Meeting Programs & Events

Unless otherwise stated, all meeting programs are held at:

Faith United Methodist Church

432 59th Street, Downers Grove, IL, 60516

7:00 - 9:00 PM

April 22, 2026

Lecture: “Trip Around the World in Folk Art Stitches”

Catherine Redford

Join Catherine in this humorous, educational and interactive lecture including a game with prizes. Catherine will take you on a trip around the world the globe with her quilts.

Learn how she found her inspiration, the stitches she used and the finishing techniques she employed. Go home ready to embark on your own creative journey.

Catherine’s Bio

A maker since childhood, Catherine Redford is an award-winning quilter and a popular teacher at the local and national level. Catherine is a frequent magazine contributor and has enjoyed being a guest on Quilting Arts TV, Love of Quilting and theQuiltShow.com. She is enjoying the resurgence of interest in handwork, teaching classes for all skill levels and writing the embroidery book Butterfly Stitches (C & T 2020). A BERNINA Ambassador, Catherine delights in finishing her own quilts on a domestic machine! The second edition of her book, Modern Machine Quilting was published by C&T in December 2025.

May 27, 2026

“Innovative Quiltmaking: Blending Modern and Traditional Techniques - A Trunk Show”

Jennifer Wagner

Expand your quilting repertoire with a lecture that blends storytelling, a trunk show, and live demonstrations of the techniques that define my quilt-making process. Together, we’ll celebrate the traditional roots of quilting while exploring fresh, innovative methods that push design beyond the classic quilt block.

You’ll see finished quilts up close and learn how to incorporate a range of approachable techniques into your own work, including:

Curved Piecing – Achieve smooth, beautiful curves with confidence.
Reverse Appliqué – Add intricate details in a surprisingly simple way.
Ghost Stitch Appliqué – My modern twist on reverse appliqué with invisible seams.
Foundation Paper Piecing – Unlock precision and bold design possibilities.
Glue Basting – Make your piecing more accurate with this game-changing method.

Whether you’re seeking fresh inspiration or practical skills to elevate your quilting, this lecture will leave you energized, equipped, and ready to approach your next project in new and creative ways.

Hi! I’m Jen Wagner, a quilt pattern designer and instructor from Las Vegas, NV, with a background as a women’s health nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife. After decades of helping women make informed health decisions, I now have the joy of helping quilters create quilts they love.
My patterns blend modern and traditional techniques while embracing bold design and vibrant color. Teaching quilters the techniques I use in my patterns—curved piecing, reverse appliqué, and foundation paper piecing—has been incredibly rewarding. I love seeing the moment when everything clicks and they fall in love with the process.
At Snapdragon Quilting, I design quilt patterns, curate gorgeous quilt kits, and stock my favorite notions to make the quilting process smoother and more enjoyable. I’m honored to work with beautiful fabrics, tools, and threads as a BenartExpert with Benartex Fabrics, an Oliso Ambassador, and a Threaducator for WonderFil, sharing inspiration, techniques, and tips with quilters everywhere.

June 24, 2026

“True Crime Obsessions: Clues in the Piecework”

Millie Kehrli

Given the growing obsession of the true crime genre in America—and especially its popularity among quilters seeking entertainment while they work—this study center will focus on the axe murder of John Hossack, a wealthy Iowa farmer, on December 1, 1900, and how this headlining unsolved crime story bridges the worlds of crime and quiltmaking.

Susan Keating Glaspell, a prominent reporter at a time the profession was almost exclusively male, covered the Hossack trial for the Des Moines Daily News, then Iowa’s largest newspaper. Later, when Glaspell left the paper to write fiction, she penned the acclaimed one-act play, Trifles, based on her coverage of the Hossack case, focusing on how the male investigators dismissed clues uncovered by women who knew how to read stitches. Glaspell won a Pulitzer Prize for drama during her career as a fiction writer.

During this session, we will try to untangle threads of fact and fiction to see how piecework captures moments of a quiltmaker’s life and times.

Please note: We will meet in the church, and Millie will present by Zoom.

Millie Kehrli, Ph.D. is an independent researcher, writer, and educator whose work explores women's creative traditions-especially quilt-making and the relationships between creativity, lifelong learning, and quality of life.
Dr. Kehrli's experience includes museum education, public school teaching, magazine writing and editing, and quilt exhibit curation. She teaches quilt workshops and offers a variety of quilt history and quilt literature classes.

July 22, 2026

Lecture: “The Art of Mixing Textiles”

Lynn Schmidt

More information to come.

Lynn Schmidt is the founder, owner and designer of A Different Box of Crayons in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She has been designing projects for over 15 years. She is known for her amazing eye for color and the use of various textiles in her work. We occupied our new/old farmhouse In Glen Ellyn, IL in mid-October 2017. Surprisingly, five years later, we are still evolving as we continue to settle into our new home, pursue new venues and opportunities and expand our resources. We remain excited to be part of a vital textile community.

We are located in Glen Ellyn, IL, in our newly renovated 1890's farmhouse affectionately referred to in the neighborhood as "the red house." I was excited to see my first book published in 2017 with C&T Publishing, and our horizons expand as I take on new teaching and vending venues reaching across the US and even into Europe!

