Kathy has worked in the printing field for the Department of Defense and the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, DC, has consulted in the field of desktop publishing and worked for the Dale Carnegie organization. Her professional experience is very apparent to her students has she continuously receives comments that her class was the best the student has ever taken. Students particularly love her professional class handouts. Kathy has taught over 125 classes exclusively at Patricia’s Fabric House and has attended “Quilter’s College” put on by the quilting book publisher, That Patchwork Place.
Kathy resides in Penfield, NY with her husband, two children, seven sewing machines, one quilting studio and 2,492 yards of fabric in her “stash”.
Luba Mandiak has worked for Patricias' for over 13 years and has been working with the machines for all those years. She has gone to numerous Elna company trainings. Her first love is sewing garments, but also does quilting, heirloom, and decorative sewing. She has extensive knowledge of old and new Elnas.
After some success in pattern design and teaching quilting related classes, she left her career in advertising to pursue textile art full time. Nancy started Bee Creative Studio in the fall of 1999 and has had her designs featured in publications such as Keepsake
Quilting and the Better Homes and Gardens Quilting Catalog. Her design, South for the Winter, was featured as the cover image for the Autumn 2001 Keepsake Quilting catalog. Nancy is best known for her stunning appliqué quilt designs featuring nature and landscape scenes. In addition to designing new patterns, she enjoys teaching instructional classes and lectures across the country. Nancy has recently introduced several fabric lines, with Andover Fabrics, “Nature's Spirit”, “Fickle Pickle” and “Fish Tales”.
For many years Suzzy and her partner, Susan Murwin, of Pennsylvania, collaborated long distance on the development of techniques and shortcuts for sewing American patchwork patterns on the sewing machine. They have co-authored three books. Quick and Easy Patchwork on the Sewing Machine and The Quick and Easy Giant Dahlia on the Sewing Machine are by Dover Books. Their major book, Creative American Quilting Inspired by the Bible, Fleming H Revell, 1983(now out of print) is the only work devoted entirely to early American quilt patterns inspired by Biblical heroes and events.(The Monroe County Library system owns 54 copies for loan.)
Suzzy has traveled extensively with her quilts, presenting programs in museums, churches,and conventions throughout the United States, and in France and England. Suzzy and Sue together were featured speakers at "Quilt Georgia", the Philadelphia Regional Quilt Market, and the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas.
Suzzy's quilts have been featured in other books and encyclopedias and many national magazines, including Lady's Circle, Quilt World, Todays Christian Woman, Guideposts, and Good Housekeeping.
Suzzy was raised in West Virginia and educated in Virginia and Massachusetts and has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Boston University. Since 1986 Suzzy has been a Realtor with Red Barn Properties in Pittsford. She and her husband,Keith, have lived in Fairport since 1972. They have two married daughters, two grandsons, and one granddaughter.
Suzzy is a natural student and teacher. Her greatest professional joys are helping families flourish through the traumas of home relocation.... and giving her quilting students the ability and freedom to accomplish their personal creative visions in fabric, because they learned from her the skills to produce simple or elaborate patchwork projects and fullsize quilts with ease.
A teacher by degree, and outgoing by nature, she has been a sales recruiter
("headhunter") since 1981 and owns her own business, Taylor Search Associates
Inc., recruiters of professional sales people. Her quilting classes are said
to be "fun, motivational, and non-threatening." She enjoys encouraging
quilters to try new challenges in a comfortable atmosphere.
Carol has her own web site:
http://www.caroltaylorquilts.com/
Sue Carmichael Spitulnik
Sue grew up in a 4-H household with three older sisters to learn from and emulate. As they all sewed, so did she and has been sewing ever since. She made her children's clothes when they were little and still makes a lot of her own clothes. But her real passion is quilting. Choosing the colors for a specific pattern is the beginning of the fun. Then cutting all the pieces and watching as they come back together as a new mosaic feeds her creative spirit.
Sue works part time at Patricias' and also has her own sewing studio where she specializes in making memorial quilts out of used clothing and other fabrics that mean something special to each individual client. She also teaches quilting classes, and dabbles in designs of her own.
Sue lives in Fairport with her best friend and husband, Bob, and her cat, Useless. She has two grown children who live in the local area and one very special grandson. Family time is important and during the warm weather you can find her on the back of Bob's Harley.
Bonnie Ditch
Bonnie considers the serger an essential but delightful addition to today's
sewing room tools. She has helped hundreds of students master the serger by
understanding how the machine works. By incorporating techniques learned
from New York's garment industry, Bonnie simplifies the sewing experience.
She's a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, a former New York
designer, business owner, and business mentor. She enthusiastically promotes
sewing and needlework skills having taught Continuing Education in New York
State nearly every year since 1973.
Bonnie is a charter member of the Rochester Chapter of the American Sewing
Guild, currently serving as vice-president. She is a sewing and machine
embroidery judge at the Monroe County Fair and a favorite speaker at American
Sewing Guild events.
Annette Doell
Kathy Echter
Kathy has had a lifelong love of the fabric arts. Taught to sew as a child by her mother and knitting by a neighbor, Kathy has continued to explore many different aspects of the fiber arts. Her journey of exploration has taken her through periods of traditional clothes sewing, heirloom sewing, English smocking, drapery construction and eventually quilting. Kathy has made over 150 quilts that range in size from very small paper pieced wall hangings to king sized bedspreads. Kathy has a Bachelors Degree in Printing Management and a Masters Degree in Management and Supervision. Her extensive printing background has provided her with an exceptional eye for color and design, perfect for quilting!
Susan Jennings
Susan's mother, who was also her 4-H leader, taught her to sew when she
was 10 years old. About 17 years ago, Susan discovered quilting and has
been hooked ever since. Susan especially enjoys designing and making
her own original landscape quilts. All of her quilts are machine
pieced, appliqued and quilted. Susan enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for
quilting with others and has recently encouraged her mother and sister
to become quilters.
Luba Mandiak
Nancy Murty
Nancy began exploring art quilts after graduating from the Art Institute at Pittsburgh as a means of combining her art instruction background and her love for traditional quilting.
Suzzy Payne
Suzzy Payne was the very first quilting teacher at Patricias.. beginning in the fall of 1977 in the basement classroom of the original Patricias Fabric House in Bushnells Basin. Since then Suzzy has taught several thousand students at Patricias in her Basic (one ot the most comprehensive patchwork and quilting classes anywhere!), Advanced and Giant Dahlia Classes.
Sylvia Pedrick
Janet Root
Janet has been quilting since1989, but dressmaking for many years before that. She has taught quilting classes at many area shops and local guilds. Her quilts have been exhibited locally and at NQA and The Schweinfurth Gallery in Auburn. Her kaleidoscope quilt, Nagano, appeared in the 2000 AQS Art Quilt Calendar, and January Frost was published in a recent issue of Traditional Quiltworks.
Carol Taylor
