The Retreat Is Now Full; Join the Wait List
Contact Marti Austin immediately through email and ask to be put on the wait list.
Come and join us for the Annual Board Meeting. We will start the evening at 6:00 PM with a potluck dinner.
Lynn’s trunk show will be a feast for our eyes. She will show us how she uses color and texture to create amazing quilts, pillows and wall hangings. Her use of piecing, appliqué and needlework will impress
The project will complete as a pillow cover, a table mat or a wall hanging.
You will construct 2 large two Log Cabin. Each will finish piecing at 15” square. They finish smaller once they are sewn into either project. A silk chain will run through the blocks in one diagonal direction.
Have a go-to block you love using but don't want to make the same quilt over and over again? Join Rebecca for this trunk show as she shows you how you can use one block and some simple design changes to make a versatile collection of quilts.
the options are endless. x
Star Table Runner Description
Star blocks are popular in quilts and there is no need to fear making them. In this class, we will focus on star blocks that are made with half-square triangles, quarter-square triangles, and flying geese. These basic block units can be used to make a wide variety of different star blocks. In class, we will make the Ribbon Star, Ohio Star, and Sawtooth Star blocks which will then be joined into a 12 x 48 table runner.
Theresa Benson (@theaiquilter) is an award-winning quilter, enthusiastic learner, and dynamic speaker. With an Electrical Engineering degree and expertise in artificial intelligence, she makes complex tech topics accessible for all. Her innovative workshops cover everything from color theory to AI in quilting, empowering quilters of all skill levels to create confidently. Follow her on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, where tradition meets innovation in the digital age.
Ready to mix a little modern technology with your quilting passion? Join me for a six-hour adventure into the world of AI and quilting, where we’ll make the tech stuff approachable and fun. We’ll kick things off with an easy-to-understand intro to AI—no tech expertise required. Then, we’ll see how AI can inspire your quilt designs, pulling ideas from famous art styles like Impressionism and Pop Art.
This is a hands-on workshop, and here’s the special twist: every student will receive a custom-designed 18×18 inch quilt pattern, tailored just for them. You’ll get plenty of time to play with ideas before you start bringing your project to life in fabric. You’ll learn how to transition designs into quilt-ready images, pick the right colors and materials, and start playing with fabric. While we may not finish the entire project in class, you’ll leave with all the know-how and enthusiasm you need to complete it on your own.
If you’ve got a basic handle on raw edge applique and are curious about adding a little tech flair to your quilting, this workshop is for you. Let’s create something amazing together!
Susan vended at the 2024 Madison Expo and her booth was a delight and busy! Her patterns are creative and will get the your creative juices flowing. You’ll be inspired by her patterns when you think of your stash and what you can create using her patterns. Sit back and enjoy.
We chose this workshop for three reasons:
Susan will introduce you to a new “quilt as you go” method of quilting. If you have not tried this method, you will be very pleased with how efficient and easy it is.
Susan is a whiz at teaching the Dresden plate block. When you have mastered the Dresden plate block, you have arrived!
You can make this table runner or place mat for any season or holiday. Imagine spring prints for the strips and solid pastels for the Dresden plate flowers. Ooooh, so cute!
The quilt show meeting will be held at the church. Please come and be informed with all you need to know.
Michael will present his life’s path as a young Italian boy from the Southside of Chicago to his life as a quilt pattern maker and quilt instructor while presenting his unique quilt patterns and quilts. He will also talk about the amazing women who have positively impacted his life.
Gail will be presenting to the Village Quilters of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest a lecture called, “Save Your Body, and Do What You Love.” Topics will include, how to set up a safe and functional workspace for quilting tasks, injury prevention techniques, and the benefits of stretching. Attendees will learn about the effects of aging on the body, the importance of posture and body mechanics, common upper extremity repetitive stress injuries, and specific pre and post quilting exercises to help prevent discomfort. This will be an interactive presentation and questions are always encouraged.
Pat is creating a special starter class for us to experience working abstractly! Either bring your own meaningful photo, or magazine inspiration, or use one of Pat’s two composition options to make your very own abstract collage.
You will learn how to think abstractly and expand your creativity with no rules or rulers. What?? NO RULES OR RULERS?? YEP! NONE!
Pat Bishop makes art because she loves to create! Her art is based on a memory of things that mean a lot to her; she feels that with her art she is saving memories.
