINA Quilting Specialist, Nancy brings 18 years of longarm experience to help you grow your quilting skills to new levels. She loves sharing her knowledge and teaching others to express their creativity through quilting.

 

Jim Suzio

Pittsburgh, PA
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Jim Suzio is an award winning artist, designer, digitizer and sewing instructor (including embroidery software, heirloom, fashion and serger sewing). A self taught sewer, Jim was inspired to try the craft after watching a neighbor's enthusiasm in the art. A new sales position at a machine dealer found him literally "thrown" on stage at an ASG convention where he was discovered by Sue Hausmann, host of the PBS series "America Sews with Sue Hausmann." Jim soon found himself teaching all over the US, Canada and Australia for Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff Sewing Machine Companies. His work has been featured in numerous books and magazines and several ads for Husqvarna Viking and the launch of Ty Pennington's new fabric line. he has been seen on several television programs here ("America Sews with Sue Hausmann,"and "It's Sew Easy") and in Canada ("the Big Breakfast Show"). 

 

Sarah Thomas

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Sarah Thomas is the creator, designer, artist, and educator at SARIDITTY. She is also an international and national quilting, piecing, thread educator, and surface pattern designer. Sarah graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Aviation Technology and went on to be a commercial pilot. Then, she married a military man and was whisked off to different locations, leaving her aviation career behind. She found her niche for creating, painting, and quilting while adapting to her new "military wife life." SARIDITTY came about as a mix of her childhood nickname, Sari (rhymes with 'cherry'), and her high school/college nickname, Ditty. A "ditty" made by Sari...a SARIDITTY! Sarah is a West Virginia "Mountain Momma" now, and you will find her in one of a handful of locations: in her kitchen cooking or baking up mouthwatering creations, playing or cuddling with her boxer dogs, knee-deep in her massive garden with produce and flowers galore; at her desk drawing, sketching, designing; out at the barn loving on her horse; in the studio stitching up a storm; running, cycling, hiking, or practicing yoga & Pilates; or enjoying Game Night with her husband and parents. All of those things influence her ideas for fabric and patterns. She enjoys bringing bits of her history back to life to share through art, pattern, and design!

 

Jess VanDenburgh

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Hi I'm Jess! I was born and raised in upstate New York where I still live with my husband & 2 dogs. My grandma taught me at a young age how to sew and encouraged my creativity. I stumbled upon bag making in 2005 due to a major obsession with bags and a large fabric stash. I started making bags for friends and family at first and then selling them. From there my company, Sew Many Creations was born. Originally the company focused solely on making custom bags but slowly developed into a pattern company after many requests. In 2012 I expanded my pattern company to also include bag hardware, cork, fabric, kits, zippers and more. In 2020 I finally started my Youtube channel where I chat live every Friday about anything and everything bag making. I also upload tutorials, free patterns and educational videos. Teaching is my absolute favorite and if you watch any of the hundreds of YouTube videos I have on my channel, I think you'll agree!

 

Joe Vecchiarelli
Glendale, CA
French European Dress Forms

frencheuropeaninc.com

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Joe Vecchiarelli, founder and president of French European Inc., has worked in the fashion industry for over 40 years. During his college years, Joe worked in the family business, sharpening scissors for the industry's top designers. He later graduated from USC's business program and began to realize that opportunities in the apparel business were unlimited. Mr. Vecchiarelli's career took another fascinating turn when he made a foray into the entertainment business working in production with shows like Dancing with the Stars and The X Factor. A few years ago he was approached by NBC to help produce the competitive design talent show, Fashion Star. Presently Mr. Vecchiarelli is ever so busy maintaining his business and helping fashion students and enthusiasts grasp their dreams and become successful within the industry.

 

Jo Ann Wetzel

Design Your Own Fabric LLC

Seville, OH

Like many of us, Jo Ann learned all about sewing from her mother at a very young age. In fact, she was even named after the famous Jo-Ann Fabrics store because her mother spent way too much time there – hence another sewer was born. At first, Jo Ann created pillows and then moved on to creating garments given her interest in fashion. She learned how to sew, hand embroider, crochet, and knit; and then later, she learned machine embroidery and quilting. She is now using her creative abilities to design unique fabrics utilizing the art of fabric painting and marbling.