A SUMMER SEW FESTIVAL
with free contest
PRESENTERS' BIOS
Our esteemed panel of experts
Allegra Erznoznik
Allegra works closely with Grace dealers and customers and has recently started attending Quilt Shows and creating virtual events. When they're not working, you can find them crocheting, adding a new hourglass to their collection, or snuggling up to their adorable cats, Samson and Bertholdt.
Angela Wolf
Angela Wolf entrepreneur and fashion designer, is the host of the PBS series It’s Sew Easy and host of Behind the Scenes and At Your Side Virtually weekly Facebook and YouTube live show. Founder of Angela Wolf Patterns and Angela Wolf Academy featuring online classes and the Fashion Sewing Club. Along with the many online classes on Angela Wolf Academy, Angela also teaches on Craftsy (formerly Bluprint) and Patternreview.com with over 190,000 students from all over the world.
Angela is the Author of How to Start a Home-based Fashion Design Business, blogger, vlogger, and contributor to various sewing magazines including Threads and Sew News.
Anthony Widerburg
Anthony Widerburg has been with The Grace Company for a year starting as a customer service representative and quickly took on wholesale accounts. He comes to us with a strong retail background, primarily focused on sales and customer service. In his time off, Anthony enjoys traveling, concerts, watching movies and live theatre.
April Yang (YT: Coolripa)
Sewing, DIY, and upcycle fashion content creator since 2011. I teach and inspire people to turn old clothes into something new whether it's everyday fashion or cosplays. With over 440 videos on Youtube, April has garnered 2.25 million subscribers and counting. Teaching millions of people how to DIY their clothing.
You can also find April on Tik Tok, having fun with her family and friends.
Ashley Jones
Ashley Jones, and Educator & Inspiration Consultant for DIME, combines a professional career in Information Technology with a personal interest in embroidery, sewing and quilting to deliver and broad range of knowledge in a simple and straightforward manner. She gained extensive knowledge of nearly every brand of sewing/embroidery machine and embroidery software while working and teaching for one of the largest sewing machine dealers in the industry. She is a Martha Pullen Licensed Teacher and runs her own embroidery business. Now Ashely travels all over the country sharing her tips and tricks for stabilizing, hooping, placement and using embroidery software to overcome everyday challenges with embroidery. She loves to share the abundance of techniques she has fine-tuned over many years.
Aubrey Hartman
Aubrey Hartman is an Area Sales Manager with Butler Robotics. Aubrey has a long history with thread, fabric, and a sewing needle. She has been sewing since she was 5 years old when she took a kid’s quilting class and has never looked back. She has a degree in Theatrical Costume Design and enjoys making her own clothes and especially her yearly Halloween costume.
Aubrey learned about quilt making when she took a job at a local quilt shop and quickly found herself a new hobby. Now, she is learning all about long arm quilting and long arm automation with her new position with Bulter Robotics and is loving every minute of it.
Barb Lewis
Barb is a National Educator for Baby Lock with 10 years of experience teaching sewing and serging projects. She is always trying to find something new to sew or serge. She loves to see all the possibilities. Outside of sewing and quilting, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and basking in the Utah weather.
Becky Thompson
Becky Thompson learned her passion for stitching from her mother who was an amazing garment seamstress, so she's been around sewing machines throughout her life. Throughout Becky's 20 year career in the US Air Force and 17 years as a federal civilian, she learned to become very comfortable with technology and loves to combine that knowledge with her quilting and machine embroidery. Power Tools With Thread is truly a family business with her husband Keith, also an Air Force retiree, making custom hand crafted seam ripper and stiletto combos that he turns on a lathe in his shop. Becky loves to see the revival of the sewing industry as an opportunity to have fun while creating quality projects to enjoy and share with others.
Cindy Hogan
Cindy resides in Georgia with her husband. She has a BS and MS from the University of TN in Special Education and was a full time Special Education teacher until 2003 when she decided to change career paths and use her knowledge of PE-DESIGN® and Education to be a freelance National Product Training Specialist for the for all Brother Software Programs. Cindy is an internationally recognized Brother Software expert. She began working with the PE-DESIGN® software when it was first introduced and began teaching all Brother Software thereafter. She is also national recognized as an expert on the Brother Scan-N-Cut and machine embroidery.
She teaches classes on the Craftsy Platform and has been a guest instructor on the Hit TV Show “It’s Sew Easy”.
