I enjoy traveling and meeting new people! I will be happy to come to your guild, or retreat! Generally I have a two hour driving limit from Allentown Pennsylvania, however for an additional fee, further is possible. Please email me if you are interested in having me visit.
For travel that requires flights and multi day stays, my lecture and any six hours of workshops are offered at a combined flat rate of $1600. The host guild may choose to mix and match the available workshops rather than just do one, six hour workshop. If the host guild chooses to book multiple workshops beyond the first 6 hours, those workshops are priced as stated below. Additional days of travel will be addressed on a case by case basis. Any event also carries the expectation that the host is responsible for all travel expenses including driving mileage at the federal rate, tolls, parking, flights, baggage fees, shipping of class materials if necessary, meals, and accommodations in a national chain nonsmoking hotel. Pricing is assessed at the beginning of each year. Contracts are honored for the pricing at the time of signing a contract with a $100 deposit. Convention teaching is handled in a separate manner, please contact Bethanne for details.
Walk a Creative Path $450: A one hour lecture, designed for guild presentations describing the path of Bethanne€™s quilting career. Bethanne's journey as an art quilter from her beginnings making traditional quilts, then branching out into pattern manipulation, to her current pictographic silk art quilts is explored with a slide presentation and with a trunk show of available quilts. (Bethanne will bring all the show quilts that are currently home at the time of the lecture, which will vary). Bethanne will explore how her silk quilts come to be, from initial sketches, paintings, photography to final creation and finish details. Additionally, Bethanne discusses how any quilter can learn to recognize inspiration and document and organize it to facilitate quilt design through sharing her own techniques and sketchbooks in this funny guild pleaser!
The Devil is in the Details (6 hour/$800, 4 hour/ $600): Sometimes the difference between a show quilt and an AWARD WINNING show quilt is in the details. On the judging floor, one point is often all that separates a contestant from a winner. Bethanne will share her unique finish details which have been proven winners in shows across the country in her quilts. Students will make a collection of samples that feature beaded bias applique, beaded piping, swag piping, beaded knife edge binding as well as an introduction to the use of Derwent Inktense pencils. Take your quilting to the next level with masterpiece details! The 4 hour class has one major technique less than the 6 hour class and students will have less time to work on each sample.
Class Kit required ($25 each) includes pre-quilted squares, all beads, piping, ink, and activators and handouts for the project.
Supply list includes basic hand sewing supplies, a domestic sewing machine with a zipper foot, or foot that allows sewing flush against an obstruction, and 2 one yard pieces of bias 2 ½ strips in contrast colors.
Learn Bethanne's award-winning Nemeshing a lacy freehand feather flourish. This unique fill has been stopping crowds and pleasing clients and can be used on all types of custom work ranging from simple, large scale fills to tiny show-winning backgrounds. Learn to blend and repeat the 5 easy shapes and you'll be using Nemeshing on backgrounds, sashing, borders, and edge to edge quilting! Hands on classes are suitable for longarm classrooms or for experienced free-motion domestic quilters.
A 2 hour lecture and drawing class. Use Bethanne€™s popular mid-custom quilting style to combine complex piecing, unify blocks and create secondary designs with the quilting, all while finishing quilts quickly and earning a living wage. Sampler quilts are often the most challenging quilts to custom quilt, because every block is different and when quilted classically, every block needs a new and creative quilting plan. However, sampler quilts, or any block quilt can be simplified with Bethanne€™s mid custom approach, while adding beautiful secondary designs.
Love feathers? Frustrated by how time consuming they dan be with lots of marking and planning? Learn to feather faster. Bethanne will teach her unmarked, spineless, no backtrack approach to one-pass feathering. Learn ten feather shapes that look amazing no matter how high contrast the quilting. Speed up feathering without giving up that feathered look. Based on the simple and business building freehand feathers in Bethanne's book, From Fast to Fancy. The hands on classes are typically taught in a longarm class setting, however students who are confident free motion quilters on a domestic sewing machine will also enjoy this class. Beginner to intermediate machine quilters.
Freehand Feathers get fancy in this advanced feathering class! Add detail and designs to basic feathers until they become exotic and fanciful show stoppers!! Based on the advanced feathers in Bethanne€™s book, From Fast to Fancy. The hands on classes are typically taught in a longarm class setting, however students who are confident free motion quilters on a domestic sewing machine will also enjoy this class. Intermediate to advanced machine quilters.