In our guild presentation, Pat will share some tips and her experiences as an artist and share some quilts she has made as a reflection of her artistic endeavors. She will also tell us a bit about her background and a unique Wisconsin/Illinois group of which she is a part, called Women Who Run With Scissors.
Please join us on March 18th when she comes to our regular guild meeting, to meet this creative, artistic speaker! (Don’t you want to learn about making art that saves your memories? Yes, you do!)
Krista Moser is BAAACK! After our delightful Zoom lecture with Krista back in February 2024, we’re bringing her back for a whole day Zoom workshop! Krista is the creative force and inspiration behind Krista Moser, The Quilted Life, and we already know just how creative and inspirational she can be! She designed the 60-degree diamond rulers for Creative Grids and has published dozens of patterns using the rulers. She loves symmetry, clean lines and bold colors! Don’t miss it!
Since 2003 Annette has been creating pictorial art quilts that incorporate hand dyed, painted, commercial fabrics, and paint and thread, based on photographs she has taken. Her work focuses mainly on nature, including landscapes and flora, but also includes some architectural pieces. Her goal is to express her personal experience with a place or subject in a way that gives beauty, peacefulness and a sense of awe to those who view it.
In this Saturday Zoom workshop you will work on your very own Ultraviolet Radial quilt! You will begin several blocks and Audrey will help you refresh your techniques, including precision piecing and making some paper pieced arcs!
Join in to hear award winning Audrey Esarey share her journey and to see her trunk show of amazing quilts! Audrey’s lecture focuses on her path to becoming a modern quilter and how she has applied many traditional techniques in her modern quilts. She will share the progression of her work and show her Radial Quilts, Watercolor Quilts, and a few others too!
Get together for an evening of food and fun with your fellow guild members.
NOTE: The meeting will start at 6:30pm.
Join Amy Struckmeyer, QuiltCon 2024 speaker, as she shares how to build color palettes for your quilts that create a specific mood, are dynamic, and that tell a story… YOUR story.
Amy will end with a trunk show of her quilts, examples of her continuing experimentation with design and color.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this workshop will be Saturday, November 16th before our monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 19th.
Take your quilt to the next level of utilitarian awesomeness by creating a practical and beautiful bag! You’ll come to class with two mini quilt tops ready to turn into a one-of-a-kind quilted tote! You’ll learn how to add straight quilting lines to create a durable tote bag shell; how to box corners; how to make and add both a slip pocket and a lining with a zipper pocket; and how to construct a basic lined tote including tips for securely attaching straps/handles.
Our second guild-wide retreat of the year.
Registration opens August 1, 2024.
Want to learn to do free-motion quilting but don’t know where to start? Can you do a few simple patterns but you want to expand your creativity? Have you taken other classes and failed? Are you afraid you’ll ruin that beautiful top you spent weeks piecing?
This is the class for you!
RaNae's unique teaching system and specialized tools guide you step-by-step through simple exercises that will get you moving comfortably at the sewing machine and build your quilting skills as you quilt one block at a time. You'll make a quantum leap in your FMQ skills during the class and go home with a practice plan to continue building your skills. You'll leave class saying "I can DO this!"
Come join us as RaNae Merrill answers the question, “How do I decide what designs to put where on my quilt?”
ReNae will discuss Story, Personality, Contrast & Layers. Looking at photos of a wide variety of quilts we'll examine how to apply these concepts to creating a quilting design. And since thread is the "paint" of quilting, we'll also discuss thread color, fiber and weight.
After Layers & Lines, you will have the tools to create quilting designs that take your quilt tops from special to spectacular!
With City Sister Country Sister, you’re not just painting a beautiful barn quilt that you can proudly display but having a great time doing it with your friends along the way.
The cutoff for signing up for this class will be AUGUST 21st since City Sister Country Sister needs to order all the quilt boards in advance of the workshop.
Join us as Karin Janssen Potter, Business Manager and Educator at Sew ‘n Save of Racine, shares her tips and tricks to make your bag making fun and professional looking! It really is easier than you think, with the right tools and techniques! Karin will bring along a trunk show of fabulous bags to awe and inspire you!
Our service project is to make twin size quilts for Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
At the sew-in we will have groups doing sewing, cutting and ironing. To help us prepare and ensure we have enough tables set up, please Sign Up for the Workshop.
