Thursday Nov 6^th

9:00 – 9:30 Door Prize Drawing and Announcements



9:30 – 11:30 : Free Motion Quilting with Various Thread Types and Weights with Sarah Thomas

           Have you ever said, "My machine doesn't like that thread?" or "I can only quilt with XYZ thread?" Then this is the workshop for you to learn about different weights of thread for quilting. Education is key, and Sarah will explain the uses and finished effects of different thread weights, as well as cotton, polyester, metallic, and water-soluble in this lecture. Sarah also covers thread basics, including information on weight and ply, spool positioning, needle recommendations, and tension settings. She will offer helpful tips and tricks, then share projects and examples aimed to inspire and expand your use of threads. By the end of class, you'll earn your PhD in threaducation! The skills taught in this lecture will be demonstrated on a BERNINA Q16 (Q20) sitdown longarm machine but are completely transferable to your home domestic sewing machine. 

11:30 – 12:30 Shopping and Lunch Break

         Have lunch on us, and get some shopping done while you’re at it!

12:30 – 1:30 Rainbow Quilt Color Method Lecture and Trunk Show with Sarah Thomas

           Dissect the color wheel, learn color terminology that helps when choosing fabrics, and use a handful of helpful tools to choose quilt palettes and focal fabrics. "Rainbow Quilt Color Method" book — 15 colorful quilt patterns from beginner to experienced quilting levels including a variety of piecing techniques, along with alternative quilts in different colors/fabrics, thus showing how drastically a quilt can change while not changing the pattern whatsoever and just the fabric/color palette. Many piecing techniques will be shown as well as multiple uses for cutting templates included. Lucky for us, Sarah lives within driving distance so she's bringing a menagerie of eye candy to share with you! You'll be inspired to dive into her book to start creating your own colorful creation — the hard part will be deciding which pattern to make first! Don't forget to have Sarah autograph your book copy at this event. 

2:00 – 4:00 The Spectacular Notions Commotion with Debbie LaFrance

           New tools, new feet, classic favorites, and everything in between—Debbie LaFrance has you covered! Join this fast-paced, entertaining seminar where she’ll showcase all the latest must-have sewing gadgets and gizmos. Trust us, you won’t want to miss this one! 

Friday Nov 7^th

9:00 – 9:30 Door Prize Drawing and Announcements

9:30 – 11:30 How-To Guide for Flawless Embroidery with Milinda Stephenson

           In this lecture/demo, Milinda will show how the right combination of needles, hoops, and stabilizers can make all the difference in your embroidery projects. We’ll start with needles, looking at both industry-recommended options and those she’s personally used, exploring the differences and best applications. Then, we’ll move on to stabilizers—comparing standard recommendations with some tried-and-true favorites for different fabrics and techniques.

Next, Milinda will dive into embroidery hoops: when to use them, how to hoop properly, and tips for stitching successfully on everything from small to jumbo formats. Along the way, she’ll be demonstrating and sharing professional tips for getting consistent, beautiful results.

She will work through a wide range of fabrics, including towels, t-shirts, lightweight and heavy wovens, knits, cuddle, polar fleece, and netting—so you’ll learn how to tackle everyday projects as well as specialty materials. To wrap up, Milinda will share a practical system for creating your own personalized instruction notebook, so you’ll always have a quick reference for what to use and when.

11:30 – 12:30 Shopping and Lunch Break

         Grab lunch on us, then treat yourself to a little shopping.

12:30 – 2:30 Ruler Work with FMQ Feathers with Sarah Thomas

           Join Sarah in this fun free motion workshop where you'll be shown how easy it is to quilt with rulers. Plus, you'll see how to combine ruler work and FMQ feathers into geometrical wreaths, bursting boughs, and multi-directional spines. With a handful of feather plume types to incorporate and basic guidelines for perfecting feather placement, you'll be ready to create a gamut of designs on your future projects. You might want to bring a sketchpad and pencil to practice your own motifs and to determine your personal feather style. The skills taught in this workshop will be demonstrated on a BERNINA Q16 (Q20) sitdown longarm machine but are completely transferable to your home domestic sewing machine. 

  3:00 – 4:30 What’s New On the Baby Lock Radiance with Brad Martin

           How could Baby Lock possibly improve on the Solaris? Let Brad show you! Baby Lock’s new top of the line sewing and embroidery machine is here, and Brad will demonstrate all the awesome new things and updates that make sewing, embroidery and digitizing easier than ever, all built into one amazing machine!

Saturday Nov 8^th

9:30 – 10:00 Door Prize Drawing and Announcements

10:00 – 12:00 Star Blossom Panel with Sarah Thomas

           Add dimension, interest, and personality to your quilt design by combining ruler work and free motion on a pre-printed FQ "quilt." Sarah will explain the practicality of different stitch regulator settings and demonstrate how and when to use them with rulers and free motion in this workshop. She will use a pre-printed FQ panel that shows off her Star Blossom pattern from her book, Rainbow Quilt Color Method, and implement two SARIDITTY quilting rulers along with FMQ and different threads. Sarah will help you navigate through the many quilting options and also combine average-sized designs with micro quilting to achieve a stunning finished result. Just like handwriting, everyone's quilting will have its own unique variations, so there's no wrong way to achieve your signature. By the end of this workshop, you will feel ready to tackle your own quilts, or perhaps this Star Blossom pattern, and create a work of art!

12:00 – 1:00 Shopping and Lunch Break

           Indulge in some retail therapy and grab a free delicious lunch to refuel for the creative journey ahead.

1:00 – 3:00 Ten Serger Techniques for Fun Decorative Stitching and Quilting with Milinda Stephenson

Discover the versatility of 8-thread Serger/Cover Hem Machines in this lecture-demo focused on decorative serging and quilting. Learn how to enhance projects and add stylish accents to garments with creative serger techniques. We’ll explore the use of 12-weight decorative threads, zipper insertion, serger piecing, wave stitch, folded pintucks, piping, ruffling, ruching, and serger binding. Each technique will be demonstrated through sample projects, along with practical tips for incorporating them into your sewing. To bring it all together, you’ll also see how these techniques can be combined in a finished project—a hanging travel bag that highlights the creative possibilities of your serger.

Meet Our Guest Instructors!

Sarah Thomas

If you’d told me as a kid that I’d be an artist and designer, I would’ve laughed. Back then I was a calculus nerd, obsessed with equations, structure, and science—so much so that I earned a B.S. in Aviation Technology from Purdue and worked as a commercial pilot. Charts, graphs, and the physics of flight all came naturally. Life shifted when I married a military man, moving often and leaving aviation behind. That’s when I discovered a passion for creating—painting, quilting, and designing. For me, color and design are deeply mathematical, and I love channeling that energy into art (thanks, Gramma Dittman!). That’s how SARIDITTY was born, blending my nicknames “Sari” (rhymes with cherry) and “Ditty.” Now settled in West Virginia, you’ll find me cooking, gardening, sketching, stitching, riding my Thoroughbred, playing with my boxers, or enjoying game night with my husband and nearby parents. Every piece of my journey—aviation, art, family, and adventure—inspires the fabrics and patterns I create. Through SARIDITTY, I share bits of my story with you in every design.

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!" 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."