Q.U.I.L.T.S.

05/25/2026

FREE ONLINE EVENT FOR QUILTERS!

It’s here! The new Fast-N-Easy Quilters Paradise is now open for registration!

This free online event was created for quilters who want faster, easier projects, practical techniques, and more finished quilts they can feel proud of.

Over five creative days, you’ll learn from talented quilting teachers sharing simple methods, beginner-friendly techniques, and fun projects designed to help you quilt with less stress and more confidence.

👉 Reserve your free pass now and join us June 8–15
(Or get the VIP upgrade if you would like to start quilting now and keep the class recordings forever.)

Here’s a look at what you’ll experience each day of the free conference:

🟪 Day 1: Scrap Happy (Monday, June 8) - 7 classes
From cozy cushions to bold placemats, these sessions show you how to transform your leftover fabric into beautiful, functional pieces. No need for a big fabric budget when your scrap bin is full of potential.

🟨 Day 2: Gift-Worthy Quickies (Tuesday, June 9) - 6 classes
Day 2 is all about quick, charming projects that look like you spent weeks on them (but we won't tell!). Whether you're stitching up a sweet trinket tray or a keepsake bookmark, these sessions prove that thoughtful gifts can come together fast. Perfect for birthdays, holidays, or just because — your gift list is about to get a lot more fun!

🟥 Day 3: Home Sweet Quilted Home (Wednesday, June 10) - 6 classes
These sessions are all about creating beautiful, practical pieces that elevate your living space without taking over your schedule. From a gorgeous fabric box to keep you organized, to a stunning patchwork curtain that transforms a room — you'll finish each project feeling like a home décor genius.

🟩 Day 4: Patriotic & Pretty (Thursday, June 11) - 5 classes
Day 4 is a celebration of color, creativity, and quilted style! Whether you're feeling patriotic with a red, white & blue mini quilt or channeling your inner artist with stunning Art Deco coasters, these sessions are bursting with personality.

🟦 Level Up Your Skills (Friday, June 12) - 5 classes
Whether you've always been nervous about free motion quilting or curious about the world of English Paper Piecing, today's sessions break it all down in a way that's approachable, encouraging, and completely doable. You'll finish the day not just with a new project under your belt, but with a whole new level of quilting confidence.

🎟️ CLAIM YOUR TICKET NOW
Every session is designed to feel simple, practical, and easy to follow, whether you want faster quilting methods, creative stash-busting ideas, or projects you can finish without feeling overwhelmed.

You’ll walk away with techniques you can use right away, projects you’ll feel excited to start, and more confidence every time you sit down at your sewing table.

👉 Register for the free conference now!

This is your chance to discover faster quilting methods, connect with fellow quilters, and finally enjoy projects that feel fun, doable, and satisfying to finish.

I can’t wait for you to join us!

Talk soon,
Jared Romey
Organizer, Fast-N-Easy Quilters Paradise Summit

05/11/2026

On May 10th an intimate group of Q.U.I.L.T.S. members met with Marge Tucker of Marge Tucker Quilts to learn how to make her Harlequin Diamond Romance blocks. In between group chatting and chuckling, Marge brought the quilters to her table periodically to explain and demonstrate the technique of strip piecing. We dug through our stashes of strips (and hers!) to select darks or lights of varying widths, piecing them into diamond shapes.

Enjoy seeing our class time and projects in progress!

05/03/2026

Attention Guild Members!
See below: The Schenectady Business & Profession Women's Club is sponsoring a Moon Bee at the Rotterdam Senior Center (not to be confused with the Community Center). If you are interested in participating, please let me (Lisa Wend) know so I can give them a heads up how many people are coming. Also, feel free to extend the invitation to others.

Good afternoon, dear friends!

I hope this email finds you all well and enjoying this lovely weather. I know this is very short notice, but we have scheduled a Moon Bee (sewing bee for the MoonCatcher Project) for Wed. May 6th from 6-8 p.m. at the Rotterdam Senior Center on 2639 Hamburg St, Rotterdam. This is open to anyone that you'd like to bring along, men, women, girls & boys (no young children as many people will be using scissors). Ellie vonWellsheim will be bringing all the supplies necessary, but if you have your own scissors or even a portable sewing machine (also bring an extension cord), that would be useful.

We are also asking attendees to bring a donation of disposable menstrual supplies, which Ellie & her crew will distribute to the local Period Pantries that they have created around the Capital District.