Join us for an evening of sewing together to make twin size quilts for Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
At the sew-in we will have groups doing sewing, cutting and ironing. To help us prepare, please Sign Up for a Job in advance.
“Sometimes a quilt is just a quilt, other times it has hidden messages that helped freedom seekers escape to the North.”
Join Connie Martin, who finds joy in telling the secret codes and hidden messages in the family quilts her ancestors used over 200 years ago by both white and black abolitionists; to signify escape routes to the North. It shows how quilts were used to signal plans, warn of dangers, indicate how transport might occur, or who might help as “Friends” on the Underground Railroad. She shares her knowledge originating from an information packed family Bible found dating back to the 1850’s. It revealed key abolitionists and safe escape routes passing from Kentucky through Illinois.
Connie earned a BA from Illinois State University, and an MA, from Aurora University, with a Thesis in Integrating African American History in Educational Curriculums. She is a retired middle school Language Arts teacher of 32 years.
Bring your crafty friends who love a good bargain! Also bring anything and everything you wish to give away including fabric, thread, batting, stuffing, rulers, patterns, quilt books, sewing equipment, lamps, yarn and knitting things, ribbon, lace, fat quarters, and yardage. You have been so generous in the past and we’re looking forward to a repeat!
TIME: 5 p.m. for members to drop off their own donations: 6 p.m. the brief meeting begins with the hustle immediately following!
You will learn Laura Heine’s process of collage quilting. While creating your design you will look at value, hues, and motifs to layer fabric while creating your collage quilt. We will use a kit for this class and you may use your scrap stash for future designs. Learn Laura Heine's techniques to successfully create, secure, and quilt your work of art!
Join Linda Lambert, certified Laura Heine Collage Quilting instructor, to learn about Laura Heine’s process of collage quilting. While creating your design you will look at value, hues, and motifs to layer fabric while creating your collage quilt. Learn Laura Heine’s techniques to successfully create, secure, and quilt your work of art!
Quilting is so much more than a hobby. IT IS THERAPY! Linda will share the research that supports your favorite hobby.
Come join us in person for our Annual Board Meeting!
We will start the evening at 6:00 pm with a potluck dinner.
Sign up here to bring a salad, and the board members will provide the desserts and beverages.
Highlights of the evening:
Voting and Installation of new Board Members
Budget presentation and vote
Show and Tell
The Spring Quilt Retreat will be held April 12-14.
Registration opens March 1, 2024.
Diane Harris of "Stash Bandit" teaches how to cut and sew large, gentle curves while paying attention to value and scale for smashing results. She’ll cover many ideas for adding machine quilting details and hand-stitched embellishments. The day will end with Diane showing how to finish the piece using facing as an alternative to binding.
Join us as Diane Harris presents her "Make Extraordinary Scrap Quilts" lecture.
Diane is a scrap quilt specialist who loves to help quilters bust through their stash. She believes having fun and breaking the rules is more important than perfection or tradition. We will learn her best tips and secrets during this trunk show of over 50 scrap quilts.
Join us for a fun-filled day using your 60-degree or 60-degree diamond ruler.
Pick your favorite pattern, bring some fabric, and stitch up a beautiful quilt. There will be no formal instruction for the day; we will look to each other for any needed help.
The cost to attend is FREE.
Join us as Krista Moser of The Quilted Life presents her "Diamonds Are a Quilter's Best Friend" program. Krista tells her story of how she started very young and went on to design quilts and patterns. She will discuss design concepts and color theory while showing different quilts.
DO DA HUSTLE…Brown Bag Hustle…That is
Join us for our annual Brown Bag Hustle. The Brown Bag Hustle is Village Quilters' auction of items (fabric, books, partially-finished quilts, craft supplies, etc.) donated by members. So raid your stash and make way for new treasures; out with the OLD, in with the NEW.
Winter is coming! And with it, the HOLIDAYS!! Please mark your calendar and join us for our Village Quilters holiday party on Tuesday, December 19th, at 6:30 p.m.
Let's play Poker! Join us in a fun night of "Quilters Strip Poker." Using fabric as an ante, Players roll the dice to see who goes home with some newly acquired stash or who goes home empty-handed.
NOTE: Due to Thanksgiving, the meeting is changed to Tuesday, November 14th.
