Upcoming Meetings

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• Monthly Board Meeting

  • Start
    Mon, January 12, 2026
  •  
  • End
    Mon, December 14, 2026
  •  
  • Schedule
    12 sessions
  • Location
    Zoom

  SCVQA Board Meeting. All members are welcome to attend board meetings. If you have an agenda item you would like added, please email president@scvqa.org. 

  Minutes are posted in the members section of the website.

  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89302608686?pwd=EEBzqjLe2FWvdetKtmcQjJ8UrgB4LI.1

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• March Meeting (Zoom) with Julia Graves-Make It Your Own - Design Guidelines for Quilters

  • When
    Mon, March 23, 2026
  •  
    9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Location
    ZOOM

  Register

  Lecture: Make It Your Own – Design Guidelines for Quilters
  

  Who hasn’t loved a pattern, but wanted to make it in different colors or a different size?  Or had ideas for quilts but didn’t know where to start?  Julia presents foundational design principles in easy to understand concepts to help guide your choices.  While the examples feature traditional quilts, there’s plenty here for the art quilter as well.  Good design is good design no matter where it’s applied!
  

  
  

  Learn more about Julia on her website at http://www.soquilts.com

  
  

  
  

  Julia Graves – Quilter, Longarmer, Teacher and Artist

  Julia Graves started her quilting business, Special Occasion Quilts LLC, in 2007 and teaches, lectures, designs patterns, makes commission quilts, longarms for others, sells & services APQS longarm machines and writes for the APQS Blog.  She won Best Longarm Machine Workmanship Wall Quilt Category at the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, has had quilts published in books by Gloria Loughman, Katie Pasquini-Masupust and MJ Kinman, was an Artist in Residence at Empty Spools in 2019, and is now a regular instructor at Empty Spools Seminars. 

  Julia has been sewing since she was ten and always loved fabric, needle arts and the entire creative process.  She did her apprenticeship as a quilter by making a quilt for each of her nieces and nephews (and thinks she should have counted them before making this promise – there were 32!).  She has since made more quilts than she can count, many for charity, and is partial to scrap quilts and working with color to achieve amazing results.  Visit her gallery on her website at http://www.soquilts.com.  You can also find her on Instagram at #juliagraves82, or Facebook at soquilts.  Julia lives in Leesburg Virginia.

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• April 2025 Nature Bridge Retreat

  • Start
    Fri, April 10, 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM
  • End
    Sun, April 12, 2026
  •  
    4:00 PM
  • Location
    Nature Bridge Center, Marin
  • Spaces left
    14

  Register

  Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association Retreat at Marin Headlands  
  

  Thank You for joining in the fun! The scenery is beautiful - you’ll be sewing with a view! There is a ¼ mile level walk between the dorms and the sewing room. NatureBridge has WiFi availability. The food is good and the staff are super nice and helpful. Organize your projects and let’s go!!

  For your stay, your options are:

  • Two-night weekend package Friday to Sunday
    (Fee $340 by check or $350 online)
  • Beds are in one common bunkhouse room.

  • Semiprivate rooms (additional fee $65 per room)
    Several semi-private rooms are available that hold four people each. One roommate pays the additional fee and if sharing, specifies who will be in the room with them. You will find this option in the registration form.

  • Fees include all meals (Friday lunch to Sunday lunch) and accommodation. 

  *NatureBridge is able to support those who are vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free. You will be able to specify these needs on the registration form.

  MASSAGE: We have an amazing massage therapist (Carnen) joining us. Fee and time slots will be determined closer to the retreat and the schedule will be posted on both floors. 

  SEWING SEAT ASSIGNMENT: Upon payment, Sarah will contact you so you may select your seat in the Sunset Room. Upon arrival at NatureBridge, please let me know if you need help unpacking & packing.
  

  If you have ANY questions or concerns – Please reach out to Sarah Goldspink at sarahsmile311@gmail.com or cell phone/text at 408.300.3280.

  Space is limited so signup early! Your space is not held until your payment is received. If space remains after February 15th, we will open sign-ups to non-members for $25 more. The final registration deadline is March 15th.

  Cancellation policy: No refunds will be given for cancellation unless a replacement is found. Priority for an opening will be given to those on the waiting list.

  
  
  

  
  

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• April Meeting (In Person) with Julia McLeod-Everything but the Cotton

  • When
    Mon, April 27, 2026
  •  
    7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    Campbell Community Center, Orchard City Banquet Hall

  Register

  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.
  

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• May Meeting (Zoom) - presentation pending

  • When
    Mon, May 18, 2026
  •  
    9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Location
    ZOOM

  Register

  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.

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• Workshop: Sarah Goer | Improv Log Cabins | live on Zoom

  • When
    Sat, May 30, 2026
  •  
    9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom
  • Spaces left
    17

  Register

  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.

  
  

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• June Meeting (Zoom) with Claudia Shearer - Color Stories

  • When
    Mon, June 22, 2026
  •  
    7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    ZOOM

  Register

  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.

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• July Meeting - Annual Bag Sale

  • When
    Mon, July 27, 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Campbell Community Center

  Come shop til you drop at our Annual Bag Sale!

  For $20, you can buy as much quilting cotton and other quilting items as can fit in a grocery bag, which we’ll provide. We expect to have on the order of 100 boxes of fabric, kits, patterns, books, and more.

  As a special bonus to those who get their hand stamped (requires the purchase of at least one bag, even if you arrive after 11:30) and stay till the end of the event, everything that hasn’t been claimed by 11:30ish will be free.

  Invite your family and friends. This event is open to all. You really aren’t going to want to miss this!

  
  

  
  

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• August Meeting (In Person) with Judith Content - Haiku in Cloth + dry-dye-demo

  • When
    Mon, August 24, 2026
  •  
    7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    Campbell Community Center

  Register

  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.

  
  

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• September Meeting (Zoom) with Kestrel Michaud - Kestrel's Creations

  • When
    Mon, September 28, 2026
  •  
    9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Location
    ZOOM

  Register

  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.

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