I don't need an exact headcount, but if you are bringing a few friends, could you just give me a quick call or text, so we can estimate how many stations we'll need to set up ? Please feel free to share this email & attachment with all of your connections, as this is a very worthy cause and lots of fun!

There will be no meal, but I will have bottled water & some cookies to share.

What is a moonbee?
A MoonBee is a community event where individuals come together for two hours to help create MoonCatcher Kits. Even if you can't sew, you can participate and enjoy a MoonBee because there are useful jobs for everyone!

Check out this link to see what we will be making

www.mooncatcher.org/what-is-a-mooncatcher

If you have any questions, please call or text me.

We look forward to having a good turnout to support this worthy cause.

Hope to see you there!

Robin Quintin
Secretary
Schenectady BPW
518-331-9064

A MoonCatcher is a washable, reusable menstrual pad. But it’s more than just a period pad. It’s a simple yet powerful means for girls to stay in school, get an education and participate fully in their communities.

04/14/2026

On Friday, April 10th, a room full of quilters got some heavy duty cognitive exercise in at Amy Friend’s Designing Paper Pieced Curves workshop. (During Quiet Time) Amy demonstrated a series of curves, describing the process of creating rounded edges with straight lines. In her lecture the night before she had shown multiple examples of how paper pieced curves can be incorporated into quilt designs. We drew curves of different sizes and orientations and the straight sewing lines to create them, sewed and seam ripped, exclaimed in frustration and triumph, and called upon Amy’s guidance as she circulated through the room. All to the buzz of sociable chatting!

Here are some examples of our work in progress!

03/12/2026

This past Saturday a group of Q.U.I.L.T.S. members gathered to learn a new tool to add to their quilting tool boxes: couching.

Instructor Rachel Derstine Zoomed with us from Philadelphia, PA and through live demonstrations, short videos and individual feedback, taught us how to embellish our quilted "sandwiches" with lines and spirals of coordinating and contrasting colors of yarn in a variety of textures.

You can learn more about Rachel Derstine Designs here: (https://www.rachelderstinedesigns.com/) and enjoy photos of workshoppers' projects in various stages of completion. Look for more photos in the comments as they come in!

02/11/2026

Check out this free online event. Take advantage of free online workshops, and enjoy the free Look Book and Goodie Bag.

Please note: there is a push to have you upgrade but there no obligation to do so and there is so much to enjoy with the free version.

🎉 It’s Official! Mark your calendars for March 9th - 16th! 🗓️

The Quilters Paradise 2026 Summit is coming, and we are bringing you a full week of inspiration, "From Foundation to Freedom!"

We’re talking about 25+ free workshops covering:
✨ Manx Quilting (Hand piecing with no rulers!)
✨ Serger Hacks for piecing and binding
✨ Scrap Busting strategies for every stash
✨ Art Quilting, FPP, Resizing Math, and so much more.

Best part? It’s completely FREE to attend.
👉 Register now to save your spot:

Free online conferences for learners, creators, and hobbyists seeking inspiration. Follow the route to your passions, meet like-minded people, and grow your knowledge.

01/22/2026

Saturday, January 17th was cold and blustery with snow falling outside, but a group of Q.U.I.L.T.S. members were snug in their sewing areas, learning how to make New York Beauty blocks with Linda J. Hahn

Linda joined us via Zoom from South Carolina and in between entertaining stories about her childhood in Staten Island, behind the scenes tales of quilt shows, information about quilting cruises and how the books she has authored came about, taught us her one pin technique for making this block, which we used to create Brooklyn Blues wall hangings.

Here are photos from some of the participants showing different phases of the process, and illustrating how pattern, color and layout choices resulted in a beautiful variety of outcomes!

(Additional photos being added in the comments!)

10/16/2025

What fun we had at Lorry Chwazik’s (Pleasant Street Quilts) Abracadabra Quilt workshop! Participants arrived with fabrics in a variety of colors and values and gathered around as Lorry creatively explained the Abracadabra process. (A favorite moment was when, with a simple right side out turn, there was a collective, “Whaaaat?” as a new configuration emerged.) With Lorry giving helpful feedback, encouragement and new ideas as the session went on, we shared our progress in an expanding display.

Between chatting, comparing projects, gathering together for lunch and Lorry’s SNACKS!, it was a lovely way to spend a day!

07/28/2025

Sad news for Capital region quilters.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Aq8cpSnoX/

05/12/2025

Q.U.I.L.T.S. members had a great time this past Saturday, May 10th, learning how to make Sew Many Creations' Tourist Tote Bags with Sonya Nachbar. And we each left with a completed bag!