On this page you will find the speakers from the 2023 Conquer Your Fabric Scraps Summit. Even though the summit is over, you can still learn from the speakers. Check out their bios below and connect with them via their websites and social media.

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SEWIST, QUILTER
FABRIC LOVER

Meet Your Hostess

Nicki Hibbits

  • Practicality Meets Creativity: String Pieced Utility Quilts
  • Life of a Scrap Case Study

Nicki is the sewist, quilter, and content creator behind The Ruffled Purse blog and website. She has spent almost all of her adult life either sewing or thinking about sewing. After 28 years as an elementary school teacher, she retired and combined her love of sewing with her teaching expertise to support, empower, and inspire others to discover (or rediscover) the joy of sewing.

Through her website and online sewing school, she teaches others how to sew and overcome sewing obstacles so they can create wonderful things for themselves, their home, and others.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest

Meet Your Speakers

QUILTER

Amira Ameruddin

  • Life of a Scrap Case Study: From Scraps Into Gifts

Amira Ameruddin, a quilter from Malaysia, was raised by craft-loving parents who instilled a deep appreciation for creativity. Juggling a full-time job and a passion for crafting, Amira found herself drawn to both physics and the world of crafting. During her years in Australia pursuing a physics PhD, she discovered quilting and fell in love with it.

Upon returning to Malaysia, she continued to quilt despite the tropical heat, and continued blogging on her blog, “The Little Mushroom Cap.” Through her blog and creative pursuits, Amira seeks to inspire others to explore their creative side, offering tutorials, patterns, and more. She thrives on sharing her experiences, connecting with fellow creatives, and using her writing to motivate herself and others. With each post, Amira invites you to join her on a journey of creativity and hopes to inspire you along the way.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest  |  TikTok

LONGARM QUILTER
PATTERN DESIGNER

Cindy Hilfiger

  • Create Cotton Pottery from Scraps

Hey there, I’m Cindy Hilfiger, your go-to quilt magician! I’m not just your average quilter – I’m a longarm quilter, a pattern designer, and I’ve got an undying love for fabric that’s bordering on obsession.

But here’s the twist in my quilting tale: I take pride in creating patterns that are not only gorgeous but also super efficient when it comes to fabric usage. Waste? That’s not in my quilting vocabulary. If, by some cosmic coincidence, there are leftover fabric scraps, I’ve got solutions up my sleeve to turn those remnants into quilted or crafted wonders.

So, whether I’m busy stitching up a storm, conjuring up fabric-friendly patterns, or giving my prized textiles a good ol’ cuddle, you can bet I’m a quilting dynamo with a mission to make every piece of fabric count – one stitch at a time!

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

SCRAP QUILT SPECIALIST

Diane Harris - Stash Bandit

  • Beef Up Your Backgrounds: Scraps and Beyond
  • Save Fabric, Save Time: Techniques for Scrap Management

Diane Harris is a scrap quilt specialist, designer and teacher. After 11 years as an editor for Quiltmaker magazine, she formed Stash Bandit to help quilters bust through their fabric collections and make quilts that are both unique and beautiful. She never met a fabric she didn’t like. Her work is featured in a variety of publications in the US and abroad. Diane lives on a working farm in rural Nebraska. 

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest  |  TikTok

QUILTER
PATTERN DESIGNER

Emma Jane Powell

  • Conquering Scraps with Improv
  • Life of a Scrap Case Study

Emma has been sewing her whole life, beginning with cross stitch and simple sewing projects in childhood. Her passion for quilting began as a therapeutic way to deal with an unexpected breakup in college. Quilting helped distract her and bring her back to life. She continues a family legacy of quilting, with childhood memories of her late grandmother hand quilting around the old quilt frame in her sunroom. From this Emma maintains an appreciation for sustainable quilting, vintage fabrics and using what you have on hand – clothing and other upcycled textiles to reduce textile waste.

Website |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest

QUILTER
TEXTILE ARTIST

Jennifer Houlden

  • Just Scrap It! Master the Art of Controlled Scrappiness with Single Blocks

Jen’s mother was a seamstress and she always said that she was never going to sew but while living in the Canadian Arctic she was introduced to quilting, fell in love with the art and never looked back.
Jen is a designer, teacher, speaker, magazine contributor and pattern writer who takes inspiration from the world around her and loves sharing her passion of quilting and colour.
She uses elements of texture, movement and colour to make her art come alive incorporating both traditional and non-traditional techniques.
Jen enjoys teaching virtually from her off-grid studio surrounded by the beautiful landscape of the Canadian Shield.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest

QUILTER

Kris O'Neill

  • Life of a Scrap Case Study: Taming the Temptation to Toss Those Scraps

Hi! My name is Kris O’Neill. Here’s a little bit about me:

I am a Christian, wife, mother, teacher, and avid quilter. I am married to my husband, Brendan and we have two grown sons. We live in rural Pennsylvania with our mischievous golden retriever named Daisy.

