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.

 

Karen Barry

Kailua-Kona, HI

Quilt Passions

www.quiltpassions.net

Karen Barry is the owner of Quilt Passions and founder of the Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum & Gallery. A former schoolteacher turned quilter, Karen leads retreats, teaches classes, and curates exhibits celebrating Hawaiian quilt traditions. Passionate about preserving local culture, she’s become a driving force in Hawaiʻi’s quilting community through education, events, and grassroots advocacy.

 

Angela Davis

Angela’s DIY Designs

angelasdiydesigns.square.site

I’m a creator at heart. I’ve been sewing since I was eight years old and began writing my own quilt patterns at fifteen. Since then, I’ve created patterns for quilts, pillows, pincushions, tote bags, and table runners. I love designing fruit and animals in a fun patchwork style, inspired by the beauty of God’s creations.

 

 

Eric Drexler
Port Charlotte, FL
Sulky of America
sulky.com
facebook | twitter
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.

 

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!

 

Michelle Freedman
Portland, OR

Maywood Studio

maywoodstudio.com

facebook | instagram | youtube | michelle's instagram

Michelle Freedman is a quilt designer, maker, and educator based in Portland, Oregon, proudly working with Maywood Studio. Known for blending traditional techniques with modern color palettes and unexpected fabric pairings, Michelle draws inspiration from personal history, pop culture, and vintage textiles. With a background in apparel and textile design, she brings deep knowledge of fashion history and fabric traditions to her quilt work. Her quilt designs have appeared in numerous books and magazines, and she creates original quilt patterns to showcase Maywood Studio’s fabric collections. Through teaching, designing, and collaborating, Michelle is passionate about fostering creativity and community within the quilting world.

 

Thomas Friedenbach

Hurst, TX

Sew It Up BERNINA

sewitup.com

facebook | instagram | pinterest

Tom is currently a Bernina technician at Sew It Up Bernina in Hurst, Texas. He has formerly worked as both a professional embroiderer and as a costumer with Travis Halsey in Chicago.

 

Lynn Gerard
Nappanee, IN

The Cork Emporium

thecorkemporium.com

Lynn Gerard is the owner of The Cork Emporium. This unique store is for eco-conscious fashion enthusiasts and creative artisans alike. The Cork Emporium specializes in offering a diverse range of thread, cloth and ornate accessories crafted from an environmentally friendly and versatile material: cork fabric. Lynn loves working with and teaching cork bags. Cork fabric is such an awesome media to work with. She a great sense of humor and she brings that to her classes.

 

Christine Harlan

Madison, WI

SVP Worldwide

Christine Harlan is an experienced quilter, designer, and educator with over 30 years in the fiber-arts industry. She is recognized as an SVP Elite Educator, teaching a wide range of techniques that include modern quilting, collage and grid quilting, applique, and both hand and machine embroidery. In her classes and workshops, Christine draws on her broad background in garment construction, pattern design, fabric manipulation, and mixed-media fiber arts to help makers build skills and explore creative possibilities.

 

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.

 

Barb Hembree

North Richland Hills, TX

Richland Sewing Center

richlandsewing.com

Over the past 25 years Barbara has taught Brother classes at Richland Sewing Center in her spare time. From embroidery digitizing to creating ScanNCut projects, her passion for learning new techniques shines through as she shares her knowledge. Now that she has retired she can't be more tickled to create and design in her sewing room every day.  

 

Jaymi Horne

Carmel, IN 

Cranky Kangaroo

crankykangaroo.com

facebook | instagram | youtube

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.

 

Michael Kralicek

Fort Worth, TX

Michael has been a figure in the sewing community for almost 30 years. His career started at Cloth World as a sales associate in 1993. He became a manager at the age of 21 and then continued with Jo-ann Fabrics for another 15 years. After too much of the corporate world he began a career in the sewing machine business. With encouragement from many customers he opened his own store in 2012. Michael has a passion for learners. He loves to see his students thrive in their creativity. He is a business owner, teacher, encourager, and overall fun guy to learn from.

 

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 own 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 found the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo, to be a great source of knowledge. Discovering Lorraine Henry’s fitting classes, she resonated with the Seam Method of pattern alteration. Susie trained with Lorraine and Judith Rasband in 2024 to ensure the method's continued availability and is now ready to share her expertise.

 

Jill McCloy

Toledo, OH

Jill McCloy Designs
facebook

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

facebook

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.

 

Kathy McMakin
Birmingham, AL

Kathy McMakin is one of America’s foremost authorities in machine embroidery and heirloom sewing. She teaches beginning, intermediate, and advanced sewists worldwide and inspires confidence in her students. Kathy has taught for 40+ years as the President of Martha Pullen Company and Editor-in-Chief of Classic Sewing Magazine. Today, she lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband, and she follows her greatest passion, teaching at events nationwide.  Kathy has been a guest instructor for every major sewing machine manufacturer worldwide. She has authored several smocking, sewing, and serging books and has produced and appeared in numerous machine embroidery, sewing, and serging videos. Her guest appearances on sewing television shows are many.  She and her husband have two grown children and several precious grandchildren.