Break away from boring borders! Explore 20 border units using only a non-backtracking feather motif and Bethanne€™s spineless, no mark, no stress feather path combined with some straight line quilting and create glorious secondary design frames. This class is designed for those quilts and quilters that want to quilt those tops made €œfor love€ with an open, flexible, yet beautifully designed mid-custom plan. Borders are often hard to see, with busy prints€¦gain confidence quilting in high contrast thread, and create beautiful borders that frame your quilt. This class will overlap Sampler Quilt Smackdown somewhat, if there is high student overlap, it may not be appropriate.
Take your basic knowledge of how a feather spine is created and learn to substitute an endless variety of shapes ranging from holly and berries to seashells. Give each of your quilts a personalized quilted motif and gain freedom from commercial designs. No natural drawing ability is needed! Turn familiar swirls and curves into flowing organic motifs to make each quilt shine. Never suffer from stand and stare again, rely on an inset pattern, or be limited by your pattern library! Both domestic and stand up quilters will learn to individualize each quilt in this class. Hands on classes are suitable for longarm classrooms or for experienced free-motion domestic.
Traditional free motion background fillers are a wonderful starting point, but what happens when you let yourself be influenced by natural patterns, everyday objects, macro photography, and the art of Zendoodling? Be inspired by Bethanne€™s fresh take on backgrounds, with inspiration from every letter of the alphabet, perfect for filling those big open spaces of more modern quilts! Hands on classes are suitable for longarm classrooms or for experienced free-motion domestic quilter, kit fee applies and includes a pre quilted sample to fill with textures.
Freehand feathers are a quilter€™s best friend. They can be formal or fantastic, fast or fancy. Learn to grow your freehand feathers at your own pace with the addition of details and inserts. Based on Bethanne€™s popular new book of the same title, see how even beginner feathers can grow to fancy heirloom ones with a few simple changes. Learn to match your feather to your quilt€™s style, budget, and use. This class combines much of the content of two of Bethanne€™s other classes, Feather Faster and Fancy Feathers, perfect for a condensed fast paced learning experience or for situations were taking the two classes isn€™t reasonable. Hands on classes are suitable for longarm classrooms or for experienced free-motion domestic quilters.
Sometimes the difference between a show quilt and an AWARD WINNING show quilt is in the details. On the judging floor, one point is often all that separates a contestant from a winner. Bethanne will share her unique finish details which have been proven winners in shows across the country in her quilts. Students will make a collection of samples that feature a variety of knife edge, faced binding specialty techniques including Bethanne's signature beaded piping, swag and piped edge, tab edge and corded edge finishes. Take your quilting to the next level with masterpiece details! The 4 hour class has one major technique less than the 6 hour class and students will have less time to work on each sample.
Class Kit required ($25 each) includes pre-quilted squares, all beads, piping, cording and handouts for the project. The original Devil in the Details class is NOT a pre-requisite. This class is simply different projects with a focus on knife edge, faced quilts.
All the exotic shapes of your garden are at your command. Every shape in the garden can be broken down into three simple thread paths, learn them, and find your floral creativity exploding on the surface of your quilt. Quilt your bouquets on blocks, borders, and edge to edge. Bethanne's easy step by step constriction method will help you master any floral shape! Bring some photos for on the spot design fun!
Are you a new longarm quilter? Have you made friends with your machine, but are ready to move beyond loops and swirls and get down to the business of becoming a confident freehand quilter? This 6 hour class will be a deep emersion into the pool of freehand quilting…but we will use the stairs! Begin perfecting your ability to smoothly nest freehand shapes using an echo style thread path for professional edge to edge coverage that does not rely on meandering lines for travel. Begin to transform simple shapes into more complex ones, ending with contemporary blended background fills. Next, learn perfect freehand feathers. Learn freehand feathers that do not rely on backtracking, making you look like a pro immediately. Eliminate the stress of multitasking and build a repertoire of beautiful feather designs using the seams of quilting in quilt design. Finally, learn simple serpentine feathers and master tucking feathers into curls. Leave class ready to take on the freehand world! Beyond the technical skills of quilting, learn about threads, trouble shooting, and especially ergonomic safety to protect your body for years of happy quilting.