Christina Dolinar
Christina has been sewing since grade school when she begged her mother to teach her to sew. Instead of sharing a sewing machine with her mom, her first major purchase was a sewing machine with money she earned at an after-school job in 8th grade. While her sewing career began with making garments, Christina has added home dec and heirloom sewing, embroidery and, of course, quilting to her skills. With the popularity of quilting these days, she can show you how easy it is to free-motion quilt, create patterns like feathers, and succeed at ruler work. She also teaches long-arm quilting. She has taught throughout the United States at quilt shows, sewing shops, and can often be found assisting in Janome classrooms. When you have the opportunity to be in a classroom with Christina, whether she is teaching or assisting, you will learn a lot and - as many of her students will tell you - lots of fun will be had! She has a very relaxed style, attentive to each and every student. Christina always has that new tip or technique that will help make your sewing or embroidery project a success.
Dawn Chace
Dawn is an accomplished sewist with over 40 years of experience under her belt. In 2007, she started an embroidery business selling embroidery and applique items in her local area, followed shortly after by opening an online store creating personalized applique and shirts. She merged her love of embroidery and quilting 10 years ago by starting Creative Appliques. She has since created over 6,000 designs including applique designs, embroidery fonts and designs and in-the-hoop projects.
Donelle McAdams
Donelle McAdams is the owner of SEW BIZ, Marion, Indiana. Donelle is the designer of Quick Easy Mitered Binding and Border Tools for the Sewing and Quilting industry that are sold internationally and she is also a pattern designer. Previously a Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher, she has been a quilt store owner for 37 years. She has taught a variety of SchoolHouse and Take & Teach classes and Business Management Seminars at International Quilt Market, Husqvarna Viking Sewing Convention, Vacuum & Sewing Machine Dealers Trade Association Convention and has participated as a Quilt Store Owner/Educator on numerous panels and advisory boards. She writes a column – Profitable Promotions – for FabShop News, an industry magazine. As an Accredited Teacher for Westalee Design/Sew Steady, Donelle is available to teach classes and assist you as a Ruler Work demonstrator at your next Quilt Show or event. Her love and enthusiasm for sewing and quilting is infectious. Taking a class or booking an event with Donelle is guaranteed to be information-packed, inspirational and FUN!
Deb Bone-Harris
Embroidery is more than just surface design in Debbie’s collections; it is an integral and decorative element in her creations. She’s taught at venues across the country for national sewing organizations, specializing in couture sewing techniques, machine embroidery including free motion embroidery, and vintage ribbon work. Embellishment and surface encrustation are just a few of her signature areas of expertise. Deb has been a Clothing and Textile Advisor (CTA) for Washington State University (WSU) since 1996 and has been in the sewing industry long before that. She is a graduate of the City and Guilds of London Institute, a former Stretch and Sew instructor, a certified Jenny Haskins Victorian School instructor and a Martha Pullen licensed instructor. But probably her biggest honor was being accepted to compete in the Houston International Fashion Show for two years in a row. The sewing machine is Deb’s tool of choice while fabrics, ribbons, glorious threads and fibers create the palette she works with.
Elle McKirdy
Elle first learned to sew at the age of ten and was soon making much of her own clothing. Her love of fabric and all things sewing grew from there. She began quilting in 2015 when she bought her first Baby Lock machine, a Crescendo. Elle enjoys designing and drafting her own patterns, surface design, and fabric dying. She is especially intrigued by the interplay of color and contrast in her work. Digitizing with Palette 11 and embroidering on her Solaris are her current passions, and with these tools at hand, she feels there is no limit to what she can dream up. Inspiring others to express their unique creativity and gain confidence in their skills are her goals for teaching. She feels that everyone is creative, even those who profess the opposite. Other hobbies fill Elle’s time as well, including metalsmithing, screen printing, and working with stained glass.
Emily Thompson
Emily created the sewing blog “Life Sew Savory” in 2008 which has become a huge resource of free sewing patterns, craft ideas and recipes. She has been featured on PBS, Sew Daily TV and has worked with Brother, Blueprint/Craftsy plus many other top brands.
Janna Mathews
Janna Mathews is the Assistant Sales Manager with the Grace Company. She joined the company a little over a year ago as an Account Executive and since being promoted she has had the opportunity to work with both customers and dealers across the country. When she is not at work Janna is an avid baker and loves bringing in tasty treats to share.
Jarek Erznoznik
Jarek initially started as a quality control and repair for grace machines. They now work as an Account Executive for the Company. Outside of work Jarek enjoys spending time painting, being creative, and loves spending time with their Labrador retriever, Eva.