 

Tana Mueller

Crowley, TX

Designs by Tana

designsbytana.com

facebook

Tana Mueller is a talented artist, designer, and motivational speaker, with over 30 years of experience, who resides in the Lone Star State of Texas. Drawing inspiration from her childhood experiences of rural country life, she specializes in creating captivating western, country, and wildlife designs that resonate with nostalgia and charm. A pioneer in Stitchless applique, Tana takes traditional craftsmanship to new heights, crafting artistic applique motifs that seamlessly blend artistry and innovation. Her crayon art designs, characterized by a unique blending technique, showcase her extraordinary ability to bring vivid memories to life on fabric. Beyond her creative endeavors, Tana inspires others through her motivational speaking, sharing her journey and passion for artistry with audiences far and wide. Her work celebrates the spirit of the Texan lifestyle while honoring the beauty of personal memories and imagination. Tana's artistry is a testament to her dedication to preserving the charm of days gone by, one design at a time.

 

Laura Nash

Philomath, OR

Sew Chic Pattern Company

sewchicpatterns.com

facebook | instagram

Laura Nash began sewing and designing vintage-inspired gowns for brides and Moms while in college. After venturing into the world of fashion show competition, high-end retail, and ready-to-wear, she realized her passion lay in sewing patterns. In 2007 Sew Chic Pattern Company was created featuring Laura’s unique mix of modernized vintage styles. They are classic, unique, and adaptable to your personal taste. With a love for all things vintage, Laura Nash creates fashion sewing patterns with a stylish mix of modern-vintage. She has a BS in Apparel Design, a research background in historic clothing, and expertise in pattern making and fit. She loves to help others and travels to teach at sewing conferences and expos throughout the USA. By student demand, she wrote her book “Pattern Alterations for a Beautiful Bust.” Working with others in her industry, she has partnered with Craftsy, Threads magazine, and Simplicity Patterns. Take a class from Laura! Her approachable teaching style can help you sew with a speed, quality, and style that will be distinctly yours!

 

Pattie Otto
Falling Waters, WV
Great Copy Patterns and Embroidery
greatcopy.com
facebook | pinterest
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.

 

Shanna Pappas

Ashland, NE

GlitterBugFairy

glitterbugfairy.com

facebook | youtube

Shanna is the owner of GlitterBugFairy, a small family owned business that provides all your bag making supplies. From vinyl to zipper to hardware, GlitterBugFairy sells it all, and in the cutest way possible! Come take a class with Shanna, and see just how fun and easy sewing bags can be!

 

Corey Pearson

McKinney, TX

Linda's Electric Quilters

lindas.com 

facebook | instagram | corey's instagram

Corey Pearson is the Chief Quilter at Linda’s Electric Quilters in McKinney, Texas, where he combines traditional techniques with modern flair. Taught to sew by his grandmother at age six, Corey now shares his expertise through classes, tutorials, and events across North America. Known for his engaging style and innovative approach, he inspires quilters of all levels to explore the art of longarm quilting.

 

Cynthia Peck
Saginaw, MI
SVP Worldwide
Cindy Peck is a sewing enthusiast who learned to sew as a young child using a sewing machine with a knee controller because her legs were too short to reach the foot controller on the floor. Cindy enjoys sewing garments, crafts, gift items, and quilts as well as embroidering or embellishing ready-made items. Her career as a scientist and as an educator helped her develop an interest in sewing products which reduce the use of one- time plastics and repurpose natural fibers to contribute to the maintenance of a greener earth. She has taught sewing for more than 20 years and believes learning should be fun. Her no-nonsense approach (including everyday anecdotes and examples of what can go wrong and how to recover) empowers everyone to expand their skills and take time for sewing each week “just because they deserve it”.

 

Carrie Philpott
Big Rapids, MI

Carrie simply loves to sew! Once she took her first sewing class at age 14, she has never looked back from the textile/fashion/sewing/quilting/embroidery world.  This has led her on an international journey through all phases of the textile/fashion world at the manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and consumer level.

In the 1990’s, Carrie discovered both sewing machine quilting and embroidery.  Since that time, she has created her own digitized embroidery designs, quilting patterns, clothing, and costume lines.

Her teaching career has spanned 3 continents with certifications from Sue Hausmann, Martha Pullen, Connie Crawford, Nancy Ziemann, and many others. Her quilts have been displayed at numerous major national shows and as part of Michelle Obama’s Quilts of Valor display in the White House.

Not having space for a longarm quilting was thrilled to discover Westalee Design rulers and templates that worked with her Sew Steady Table. The new EmbroideLee collections perfectly compliment her love of machine embroidery.

Classes with Carrie bring a wide variety of quilting, sewing, embroidery and crafting techniques from beginner to advanced level with excitement, humor, and fun.

