International Guests
Our International Guests are what set the Festival apart from other UK quilt shows. Every year we invite quilt experts and speakers from all over the world to exhibit and teach, giving visitors access to global talent. This year’s headline international guests are:
Jenny Doan, USA
Jenny Doan is an American quilter, author, and YouTube star who rose to prominence as the face of Missouri Star Quilt Company, the largest quilting retailer in the world.
Her Youtube videos have been viewed more than 300 million times, and her company, the Missouri Star Quilt Company, has grown to over 400 employees and has revitalized her hometown of Hamilton, Missouri hosting 15 quilt shops and being lauded as the ‘Disneyland of Quilting’.
Not only is Jenny a quilting icon, she is also a wife, mother of seven, and grandmother to 27.
She loves to travel with her husband Ron, garden in her backyard, and enjoys many hobbies in addition to quilting such as embroidery, knitting, and watercolour.
Jenny is offering a trunk show on Friday and Saturday evening as part of our Social Events programme, when guests can enjoy a glass of wine after hours while Jenny entertains. She is also offering the Trunk Show on Thursday afternoon and doing a Q&A on Sunday morning to give visitors the chance to ask any burning questions.
Carolina Oneto, Brazil
Carolina Oneto, a Chilean quilter, discovered her passion for quilting 12 years ago. For the past 8 years, she has dedicated herself to teaching and sharing her expertise. Her vibrant quilts showcase mastery of color, curves, and transparency, reflecting her commitment to inspiring and innovating within the quilting community.
This year Carolina presents a Gallery of her incredible Modern quilts and is also teaching and offering a Talk in the theatre on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
www.carolinaoneto.com @carolina_oneto
Renee Fleuranges-Valdes, USA
Over the last 20 years, Renée’s quilts have been displayed across the USA. She has received awards for both mastery of technique and artistry. Her classes for guilds as well as IQF Houston are well received. Renee also lectures and writes articles, freely sharing her creative style with others.
We welcome Renee to the show for the first time in 2024, where she will be teaching Contemporary Quilting, Patchwork workshops and offering a lecture in the theatre on Sunday morning on How to Design a Series of Art Quilts.
www.quiltedartistrybyrenee.com @quiltedartistry
Joe Cunningham, USA
Joe Cunningham has been a professional quilt artist for 44 years.
He was greatly inspired by reading the story of the English quilter known as Joe the Quilter and eventually composed a musical to tell the story of Joe Hedly’s life.
Over the years, Cunningham has written a dozen books, many magazine articles, museum catalogue essays and papers on the subject of quilts. He has lectured all over the world and his quilts are found in major museums in the US and in many private collections.
Following a successful exhibition of his quilts at FOQ 2023, Joe Returns to teach in 2024 and offer a talk on Post Modern Quilt Making taking place on Saturday morning in the theatre.
Additional International guests include:
Alessandra Volker, Brazil
Alessandra is a textile artist who teaches patchwork, creative sewing, dolls and embroidery. She’s attending FOQ for the first time in 2024, to teach Mixed Crafts and Art Quilting workshops throughout the weekend.
https://alessandravolker.myportfolio.com
@alessandravolkertextileart
Alysn Midgelow-Marsden, New Zealand
Alysn has been described as an inspirer, facilitator and energiser.
She is an experienced freelance artist in fine art textiles, an author of several books and numerous articles, a tutor and former gallery director.
Her work includes materials such as copper, stainless steel and other metals and woven metal fabrics, wires, papers, fabrics, threads, paints, threads and natural objects.