August 26, 2026

Lecture: “The Magic of Cork!”

Lynn Gerard

Cork is the sewing world’s most underrated superstar, and this presentation proves it. Lynn Gerard pulls back the curtain on how cork is grown, harvested, and transformed into the gorgeous, durable textile makers love. Expect real samples, smart tips, and a lively look at why cork belongs in every sewing room. It is inspiring, practical, and guaranteed to change how you think about this remarkable material.

Lynn’s Bio

Lynn Gerard, owner of The Cork Emporium, has embraced cork, a sustainable material sourced from cork oak trees in Portugal, to create a variety of bags and accessories. Located in downtown Napanee, her store also offers sewing classes to teach others how to work with cork.

October 28, 2026

Lecture: “Threads of History: The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry”

Cathy Grafton

Like many who love needlework, I consider the Bayeux Tapestry to be one of the most amazing embroideries ever stitched. I have studied this work since I was a child and have visited Bayeux to see the tapestry seven times.

After learning the "Bayeux Stitch" I have worked on my own embroideries featuring scenes of this 11th Century embroidery. This new lecture will feature some of my work, along with the history and secrets that this epic embroidery still keeps today. The lecture includes pictures, a pull out of the tapestry and my own stitched pieces based on the original. This wonderful piece of art still speaks to us today and has influenced my work on several levels.

Just a few things about me ---
- I am a quilter and needlework artist living in central Illinois -- on the Grand Prairie.
- I draw my inspiration from the farmland and bits of remaining prairie that surround me everyday.
- My quilts reflect the colors and patterns I see on the land.
- I work primarily by hand using traditional techniques, however, the quilts and embroidered pieces I make are not really traditional.
- I love sharing and teaching others - please see my lecture workshop page for details.
- The "about me" page on my website has a listing of events I will be attending each year.
Silk ribbon embroidery is a major component on my quilts as well as on the small silk ribbon "picture pieces" I create which capture small scenes in nature.
Something about my lifelong love of needlework...
I have been making quilts since 1971, however I have been doing embroidery for much longer, since I was six. I was taught basic stitches by my Mother and Grandmother, and continued to learn about embroidery all through high school. At that time crewel was popular and I remember loving all the colors of wool and choosing my favorites to work into small embroidery pieces.
My quilt style evolved through many stages as the popularity of quilting grew along with my own skills. By 1976 the quilt craze was deepening and I suddenly found myself teaching - first basic classes, then specializing in the areas of miniature quilts and finally teaching applique techniques and design.
My love of handwork has stayed with me throughout the years and the traditional quilting techniques I learned have blended well with my love of embroidery.

November 18, 2026

Lecture: “Post Modern Quilt Making”

Joe Cunningham

We all know what “Modern” quilt making is. Sort of. Now that Modern Quilts have been around for a while, the world is starting to move on, or maybe it’s just me.

In this lecture I’ll talk about Modern Quilts and how they have influenced the wider quilt world, and explain how I have come to find my own style of “Post” Modern quilt making. With lots of examples and time for questions, this is a crowd favorite!

Joe Cunningham has been a professional quilt artist since 1979. He has written essays on the subject for museum catalogues, books and magazines. His book, Men and the Art of Quiltmaking was the first book on its subject. In 2004 he received a $30,000 Shulte Grant from the Fort Mason Foundation.
In 2009 he received a grant to study with the Gees Bend quilters in Alabama. In 2010 he was artist in residence at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, which purchased one of his quilts for its permanent collection.
Joe travels throughout the country to give lectures and workshops on quilt making. His ten books on quilt making include the first biography of a living quilter, the first book on men who make quilts (Men and the Art of Quiltmaking,) and a definitive book on marking quilts for quilting called Quilting with Style, published by AQS. He has been seen on the Peabody Award-winning PBS series Craft in America, the HGTV series “Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson,” as well as “The Quilt Show” with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, and others.
Cunningham has performed his musical quilt show, “Joe the Quilter,” for guilds and theaters nationwide. His latest book is "Man Made Quilts: Civil War to the Present," a catalogue for the show of the same name at the Shelburne Museum. His quilts are in the permanent collections of the DeYoung museum, The Shelburne Museum, The Newark Museum, The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles and many private collections.
He has been invited to give lectures in museums and colleges including the DeYoung Museum, University of Michigan, the Chicago Art Institute, the Shelburne Museum, and the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, The National Quilt Museum and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.
Joe began making quilts in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. He eventually moved to San Francisco where he maintains a gallery/studio to make and show his quilts. He lives with his wife, Carol LeMaitre, above her Pilates studio, Sanchez Street Studios. Cunningham travels the world to show quilts and teach as well as teaching his popular online classes from his studio.

January 27, 2027

Schoolhouse Demos

Guild Members

Each January, our guild starts the new year by sharing our quilting experience and expertise. Members present quilting tips, techniques, patterns, and other valuable quilt-related information.

Come join us and learn something new!

March 24, 2027

Lecture: “My Stripology Journey: A Trunk Show”

Lynn Vock