Baltimore on the Prairie 2023
Faculty
Six immensely talented teachers make up the 2023 faculty, two of them teaching as a team, encompass a variety of techniques. Broderie perse, needleturn applique, prepared edge applique, fused applique, wool applique, dimensional flowers, and embroidery are just a few of the Sessions' highlights.
Missie Carpenter
Missie Carpenter of Traditional Primitives has been sewing in one form or another since she was about 10 years old. Majoring in Fashion Merchandising at the University of Missouri, she was exposed to Design using fabric and illustration, which has led to her current passion in the quilting industry.
Missie has found her favorite style of stitching and settled on Wool Applique, Punch Needle, Applique’ and English Paper Piecing - using starch, special freezer paper, and original notions for Applique’ and EPP. She has videos on her website, www.TraditionalPrimitives.com and an informative blog, which touch on her unique technique for basting English Paper Piecing and Applique’ as well as highlight her love of layering cotton and wool. Missie enjoys sharing her knowledge with quilting students and loves to help students succeed in their handwork.
Her design style is traditional with a touch of primitive and she has a unique way of using many cottons, textures and wools to create quilts, wall hangings and other projects. Designing fabric has been a dream of recent years and she is very excited to make her visions come true with Blank Quilting Corporation, creating fabrics of traditional style with that touch of primitive that she loves. She has had quilts published in Primitive Quilts and Projects, Quiltmania , Simply Vintage and Quilts & More as well as the AQS Engagement Calendar. She was also a guest on The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson.
She has created a line of notions that are used with her unique way of basting English Paper Piecing with Starch. The booklet Starch Basting Technique for English Paper Piecing and Applique, Fingertip Stiletto, Starch Brush, Premium Quilting Starch, Premium Freezer Paper, Hexie Pressing Mat and Needles for Applique, EPP and Wool are products that Missie and her husband Jeff produce together. They have been working full time together for several years and enjoying working together, traveling and meeting new people.
Dena Rosenberg
Dena has over 20 years of teaching experience. A precision piecer and Marti Michell Grand Ruler, Dena is also an avid appliquer. Applique Away on Galveston Bay, The Houston Quilt Festival and various quilt shops and guilds fill her resume. Her applique roots are grounded in Baltimore Album, however, her love is broderie perse having been a student and friend of Cynthia Collier’s since she moved from Georgia to Texas. Dena looks at quilting as a journey that leads you from one technique to another.
Born in West Virginia, Dena’s grandmother was a quilter making quilts more for necessity to keep a large family warm more than beauty. Although Dena never witnessed her grandmother quilt, she owns several quilts she created and her prized procession is one that was made just for her.
Dena met her husband David commuting into New York City from New Jersey on a bus to work. They have been married over 37 years and have one son and daughter. Two grandsons fill their lives with joy and they love spending as much time with them as possible.
Teaching is Dena’s passion and she loves passing her love for quilting on to others while having fun doing it. Helping her students on their own quilting journey is something Dena feels privileged to do.
Connie Johnson Sayler
My journey as a wife, mother and quilt artist began in Casper, Wyoming, where I grew up. My mother taught me to sew at an early age. I took part in 4-H sewing and, of course, took high school Home Economics. I made my own clothes for many years. My Aunt introduced me to quilting during my high school years. She taught me to piece by hand, sparking a creative urge. As a result, I am always creating things. I have loved working with pottery, beading, weaving, making paper and even designing jewelry.
After marrying Mark, my life and business partner 39 years ago, we gradually made our way to the west coast always living in relatively small communities. We now live in Eugene, OR, where Mark is a CPA/MBA and newly retired. We have two incredible children; both are grown, on their own, and making us proud every day. I feel very blessed to have been able to stay at home to raise them. Now they are following their passions, setting an incredible example for me.
In 2008 everything changed when my youngest went off to college and my mother bought me a book about quilt journaling I thought it would be an interesting way to jump start my creativity. Little did I know it would be the perfect inspiration! I have been quilting and learning ever since. Quilting has become my favorite pastime and now it will become my life's vocation, following my passion.
I first became aware of Pacific Rim Quilt Company in late 2008 when my husband and I moved to Gold Beach, Oregon. I decided to join the local quilt guild, where I met Nancy Lee Chong. She has such a creative spirit, that right away I knew I wanted to get to know her better and learn from her. She was offering a mystery applique class to the local guild members and I wanted to take the class. Unfortunately the class was for experienced applique artists only, and I had never appliqued. No problem! I signed up for the class anyway, and spent the next few weeks watching videos online, teaching myself the basics of needleturn applique. I learned even more during Nancy's class and became hopelessly addicted.