 

Kate Quinn

Albuquerque, NM

FabriKated Quilts
Sew Steady Education Ambassador and Westalee Design Acredited Teacher

fabrikatedquilts.com

facebook | facebook group | instagram | pinterest | youtube
Kate's fascination with quilting began when she received a Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt as a wedding present in 1991. She made her first quilt to celebrate the birth of her first child and has loved quilting ever since. Kate loves all styles and types of quilts from art to modern and traditional pieced to applique, and how quilting is a connection through the ages and across generations.
Originally a native of California, Kate graduated from West Point in 1991 and served in the Army with her husband Patrick. She left the service in 1998 to be at home with the couple's five children. For the next two decades, quilting became the bridge that helped her to build relationships in each new community as she moved more than twenty times during her family's military service. 
After their last move, Kate began working and teaching at local shops and guilds on a consistent basis. In
2016, she became a professional longarm quilter, opening FabriKated Quilts. When she was first introduced to Westalee Design’s Quilting Rulers and Templates she was instantly hooked! Rulerwork tools have helped Kate advance her quilting skills more than she ever dreamt possible. The freedom and creativity generated by these tools is so satisfying, and Kate wants to give that power to quilters everywhere. She loves sharing her passion for quilting and art, passing on a centuries old tradition, and creating beautiful items of comfort.

 

Amy Regal

Cedar Rapids, IA

Uniquely Crafts

uniquelycraftsllc.com

facebook | instagram 
I’ve been doing shows since 2010 all over the US. I love to design and make products to make others happy and sometimes laugh. Coming up with new ideas is always a favorite of mine.

 

Jim Suzio

Pittsburgh, PA
facebook
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").

 

Joyce Teng

Houston, TX

teacherstamp.com

Joyce Teng is a quilter, mixed-media artist, and surface-design specialist known for her vibrant colorwork and creative fabric-art techniques. As the founder of TSC Designs, Joyce is celebrated for her mastery of Tsukineko inks, using them to blend, shade, and transform fabric with painterly depth and detail.

She teaches a wide range of surface-design methods—including painting, stenciling, foiling, and stamping—helping quilters add rich texture and personality to their projects. A popular instructor at quilt shows, guilds, and online workshops nationwide, Joyce is known for her clear instruction, playful style, and ability to make artistic techniques feel approachable to all.

Her work continues to inspire makers to experiment, explore, and bring more artistry into their quilting.

 

Toni Ugueto
Houston, TX

Sew Sew Lounge

sewsewlounge.com

facebook | instagram | youtube

Toni Ugueto is the creator of Sew Sew Lounge, a YouTube channel where she shares garment sewing tips, fabric knowledge, and fitting strategies with a vibrant community of sewists who love making clothes that reflect their personal style. She holds a degree in Textile and Apparel Design and is a Certified Palmer/Pletsch Fit Instructor. Toni loves helping sewists move beyond guesswork—whether choosing fabric or adjusting a pattern for a better fit. Her classes combine clear explanations with hands-on learning so students can confidently sew garments that look great, fit well, and feel fantastic to wear. At Expo, Toni teaches Fabricology: Building Fabric Confidence for Garment Sewing along with classes introducing the body-first tissue fitting approach to pattern adjustment. Her goal is simple: help sewists turn beautiful fabrics into clothes they’re excited to wear—and proud to say, “Thanks, I made it.”

 

Jess VanDenburgh

facebook | instagram | youtube

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

facebook | instagram

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.

 

Kris Vierra

Kansas City, MO

Quilter on the Run

quilterontherun.com

facebook | instagram | pinterest | youtube
Kris 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 was award Best Long Arm Quilting at AQS Paducah 2018, Phoenix, and Des Moines, 2016, and the PFAFF Master Award for Machine Artistry at the International Quilt Festival Houston, 2015. Two of her quilts, Tiger, Tiger and Star of India, are part of the permanent collection at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah. She loves traveling and leads quilt tours all over the world. Kris believes that no matter what language you speak fabric is universal. Check out her Stress Free Quilting™ Series for tons of quilting tips and tricks.

 

Joline Wunderl

Southlake, TX

Sew It Up BERNINA

sewitup.com
facebook | instagram | pinterest
Joline Wunderl is a lifelong sewing enthusiast with a special fondness for sewing for herself and her daughter. She spent many years teaching middle and high school English. In 2015, she happily merged interest and experience and became an educator at Sew It Up Bernina. Now an experienced and enthusiastic machine embroiderer, she enjoys teaching students at all levels the amazing things they can do with their embroidery machines!

 

Hope Yoder

Sarasota, FL

Designs by Hope Yoder

hopeyoder.com

facebook | instagram | pinterest | youtube

Hope Yoder is an entrepreneur, fabric designer, and course creator. She was the inspiration behind Embellish products. She writes for several magazine publications and has been featured in numerous courses for her creativity and savvy business tips. You can find her behind the computer designing or in front of her laser or embroidery machine dancing to Cupid's Shuffle. Her superpower is helping others by teaching, mentoring, and inspiring!