PROGRAMS 2026

Brenda Gael Smith

Bodacious Beads

Zoom Meeting Only

Lecture and Sew Along

Meeting starts at 12:30pm 

Program starts at 1:30pm

Please note the change in start time because our speaker is coming from Australia!

Brenda Gael Smith creates textile paintings and sketches made from a rich palette of her hand-dyed fabrics complemented by extensive, textural stitching demonstrating the transformative power of stitch. Abstraction is a persistent and insistent force. Working improvisationally, she captures the essence of her subjects to impart a sense of wonder of the natural world and a strong affinity to place.

Brenda will demonstrate a fun, freeform piecing technique and share a multitude of quilts that feature this versatile bead

motif. This mini-workshop and trunk show presentation works especially well when all the participants are on Zoom as they can sew along if they wish.

brendagaelsmith.com

Studio Tour 

Zoom Meeting Only

Meeting starts at 10:00am

Program starts at 11:00am

Come join guild member and Programs Chairperson Kathleen Bauer as she invites us into her quilting space via Zoom.

Studio Tour 

Zoom Meeting Only

Meeting starts at 10:00am

Program starts at 11:00am

Colleen Carlson

Back Talk

Hybrid Meeting -- Speaker on Zoom

Meeting starts at 10:00am 

Program starts at 11:00am

Colleen Carlson started sewing in 4-H and started to quilt at the insistence of a girlfriend in 1999. She enjoys making projects in many styles.  She is a Certified Quilt Judge with NACQJ. She travels to judge quilt shows and Zooms with guilds across the United States. Colleen lives in Grand Forks, ND with her husband and they have two grown children. 

In her lecture, Back Talk, Colleen covers durability topics as well as options for personalization. She surveyed experienced long-armers for their expert opinions and preferences when working backing. What about bed sheets and pieced backs? Colleen also offers several inexpensive options for creating labels and hangers. 

https://www.quiltjudgecolleen.com

LET'S CREATE FOR THE DGQS 2027 BOUTIQUE

In Person Sit and Sew

9am to 4pm 

Set Up starts at 8:30am and Tear Down at 3:30pm

This Sit and Sew will take place at the Palm Desert Library (73300 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert 92260). More details will be available closer to the event.

Diana Karna 

Sew a Quilted Jacket

Hybrid Meeting -- Speaker In Person

Meeting starts at 10:00am 

Program starts at 11:00am

 Diana Karna started several years ago sewing garments, and from there, it was an easy segue into quilting. Now she combines her love for both by teaching students how to sew their own custom quilted coats—wearable art that’s both personal and practical. 

Diana will go in depth on the pattern, how to take measurements for the best fit, go over several different finishing methods, and how to add collars and hoods. Come get inspired with plenty of ideas for customization and try on some sample coats after the lecture. Diana's goal is for you to feel confident to sew your own wearable art coat.

https://stitchingstyle.myshopify.com

Diana Karna 

Sew a Quilted Jacket

Workshop is 9am to 4pm

Setup starts at 8:30am and teardown is at 3:30pm

Class is held at Del Webb Sun City Shadow Hills Montecito Clubhouse.  See pdf below for driving instructions

Now the real fun begins! We’ll finish quilted back panels, trace and cut pattern pieces,  and dive into coat construction. Diana will do live demos on custom pattern adjustments, how to add pockets with binding, collars, and hoods, plus instruction for sewing the tricky parts with confidence. Throughout it all, she also offers plenty of guidance and encouragement so you can walk away with a finished or near finished coat that can be an expression of your personal quilting style.

Required Pattern with Extras for Workshop Participants - $30/student to be paid to Instructor.

https://stitchingstyle.myshopify.com

Grace Errea

The Value of Value

Hybrid Meeting -- Speaker In Person

Meeting starts at 10:00am 

Program starts at 11:00am

Fiber artist, designer, quilter, and author, Grace J. Errea, began quilting in 2000. Her art focuses on the depiction of inspiring scenes in a value based contemporary-realistic manner. She feels very fortunate to have many of her first quilts become exhibited in juried shows and be recognized for their innovation in technique and depiction of nature and people.

Grace’s innovative techniques and her focus on value have attracted widespread interest from quilters, as well as national and international galleries, museums and publications. She has been invited to show her art and to teach overseas and in various locations in the United States. 

In her lecture Grace will show how color gets all the credit but VALUE is what always makes a successful piece. Learn all about VALUE, how to see it, how to use it and how to always come out with an amazing , successful piece by focusing on value and letting all else fall into place naturally.

https://www.amazingquiltsbygrace.com

Grace Errea

From Inspirational Photo to Quilt Pattern

Workshop is 9am to 4pm

Setup starts at 8:30am and teardown is at 3:30pm

Class is held at Del Webb Sun City Shadow Hills Montecito Clubhouse.  See pdf below for driving instructions

This 1-day workshop presents to the participants, the steps required to turn inspirational original photographs(s) and create a pattern that then can be used to create an amazing fabric art.

This workshop will hone your skills needed to go home, take your favorite photo, and create an amazing textile from it.  Grace will show how to enhance perspective and depth, how to proportionately enlarge the drawing from the photo(s) and how to incorporate multiple photos in one design.  We will also discuss what to look for when taking photos for potential art quilts.

In this class we will all be working on the same photo provided  by Grace.  Using this simple photo we will go through the steps of identifying shapes, creating the pattern, and value-lizing the final pattern for easy fabric selection.

Grace will provide the photo to work from, and she will also provide copies of the pattern from that photo to start your creation.  You will learn the steps to create freezer paper templates and the vinyl map for the quilt constructions.  You will not only learn how to create your own patterns from photos but will walk out with a great, full sized pattern from Grace that you can then test out you new skills by creating a quilt from it.

This class requires a kit that is provided by the teacher containing the photo used in the class, and the pattern sample, Value Matching Tool and the Periodic Value in Color Chart. The kit costs $40 payable to the instructor.

https://www.amazingquiltsbygrace.com