After the class Nancy and I became good friends. She taught me all about Hawaiian quilting, and I designed my first Hawaiian quilt. While spending time making and learning about Hawaiian Quilting from Nancy I told her if she was ever interested in selling Pacific Rim Quilt Company I think I would be interested...So here I am.
Teri Young, Kara Mason
Teri Young and Kara Mason have been stitching partners for more than 20 years and have been in business together for over seven years. Kara and Teri began teaching at local quilt shops in 2014, focusing on appliqué, embroidery, and ribbon work. They feel honored to have had their original Baltimore Album-style quilt, A Fairy Tale Album, hanging in exhibits in Houston, Chicago, England, and Virginia. They have lectured and taught at guilds internationally, and have taught a series of workshops for the Baltimore Appliqué Society. For the past six years, they have been teaching at the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, Virginia, and are thrilled to have added Baltimore on the Prairie to their resume. Their most recent quilt designs include In the Garden, Lovely Botanicals, Woodland Reverie, Baltimore Fraktur, Village Wanderings, and Flora and Fauna. Their appliqué designs, whether in wool or cotton, are always brought to life with embellishment of some sort—ribbon, roving, or any fiber that will fit in their needles. Wanting every student to experience success, their teaching style is an encouraging “don’t panic, it’s organic” approach that focuses on enjoying the process while learning new skills. This stitching partnership is now living back on the same side of the pond, but their designs have been greatly influenced by their international travels. Stories and tutorials of their needle adventures are chronicled on their blog, Telling Stories Through the Needle's Eye.
Website: www.needleseyestories.com
Blog: www.needleseyestories.blogspot.com
Michelle Yeo
Michelle Yeo was born in the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, where she still lives with her husband in the family home where they raised their 4 children. From a young age Michelle was interested in sewing and crafts, but it wasn't until 1984 that she made her first quilt after her then fiancée, now husband, told her that he hated doonas and wanted sheets, blankets, and a patchwork quilt. He now regrets he spoke those words as he never dreamed what a monster that comment would create.
Michelle has been designing quilts and teaching for 20 years and began running her own business, Michelle Yeo Quilt Designs, in 2006. In early 2017 she stopped working part time as an Occupational Therapist to concentrate full time on her quilt and fabric designing business, as well as pursuing her passion for teaching. She is an enthusiastic quilt designer and teacher and teaches in her home in Blackburn, throughout Australia and internationally, having taught in Europe, Norway, England and the USA.
Inspired by antique quilts and the challenge of design, Michelle uses reproduction fabrics to achieve a timeless appeal. But she is a contemporary artist who takes advantage of the increased speed and accuracy that is possible using modern tools and piecing techniques such as freezer paper foundation piecing, while also loving the more traditional techniques including hand and machine piecing, applique and Broderie Perse. Michelle's designs look beautiful in all genres of fabrics and she encourages her students to follow their preferred love of fabrics whether that is reproduction, more modern or another style. Michelle has a range of acrylic templates for ease and accuracy of cutting and piecing which accompany a number of her designs.
Michelle has been designing fabrics since 2015 and her lines are influenced by fabrics from her collection of antique quilts and textiles from the 18th and 19th century. She has recently seen the release of her fifth fabric collection, 'Lillie', which is her second collection with Henry Glass & Co. Her next collection 'Bannard Hills' is set to be released in early 2023 and then 'Yeoville' will be released later that year. Michelle is extremely excited to have the opportunity to design fabrics which are inspired by her love of antique quilts and the fabrics within them.
Many of Michelle's quilt patterns have been printed in Australian and international quilt magazines and in 2014 her book, 'Of Needle, Thimble & Thread', was published by Quiltmania. Some of the quilts from her book were exhibited in a special exhibit 'Best of Australian Quilting', at the International Quilt Festival in Houston where she also presented a lecture with two fellow Aussie quilters and did a demonstration on Broderie Perse. In 2017 she was featured in Quiltmania magazine as the designer of their annual Mystery Block of the Month Quilt which featured her first fabric collection, 'Torrington Place'.
Website: www.michelleyeoquiltdesigns.com
Email: michelle@michelleyeoquiltdesigns.com