Jennifer Davey
Jennifer Davey is a lifelong sewing enthusiast with a genuine passion for education, design, and community. From her humble beginnings at a fabric store cutting counter to her guest appearance on Sew It All TV, Jennifer loves being a part of the sewing industry. Her work has been featured in sewing and craft publications. Throughout her career, Jennifer has honed her skills working as a tailor, a sewing instructor, and as a freelance designer for industry manufacturers. A knack for problem-solving and a passion for sewing adventures drive her to continue learning and grow her knowledge and skills. Jennifer also founded her own instructional sewing website and works to make sewing accessible and enjoyable for everyone! She guides her clients through use of kits to start their sewing journey. Beyond her professional achievements, Jennifer actively volunteers her time and expertise in her local community, lending a helping hand to schools, churches, and various service projects. Whether it's assisting with costuming for school productions or contributing to charity events with her local guild, Jennifer's dedication to making a positive impact is evident in all aspects of her life. Jennifer is excited to share her knowledge with Janome dealers and customers alike!
Joanne Banko
A graduate of Progressive Fashion School formerly located in Cleveland Ohio, Joanne Banko is an author, freelance sewing educator, and self-proclaimed sewing cheerleader!
As a Brother Ambassador Joanne contributes regularly to the official Brother blog, Stitching Sewcial. Guest instructor on the popular PBS It’s Sew Easy TV show, and author of the book Wrapped in Embroidery, Joanne enjoys designing projects to help sewing and embroidery enthusiasts make the most of their machines.
Visit Joanne at her sewing and embroidery website, www.letsgosew.com, where you’ll find inspiration and information to keep you happily creating in your own sewing space.
Jory Snyder
Throughout my childhood in Texas, my mother was an avid sewer and crafter, so sewing and crafting are part of my DNA. One of my first memories was making custom stickers to “screenprint” and personalize my Barbie doll’s clothing. After graduating from Texas Tech University with a degree in apparel design and manufacturing, I worked for a publisher in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as an editor and designer for INKnitters and Crochet Fantasy magazines. I then fell in love with my husband, got married, and moved to Oklahoma, where I earned a teaching certificate and worked as a special education/science teacher. Foundation paper piecing, scribble applique, and pillow making are a few of my favorite things. I prefer smaller projects, but I do make one or two quilts per year. In my spare time, I can be found in front of my Solaris Vision, crafting with my digital cutter, or spending time with my husband and our rescue dogs.
Joyce Hughes
Joyce Hughes (from Asbury, NJ) is an award-winning self-taught quilter, fiber artist, and author. Her first quilt was a tee-shirt quilt, which she enjoyed making, but felt limited in the ability to express her artistic capabilities. Within several months, she began to design pictorial landscape quilts using raw edge applique, thread painting, and a variety of embellishments. Never knowing the “rules” she broke a lot of them, but with exciting results! Amazingly, her first art quilt, “Mother’s Day”, was entered into a national show and won a blue ribbon. This has led to numerous awards, recognitions, and opportunities in the quilting world. Several proud accomplishments for Joyce are: “McCall’s Quilt Designer – Professional Category” for McCall’s Quilting Magazine; also an endorser and sample maker for Northcott and Timeless Treasures fabrics, and Ambassador for Mettler Threads and Brother Sewing. Joyce is an author of 2 books. Joyce’s first book, Creating Art Quilts with Panels is focused on working with Fabric Panels to create dimension and texture with threads and embellishments, creating a style of your own! Joyce’s second book, Thread Paint A Garden Quilt , focusing on raw edge applique and thread painting to add shading, highlighting, and definition. Joyce loves to teach and share her tips. One of her greatest accomplishments is when a student creates their own artwork following Joyce’s technique of Dimensional Thread Painting!
Karlie Belle
I’m Karlie Belle (Belle is my middle name BTW), and I’m a full time working mom by day and a craftaholic by night 😂. I live in the New Orleans area with my husband and 2 girls, Abigail and Elise.
I first became obsessed with machine embroidery when I was pregnant with Abigail in 2012 and set out to learn how to do it myself. I learned after a lot of trial and error and it took a long time to figure out what worked and what didn’t. So when I started KarlieBelle.com, I wanted to make the process of learning machine embroidery easier for others!
Kathy Stipe
Kathy started sewing for others as a teen because I would rather sew than babysit to make spending money. She has 45+ years of sewing experience and loves to sew in her sewing room. Her favorite machines are the Luminaire XP3 and PR1055X.
