ELLY SIENKIEWICZ - Washington, DC

For several decades now, Elly Sienkiewicz has been designing, stitching, writing and teaching on quilts.  Author of 19 appliqué books, Elly received the Quilt Industry’s 2003 Silver Star Award for significant influence on the contemporary quiltworld.  Elly’s Appliqué 12 Easy Ways! won the Quilt Industry Classics Award for Best Book on appliqué.  C&T Publishing sponsored two major Baltimore Album Revival Exhibitions to celebrate her books’ impact on the decades-long Baltimore Album and Appliqué Revival. Before becoming so deeply involved with group-made Albums, Elly’s individual work hung at shows across the country and at Museums and Galleries in and around Washington, DC, her home town. Inspiring as both a teacher and speaker, she has lectured for the Smithsonian Institution, across the country, and on five continents.  Her work is widely published in quilt magazines in the US, Europe, and Japan, and in The Magazine Antiques, Folk Art Magazine, Victoria and Threads.   

Visit her website at: www.EllySienkiewicz.com

CHRISTINE PORTER - Bristol, England

Christine teaches and lectures throughout Britain and the US where she is also a quilt show judge and she has won awards for her quilts in both locales.  She has been the co-editor of Patchwork & Quilting magazine, which is Britain’s first and leading quilting magazine.  In this role, she wrote many articles and did the book and new product reviews.  Christine was the founder of the Cabot Quilting Conferences held throughout the UK that brought top American and other international quilters to the UK, enabling British quilters to learn from some of the best in the world.  Her first book Quilt Designs from Decorative Floor Tiles, was released in 2003 followed by her second book, Tessellation Quilts  in May 2006. Her quilts have been featured in books by Joen Wolfrom and she also designs patterns for Joen’s company, JWD Publishing.  Christine has also been a guest on Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson and has recently made two DVDs, Let’s Get Started and   From Fabric to Quilt – an Inspirational Journey.  

Website: www.christineporterquilts.com

PAULA NADELSTERN - Bronx, NY

Paula Nadelstern’s award-winning quilts have been exhibited internationally, in solo exhibits mounted at The American Folk Art Museum in NYC (April-Sept 09), The Museum of the American Quilters Society, Houston International Quilt Festival, in New York City and Japan, on television shows and online websites, and in books and magazines.  Her work was included in the Twentieth Century’s 100 Best American Quilts, a prestigious exhibit mounted for the millennium. Paula is the author of Paula Nadelstern's Kaleidoscope Quilts, Puzzle Quilts: Simple Blocks, Complex Fabric, Kaleidoscopes & Quilts and Snowflakes & Quilts. She was a recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts in 1995 and 2001, and from The Bronx Council on the Arts in 1996. Paula designs textile prints exclusively for Benartex, Inc. and travels extensively teaching her unique kaleidoscopic quiltmaking techniques. Paula’s website is:  www.paulanadelstern.com

SHARON PEDERSON - Black Creek, British Columbia

Sharon Pederson, from Canada’s West Coast, has been a popular quilting instructor for twenty years and is the author of five books: Reversible Quilts, More Reversible Quilts, Sensational Sashiko, Color for the Terrified Quilter with Ionne McCauley, and Machine Appliqué for the Terrified Quilter – all published by Martingale & Co.  In 2008 DVDs were added to her catalogue when she formed a new company, Nine Patch Media.  Sharon has taught at most of the major quilt shows in North America and has expanded her “territory” to include Great Britain, South Africa and Dubai 2009. Her appearance on Alex Anderson’s Simply Quilts opened many doors for her and her many magazine articles have helped introduce her to quilters around the world.  She is known for her technique in creating wonderful reversible quilts.  Sharon’s philosophy is that you can do anything by machine, and you should have fun doing it.  You can always tell which classroom is hers by the gales of laughter coming from it! 

Sharon’s websites are:  www.sharonquilts.com and www.ninepatchmedia.com

CINDY WALTER - Honolulu, HI

Cindy is an inspiring and innovative author, teacher, lecturer, TV personality and fabric designer. You'll recognize her as the hostess of the PBS TV show Quilt Central and also as a regular hostess for www.Quilterstv.com, public TV for quilters on the web. She regularly teaches quilting at the large shows in the USA such as AQS and IQA, and around the world including Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, France and Germany. Her articles and quilts have appeared in many magazines including McCall's Quilting, Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting, Patchwork magazine of Germany, Magic Patch in France, Quilting Today, and Traditional Quilts.  She is best known as the author of the PRIMEDIA award winning book Snippet Sensations, and has authored 8 additional books, Fine Hand Quilting, Attic Windows, More Snippet Sensations, Snippet Flower Bouquet, Snippet Christmas Celebrations, Basic Applique with 1930 Patterns, Basic Guide to Dyeing & Painting Fabric, and Contemporary Quilting. Visit her website at www.CindyWalter.com