I have been sewing and quilting since 1995 while living in Massachusetts. Like many of us, life changed in 2020. My husband’s job went fully remote, allowing us to live anywhere we wanted. Because we both grew up in Pennsylvania, this was an easy decision. I left teaching, we bought a house (via Zoom! I don’t recommend this!) and moved back “home.” I started the YouTube channel Sew The Distance and rest is history! My channel combines my love of quilting and my love of teaching, along with my passion for old quilts.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest

WEAVER

Lucy Anne Jennings

  • Easy to Weave Mug Rugs

I grew up sewing, mostly clothes, and my favorite thing was the feel of fabric in my hands.

The thought of making my own cloth drew me to weaving, so I enrolled in a weaving class in college, and the next thing I knew, all I wanted to do was weave, spin, and dye yarn. I went on to earn an MA in Art Education.

For the next few decades, I was a school teacher and sold my weavings at craft fairs. One of my specialties was to incorporate fabric strips into the handwoven fabric, then I used the fabric to create jackets and other clothing.

Craft fairs were fun – but not the setup! I hope to never set up a tent booth again. That’s how I came to teaching and selling weaving kits online, and it’s much more fun than setting up a tent!

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest

QUILTER
PATTERN DESIGNER

Malgorzata Banjo - Pola Quilting

  • Effortless Scrap Quilting: The Magic Numbers Method
  • Life of a Scrap Case Study

I love to sew and quilt using mainly scraps and recycled fabrics. Quilting police doesn’t exist in my dictionary. It is all about having fun and freedom of choices. Not to mention it is cheaper than therapy…

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest

QUILTER

Nancy Myers

  • Patchwork Palette: Creating Designs with Coordinated Scraps
  • Life of a Scrap Case Study

Nancy has quilted for nearly 50 years, enjoying many techniques learned thru books, classes and guilds. Her challenge is to “leave no scrap behind.” Nancy designs and sells quilt patterns and quilting fabrics and also teaches online and in-person.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest

FIBER ARTIST
TEACHER & MENTOR
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR 

Rhonda Denney

  • Piece By Piece: Artful Creations From Tiny Fabric Scraps
  • Life of a Scrap Case Study

Every piece of art that I create gives me the opportunity to learn more about the diversity, complexity and addictiveness of using fabric, pigments and stitches to create a statement.
Oftentimes, when people see my art pieces, they are amazed that they are not paintings. From my perspective, they are.
However, instead of just pigments of all kinds, I utilize a multitude of different fabrics and the dimensionality of quilting to add to and enhance my art. My art stimulates a desire for a closer look and a tactile confirmation that the art includes stitching.
I am on a continuous journey to explore the possibilities of using fiber art to focus attention on the concept or idea I have chosen to represent.
I love to teach and mentor others in the enrichment of their own unique creative voice, helping them to realize that each of us has something important to express and share.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube

SUSTAINABLE CREATIVE

Stephanie McIntyre

  • Recycled Leather Pyramid Wristlet
  • Life of a Scrap Case Study

I am a former high school computer teacher who rediscovered my true passion in sewing. However, my love for sewing was accompanied by a growing concern for the environmental impact of textile waste. In response, I decided to exclusively work with leather recycled from old jackets and coats. This eco-conscious approach allows me to indulge in my sewing passion while reducing waste.

I not only create unique leather products but also teach others the art of leather sewing, emphasizing sustainability and creative reuse. Even when working with leather, there are often leftover pieces, but I’ve found that these remnants can find new life in various other projects. Through my work and teaching, I aim to inspire a greater appreciation for eco-friendly craftsmanship and the endless possibilities of repurposing materials, all while pursuing my enduring love for sewing.

Website  |  Instagram 

QUILT ARTIST
EDUCATOR
PATTERN DESIGNER

Teresa Stoller

  • Reverse Applique with a Twist: Fun Foundations
  • Life of a Scrap Case Study

Teresa Stoller, the Florida-based scrappy quilt artist behind Beachdreams Quilting, is a quilt artist, educator, pattern designer, and a huge fan of everything beachy! In fact, beachdreamsquilting.com grew out of love for the beach life and a passion for creating beach-themed patterns and quilted art. For over 16 years now, she has enjoyed helping scrappy quilters step into the wild side of creativity to find inspiration in new and unexpected ways, as they build their quilt artist skills, reduce their scrap stash, and add bling and zing to their quilted projects through her Fun & Funky Quilt Techniques Classes and Pointless Precision Patterns (which have no points or seams to match in the blocks). Teresa invites you to grab your flip-flops and step into the wild side of creativity with Beachdreams Quilting!

Website  |  Instagram

QUILTER

Yvette R Niesel

  • Perfect Piecing Starts with Saved Scraps

I’ve been quilting for over 20 years and I’m consistently learning.  My fave technique is Foundation Paper Piecing. FPP is my jam!  I taught myself and I can teach you, too.  I’ve got some mad skills, y’all!  I’ve spent the past few years designing FPP patterns and building up a community of quilters who love and support each other.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  |  Pinterest  |  TikTok

Click the website and social media links above to learn more about the expert speakers from the 2023 Conquer Your Fabric Scrap Summit.

Get on the waitlist for the 2024 Scrap Summit

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