Alysn is British but lives in New Zealand and is traveling to FOQ to teach mixed craft workshops, including, Wild Wire Weaving, Sculptural Explorations, Textures and Surfaces with Lutradur and more in 2024.
www.takingtextilesfurther.com / www.alysnmidgelowmarsden.com
@TakingTextilesFurther / @Alysnmmart
Dee Bushrod, USA
Dee is the driving force behind Pixel Quilts, an online presence established to share her passion for pixels and spread the message of the magic of creativity. A quilter of 18 years, Dee loves the creative process that pixel quilts provides and is hitting the road to spread the pixel quilt love and teach others how they can design their own pixel quilts.
www.pixelquilts.com / @pixelquilt
Dunja Supp, Germany
Dunja is a quilter, freelance editor at “Patchwork aktuellMagazin”, blogger and guest author on the corporate blog of Westfalenstoffe AG. She runs an online shop in addition to a bricks-and-mortar store in Rheinhessen, Germany and has been teaching since 2015. She published her first book in 2022. Dunja comes to teach at FOQ for the first time in 2024.
Gai Taylor, Australia
Gai Taylor has been the owner of Just Patchwork in Tuncurry, NSW, Australia for 26 years. She’s been teaching for over 30 years, and you can join her Quick & Easy workshops at The Festival of Quilts in 2024 where she’s offering classes on Applique and Hand Stitching across the weekend.
Herma De Ruiter, The Netherlands
Herma started stitching at an early age and has never stopped. She enjoys using all kinds of techniques in her work but almost all of it is heavily stitched. Herma is particularly fascinated by the way adding thread to a piece of fabric can completely change its appearance. Herman represents Wonderfil at the shows.
Herma returns to FOQ this year to teach Quick & Easy workshops on Patchwork and Quilting.
www.pezzettino.com
@hermader
Pam Holland, Australia
Pam Holland is a 35-year veteran of the quilting industry. She travels internationally for 10 months every year to teach textile art and is currently working on a 236-foot replica of the Bayeux Tapestry. Her hard work has won her numerous international awards, including the Houston Best of Show and the Jewel Patterson award for International Teachers. Recently, Pam received the prestigious Rajah award for outstanding contribution to Australian Quilting.
Pam will be teaching Modern Quilting, Art Quilting and offering a talk on Transferring Photos into Textile Art on Thursday and sharing her Life Journey in Textiles on Sunday.
iampamholland.com/
@pamholland3
Petra Donath, Germany
Petra is a life-long sewist who has been working as an application specialist for needle manufacturer Schmetz for over 15 years (Schmetz are the sponsor of the Modern Quilt category in the FOQ Competition). Petra sews extensively and will be offering lectures and taks on Home Sewing Machine Needles for Quilters at FOQ 2024.
www.schmetz.com
@schmetz_official
Ruth Ann Berry, USA
Ruth Ann Berry is the author of two books about Bargello and two about 3D Quilts, as well as over 50 quilt patterns.
She owns and operates a small-town quilt store and online business called the Quilter’s Clinic along with Gregory Jay Barner and she travels extensively to exhibit and teach at guilds and festivals.
Ruth Ann is teaching at FOQ, with classes including Contemporary Quilting, Traditional Quilting and Hand Stitching. She will be offering a talk on Colour and Contrast for 3D Effect on Sunday afternoon.
Youngmin Lee, USA
Youngmin Lee is a textile artist who uses traditional bojagi techniques. Youngmin has an MFA in Fashion Design, which included the research and application of bojagi techniques in traditional and contemporary art. She actively works on preserving the bojagi tradition that embodies the philosophy of recycling (as the pieces are made from leftover fabric). Youngmin’s works have been exhibited and collected internationally. Her new book, Bojagi: The Art of Korean Textiles with Techniques and Project, will be published this summer and you can attend her workshops at FOQ on Traditional Quilting, Hand Quilting and Contemporary Quilting.
Gregory Jay Barner, USA
Gregory is a retired elementary school teacher. He is a versatile and prolific quilter who specialises in improvisational techniques and now uses instructional expertise to teach a wide variety of quilting skills at shops, Guilds and Festivals around the world. He and Ruth Anne Berry run the online Quilters’ Clinic.
Gregory is attending FOQ for the first time in 2024 and will be teaching workshops on Traditional Quilting, Contemporary Quilting and Patchwork.
