Please note this meeting is on the 3rd Monday, not 4th Monday, due to Thanksgiving.
Secrets from the Judge’s Chambers
Have you ever attended a quilt show, and been mystified why one quilt won a ribbon, while an equally wonderful quilt did not? What are the qualifications for first, second, and third place? What are the special awards? What is the process of evaluating and judging quilts? These questions, and more, will be answered when I reveal the secrets from the judging room. (Actually, there are no secrets. You probably already know the answers!)
I bought a sewing machine at age 15 with money from my first job, and made clothes and home decor items early on. When the quilting bug bit me later in life, it was a great reason to bring that old Singer sewing machine out of retirement.
I am totally addicted to quilting, and enjoy associating with other quilters who are equally addicted. I’ve been quilting since 1995, teaching since 2004, and judging quilts since 2007. My specialty is precision machine piecing, and I’m always trying new techniques, gadgets and patterns.
I have been fortunate that some of my quilts have won awards across the country, including at A Quilter’s Gathering, Home Machine Quilting Show, Images at the Lowell Quilt Festival, Indiana Heritage Quilt Show, International Quilt Festival in Houston, Machine Quilters Exposition, Machine Quilting Today Upper Midwest Show, Maine Quilts, Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival, Milwaukee Machine Quilting Show, MQX Quilt Festivals, National Quilting Association, Quilting With Machines, Quiltweek Lancaster, Quiltweek Paducah, Road to California, Southern New Hampshire Quilt Festival, Utah Quilting and Sewing Marketplace, Vermont Quilt Festival, and the World Quilt Show – New England. Several of my quilts were juried into the AQS show in Paducah in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, winning ribbons in 2015 and 2017. My FreeFall quilt was juried into the International Quilt Festival in Houston.
As an award-winning quilter, I lecture, teach workshops, and give demonstrations at guilds, quilt shops, and quilt shows across the country. I enjoy teaching, especially to beginners.
In 2013, I was trained by Deb Tucker to teach her techniques, patterns, and tools from Studio 180 Design.
In 2017, I launched Kathie Beltz Quilt Designs. I have designed a line of quilt patterns for smaller projects that look complicated, but are easier to make than you might think. The patterns have easy-to-follow instructions, plus some of my patterns have the advantage of using Studio 180 Design precision tools and techniques.
I also have extensive quilt judging experience. My judging philosophy is to acknowledge excellence in quilting, and to educate and encourage quilters of all skill levels. I like to consider my judging work as an extension of my teaching, guiding quilters to improve their skills through constructive comments.
As a member of my local quilt guilds, I’ve held many leadership positions including Secretary, Member-at-Large, Program and Workshop Coordinator, and Block of the Month Coordinator. I’ve served on various committees and been involved in each guild’s quilt show. Luckily these shows occur in alternating years, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep up!
Recently I’ve become a Member of the Board of Directors at the New England Quilt Museum. All this is keeping me really busy!
I love quilting because it is my therapy. “Me” time in my studio is my favorite thing. But on the flip side, I also love the socialization involved in quilt guilds, quilt shows, and quilting retreats. I try to attend quilt retreats twice a year – what a joy to have uninterrupted sewing time.
I live in Southern New Hampshire with my husband, Randy, and my English Cocker Spaniel, Jesse. Life is good in the “Live Free or Die” state!
https://kathiebeltz.com/
