Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association upcoming events

April Meeting (In Person) with Julia McLeod-Everything but the Cotton (Mon, April 27, 2026)

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 02:00:00 GMT

Everything but the Cotton

When quilters don’t have access to a stash of quilter’s cotton, what do they turn to? In this one hour lecture, trunk show and Q & A session we will explore quilts – antique and modern – made of wool, silk, polyester and more. We’ll observe how the use of unusual
materials gives rise to alternative construction techniques and design choices. The trunk show of Julia’s work shows what you can create with neckties, saris, kimonos and other unusual, ‘not cotton’ textiles.

Learn more about Julia at https://juliamcleodquilts.com/

Julia McLeod is a quilt maker living and working in northern California’s San Francisco Bay Area. She specializes in making quilts from rescued textiles, particularly silks. Neckties, saris, kimono and furnishing fabrics all find their way
into her quilts. Born and raised in England, Julia worked as a menswear textile
designer in the woolen- and worsted mills of Yorkshire and Scotland, and later for a company on Savile Row, in the heart of London’s bespoke tailoring industry.
She moved to New York City in the early 1990’s, and America has been her home ever since. Julia enjoys lecturing and teaching on the subject of quilting-making with unusual and reclaimed textiles.

Global Quilt Connection All-Star Sampler Platter Day 1 (Sat, May 16, 2026)

Sat, 16 May 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Hosted by Global Quilt Connection, this is a fun opportunity to see demos from 18 different teachers (9 each day). Access is free for SCVQA members - register to get a reminder email.

18 Amazing Demonstrations!
Something to please every kind of quilter!
The All-Star Sampler Platter is an affordable live virtual program for individuals and your guild members.
18 Amazing Teachers!

6 hours (over two days) of 15 minute demonstrations by Global Quilt Connection teachers.

Guilds purchase a ticket and receive a viewing link that they are then licensed to distribute to their membership.

The viewing links will be available for 7 days after the live events.

Everyone who registers for the Sampler Platter will receive a beautiful 18 page handout with a page dedicated to each mini workshop or lecture.

The handout is filled with ideas, techniques and tips you'll want to keep close to your sewing machine.

You can watch live Noon-3pm, or watch anytime over the next 7 days.

Details here: https://www.globalquiltconnection.com/samplerplatters/

Global Quilt Connection All-Star Sampler Platter Day 2 (Sun, May 17, 2026)

Sun, 17 May 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Hosted by Global Quilt Connection, this is a fun opportunity to see demos from 18 different teachers (9 each day). Access is free for SCVQA members - register to get a reminder email.

18 Amazing Demonstrations!
Something to please every kind of quilter!
The All-Star Sampler Platter is an affordable live virtual program for individuals and your guild members.
18 Amazing Teachers!

6 hours (over two days) of 15 minute demonstrations by Global Quilt Connection teachers.

Guilds purchase a ticket and receive a viewing link that they are then licensed to distribute to their membership.

The viewing links will be available for 7 days after the live events.

Everyone who registers for the Sampler Platter will receive a beautiful 18 page handout with a page dedicated to each mini workshop or lecture.

The handout is filled with ideas, techniques and tips you'll want to keep close to your sewing machine.

You can watch live Noon-3pm, or watch anytime over the next 7 days.

Details here: https://www.globalquiltconnection.com/samplerplatters/

May Meeting (Zoom) - presentation pending (Mon, May 18, 2026)

Mon, 18 May 2026 16:30:00 GMT

We look forward to seeing you on Zoom for our May general meeting. Please check back in early April for more details on our speaker and presentation.

Workshop: Sarah Goer | Improv Log Cabins | live on Zoom (Sat, May 30, 2026)

Sat, 30 May 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Our own SCVQA member Sarah Goer will lead this 4-hour workshop on Zoom. We will not take an official lunch break, but you may take your own break at any time after 10:30am.

This 4-hour workshop is your opportunity to try a new spin on the traditional log cabin block. You choose small or large scale. Then play with size of strips, background placement, symmetry and other elements to create your own unique improv log cabin(s). Students can expect to construct one or more improv log cabins in class, depending on the scale they choose.

Please find your supply list here.

About Sarah:

I’m Sarah Goer, artist and educator.

I help quilters build their improv piecing skills in a fun and playful way, so they are inspired to create their own unique designs.

My classes are a bit of a choose your own adventure, packed with tips and tricks as well as permission to play. Part of my joy in teaching is to see the many unique perspectives that develop from the same prompt.

Based in San Jose, California, I learned to sew as a child and was drawn to the color and geometry of quilting after college. As a former middle school math teacher, I combine my eleven years of classroom experience with my nearly two decades of quilting experience to bring clear instruction to my quilt students.

Students appreciate my easy going, nurturing style.

“You have inspired me to think outside my box! I love the improv idea and have done it only once! Thank you so much!" --Sandra

Reach me at sarahgoerquilts@gmail.com. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

June Meeting (Zoom) with Claudia Shearer - Color Stories (Mon, June 22, 2026)

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 02:00:00 GMT

Color Stories: What you really need to know about color to design stunning quilts.