Katrina Walker
Katrina Walker is a sewing industry professional who has published dozens of articles for sewing magazines including Threads, Creative Machine Embroidery, SewStylish, Stitch, SewNews, SewItAll, and Love of Quilting. She is a popular instructor both at national sewing shows and online, where her classes for Craftsy, Creative Spark, Sew Daily TV, Sulky, Palmer/Pletsch, and Threads are enjoyed by students worldwide. She also appears regularly on YouTube, Facebook, and other channels as an instructor for Clover’s Tool School, National Sewing Circle, PFAFF Innovation Hour, and Craftsy. She is a national educator for Husqvarna Viking and PFAFF sewing machines, a Palmer/Pletsch certified fit instructor, Clover’s Tool School instructor, and a Sulky Sewcialite. Katrina is also the author of C&T Publishing’s Serger 101: A Field Guide, and The Essential Serger Reference Tool. She is an inductee of the American Sewing Guild’s Sewing Hall of Fame. You can find her teaching online at www.katrinawalker.com.
Kelly McKenzie
As a Janome Education Longarm Specialist, Kelley enjoys teaching others about quilting and sewing. She is very passionate about helping others learn more about her fulfilling hobby. Kelley's accomplishments include owning a Janome dealership and quilt shop for six years. She also enjoys being a long arm quilter and teaching all of the newest techniques at local quilt show events and conferences. Her excitement for Janome sewing machines is contagious! She is an active monitor of our Facebook groups for all things longarm and Pro-Stitcher® related. Kelley also helps both dealers and customers troubleshoot longarm usage, from initial set-up and installation to getting the best design or stitch for your project.
Kimberly Einmo
Kimberly Einmo is honored to represent Janome-America as their National Spokesperson. She is an international author, award-winning quilter, fabric designer and has been a quilt judge for more than twenty years. Kimberly has developed a signature line of Precision Rulers and she is a Featured Artist for the Electric Quilt Company.
Kim Montagnese
Kim Montagnese began playing with fabric and sneaking the use of her mom’s “forbidden” sewing machine in the early 70s. Fortunately, a series of mistakes led to the methods she uses today. Students love the “no curved piecing,” “inside out” and “quilts that keep on giving” concepts of quilting.
Kim Sandberg
“My obsession with quilting began my senior year of high school. I found a picture of a log cabin quilt in a Spiegal catalog and decided to make one for myself. It took me 6 years to finish it, but by that time I was hooked! I started out quilting by hand, but quickly moved to using my domestic sewing machine. In 2016 I took the big leap and purchased my own long-arm quilting machine, a HQ Avante with Pro-Stitcher. I love every aspect of quilting, from designing a pattern, buying fabric, piecing and finally quilting! I now work full-time as the Education Manager for Handi Quilter. My passion for teaching and quilting allow me, along with my team, to offer the best education in the industry. My full-time job, along with my two kids, dog and husband keep me very busy outside of the quilting studio.”
Linda Bratten
Linda has been a quilting/sewing teacher, in the Columbia, MO area since 2008. Linda has recently self-published a series of workbooks to enhance her Free-Motion Machine Quilting classes and has created several patterns and machine embroidery designs. Linda’s quilts are “Not like your grandmother’s”, she loves to mix different mediums and techniques to create unique one of a kind fiber art. Best of all she loves to share her knowledge and discoveries with others!
Linda has had work published in Quilting Arts and Designs in Machine Embroidery Magazines. She blogs about her sewing adventures at http://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/ which can be found on her website at www.LindaBrattenCreations.com.
Lisa Knight
Lisa started sewing at age six, or, as she puts it, "a long, long time." Over the course of those years, she fell in love with the endless creative possibilities sewing provides. When it comes to teaching, Lisa said she loves interacting with her students and seeing their reactions.
She also adds that teaching is a two-way street, where she learns from her students in turn. It's a lesson she's retained throughout her career, and it's helped her keep a fresh approach to teaching.
Mark Martin
Mark Martin is the Sales and Customer Relations Manager for the Grace Company. With a team of 9 wonder Account Executives, he manages the day-to-day Sales operations with both customers and dealers. Mark has been with Grace Company for over 10 years and started as an Account Executive.
Melinda Romero
Melinda is SMP's personal account executive at Grace and provides world class customer service. Melinda graduated from Salt Lake Community College and is currently based in West Valley City, United States.
Michelle Hébert
As a very talented designer, Michelle Hébert truly defines how fashion is art and art is fashion. Her design vision is seamless, dramatic, yet wearable. Since she was a child, she has aspired to be an artist. She is attracted to many different mediums and styles. Michelle is endlessly fascinated by techniques and artistry, but she also wants to push the boundaries of fashion and create pieces that are spectacular to look at, transformative to wear, and suggestive of otherworldliness. Michelle found fashion to be an incredibly rewarding way to fulfill her enduring interest in a range of different art forms.