Color Stories is a 1-hour lecture that takes a deep dive into the exploration and application of color theory for quilters. You don’t need a color wheel to design quilts that use color effectively! Instead, I’ll share skills, tips, and tricks to help you create effective color stories—whether bold, subtle, or nuanced—with confidence. Through a showcase of my quilts, I’ll illustrate key lessons I’ve learned about using color—how it carries emotional weight, sets a mood, and tells a story. Whether you're looking to refine your color sense or break out of a color rut, this lecture will leave you inspired to see color in new ways and use it more intentionally in your work.

To learn more about Claudia’s work, visit www.claudiashearerquilts.com or follow her on Instagram at@claudiashearerquilts.

Claudia Shearer is a San Francisco-based quilt maker who offers workshops and lectures focused on improvisational and modern quilting techniques. Her goal is to inspire and encourage quilters to create quilts without relying on patterns. Known for her improv design, curved piecing, and nuanced use of color, Claudia’s award-winning quilts have been exhibited widely in art exhibitions and major quilt shows, including the Pacific International Quilt Festival, QuiltCon, and Quilt Festival Houston.

August Meeting (In Person) with Judith Content - Haiku in Cloth + dry-dye-demo (Mon, August 24, 2026)

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:00:00 GMT

Haiku in Cloth + dry-dye-demo

Judith Content finds inspiration in nature’s landscapes, from coastal marshes to desert canyons. Referring to her work as visual haiku, Content synthesizes the poetry of color and light through complex techniques of arashi and itajime shibori. Her silks are variously pieced, quilted, stitched and assembled into works for the wall as well as 3D sculptural compositions.

Judith’s in-person slide presentation for the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association will explore highlights from her long career in the field of fiber; wearable art, site-specific commissions and T shaped art quilts. It will also focus on the new and unexpected directions her work has taken in the last five years, particularly sculptural compositions with layered meanings and ephemeral land-art installations.

Following the lecture, Judith will give a “dry-dye-demo” exploring her uniquely contemporary approaches to Japanese resist dyeing. For this Judith will bring intricately dyed silks to the presentation, still wrapped on their individual poles. Unveiling the silks will reveal inner layers of pattern and design created through meticulous pleating techniques and various methods of layering dye. The element of surprise is just one of the many magical things about Judith’s approach to contemporary dyeing.

Snow under the moon

Is blue, dyeing with its blue

The darkness of night

Kawabata Bosha (1900-41)

Learn more about Judith at https://www.judithcontent.com/

Judith Content has been a full time studio artist for 45 years. She graduated from San Francisco State University in 1979 with a BA in Fine Art, Emphasis in Textiles. Her arashi-shiboridyed, discharged, pieced and quilted silk wall pieces have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are included in major public, private and museum collections worldwide.

Her art quilts and ephemeral Land Art Installations have been featured in gallery exhibitions, publications and documentaries including the Textile Arts Council Fiber Artist Archive: Continuum in Cloth, Ana Lisa Hedstrom and Judith Content,(2025), Textile Talks: Ephemeral Land Art with Judith Content and Craft in America: EpisodeQUILTS

Judith has juried and curated numerous fiber exhibitions. She has had solo exhibitions at the Visions Museum of Textile Art, The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles and The Texas Quilt Museum. She is President Emerita of the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA and maintains a studio in Palo Alto, CA.

September Meeting (Zoom) with Kestrel Michaud - Kestrel's Creations (Mon, September 28, 2026)

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 16:30:00 GMT

Kestrel's Creations

This presentation features a deep dive into my creative history and artistic process. My award-winning quilts are the culmination of a lifetime of artistic growth, and the first half of this presentation explains how I got to where I am today. It's a biographical look at my artistic life, from when I started drawing and won my first art show as a 9-year-old kid, through discovering fabric in High School, re-discovering fabric in art college, and finally transitioning to quilting in my late 20s. I'll share artwork I made in every phase of my life, although the focus is on the fabric.

The second half of "Kestrel's Creations" is about my process. I've used the same fundamental creative process for every fabric picture or quilt I've ever made, although my workflow underwent a major overhaul as I transitioned from analog to digital. Using behind-the-scenes photos and videos from the makings of multiple quilts, I'll take you step-by-step through the process of my design in its entirety, from initial sketch to free-motion quilting.

Learn more about Kestrel at https://kestrelmichaud.com

Kestrel Michaud, Board Member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), is a classically-trained and award-winning fine artist, graphic designer, and illustrator. She graduated with honors in 2010 from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in Illustration. Her quilted illustrations are made from thousands of pieces of fabric fused and stitched into large, quilted wall hangings, often featuring scenes from an imaginary steampunk world.

Kestrel and her art quilts have been featured on The Quilt Show and Quilting Arts TV on PBS. Her quilts have exhibited in six countries and have won grand prizes at the largest quilt shows in the world. In addition to creating and competitively exhibiting her quilts, Kestrel maintains an active Patreon where she teaches aspiring artists how to design and create their own imaginative realism designs. She also gives presentations and teaches in-person workshops to quilt guilds and at shows across the United States.

October Meeting (In Person) - TBD (Mon, October 26, 2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 02:00:00 GMT

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November Meeting (Zoom) - TBD (Mon, November 16, 2026)

Mon, 16 Nov 2026 17:30:00 GMT

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December Meeting (Zoom) - TBD (Mon, December 14, 2026)

Tue, 15 Dec 2026 03:00:00 GMT

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