Milinda Stephenson
Throughout her time as a Baby Lock Educator, Milinda made an important discovery. "I’ve learned that people who sew tend to be smart, creative and determined. These are people who make the world a better place—they are givers—the majority of their sewing tends to be for other people. That generous spirit is contagious, and brings me so much joy!" She said connecting with those people is her favorite part of teaching. "We are healthier when we are in community, and teaching engages me in this fabulous community of men and women who love to learn and love to sew." Milinda started sewing since she went off to college and — as she readily pointed out — since her mom stopped sewing for her. She said she's been obsessed with sewing and design since then. She said her favorite thing about sewing is the infinite possibilities it provides. "It allows me to dream of all the things that can be created—those dreams are fabulous therapy—they help me move beyond daily problems and imagine what can be rather than what is," Milinda said. "And there is this wonderful physical benefit—sewing lowers your blood pressure! It is soothing and therapeutic."
Miriam Coffey
As a young child, Miriam had a love for textiles and anything she could create with them. She attended Maryland College of Art and studied textile arts. During this time she taught herself to sew and has never looked back! Miriam has been involved in the fabric world in many different avenues: fashion design, managing a modern quilt store, co-owning a long arm quilting business, serving as a textile sales representative and most excitingly as a Janome Educator. Miriam has been published in several articles and appeared on the show Fresh Quilting. Her work has been featured in the Modern Quilt Guild’s “Modern Quilts, Best of the New Century” book. Out of her local and international awards – which includes QuiltCon awards, and a Best in Show award from the Asheville Quilt Show - she is most proud of her 1st place blue ribbon from AQS Paducah. A favorite part of her job is empowering people to do things they thought were out of their sewing skillset. This includes improvisational piecing in quilting to help quilters break out of a straight-line view and look at things from a different perspective. Miriam also specializes in educating Janome owners on learning more modern embroidery techniques. When she began learning to embroider, she challenged herself to learn to use this new sewing “tool” to fit into her aesthetic and not the other way around. By using her MC15000 to texturize fabric to then cut for piecing, she adds another dimension of texture to her work which is now an integral part of her current quilting style.
Reen Wilcoxson
“My love of sewing, crafting & designing began at an early age. After seeing an embroidery machine for the first time almost 18 years ago, I knew I had to have one. Shortly after purchasing a machine, I began to create my own designs. ‘In the hoop’ designs are what I focused on and are what I love to digitize. I offer my fun, unique designs & projects on my website, Embroidery Garden. I’ve been selling my designs online for the past 15 years and have recently begun teaching classes across the country. I enjoy meeting fellow embroiderers and constantly learning new things about this wonderful industry.”
Sam Fung
Sam, an Educational Coordinator, has been sewing for the past 47 years. Prior to joining Janome 17 years ago, he owned a custom sewing business where he made everything from couture wedding gowns to home decor and even taught students of all ages how to sew. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of sewing through teaching. Sam is Janome’s resident notions expert - he probably has enough notions to open his own shop! His love of embroidery began when he couldn’t find lace for his custom wedding gowns, so he learned how to create his own. Although garment making is Sam’s first sewing passion, he’s also adept at ruler work quilting. Sam is well-rounded in his sewing skills and has a vast knowledge of domestic sewing machines and sergers.
Sara Vetser
Sara Vetser is a Brother ambassador and educator. She also creates content for various social media outlets in order to create an online brand awareness and presence. Sara also specializes in incorporating sustainable sewing and quilting by using recycled material.
Shauna Westergard
Shauna Westergard is a mother of four with her tech husband. She is a Colorado transplant that loves living in the mountains and Mountain Dew. She grew up in a family of quilters and remembers playing under the quilting frames while the aunts stitched on quilts for bridal showers. She considers herself to be an “accidental longarm quilter”, because she inherited her longarm before she had ever finished piecing a quilt top. Once she got the longarm set up she jumped in with both feet and quilted over 60 projects in the first year she had the longarm.
Trevor Conquergood
Trevor Conquergood of Saskatoon, Canada is considered one of the True Embroidery Masters of our time. Just like Walter Floriani Jr., Trevor was born the son of an Embroidery Master, and his father and family lived embroidery. Forging his own path, Trevor has learned and taught almost every brand of embroidery software. Even software companies invite Trevor to Europe or Asia to teach educators on maximizing their program’s functionality to get the most of their features and benefits.
Wendi Owens
Wendi Owens is a full-time Event Specialist for SVP Worldwide and brings creativity, enthusiasm and skill to every classroom. She has a true passion for all things sewing, including garment construction, heirloom quilting, embroidery, and incorporating modern techniques and technology into her garment sewing. Her work has been published in Romantic Homes, Women's Day Special Issue, and most recently Classic Sewing Magazine. She is a Martha Pullen certified instructor.