Our Current Educators

Unsurpassed artistry.

Sherri Noel

Sherri Noel embodies a creative spirit with a passion for sewing. A published author, teacher, and pattern designer, Sherri’s work has graced the pages of several prestigious magazines and quilting books over the past decade plus. Her quilting journey began in college, inspired by her creative and industrious grandmothers. Upon graduating college, her parents gifted her a sewing machine, sparking a love for quilting that would define her career. Sherri has been designing quilts for many years, and in 2012, she launched her website, RebeccaMaeDesigns.com, named after her daughters, to share her talents and patterns with the world.

Her website offers a treasure trove of fun tutorials and block-of-the-month quilt-a-longs, inviting quilters to join her creative adventures. Sherri loves to travel, teach, and engage with the sewing community, regularly contributing to popular sewing sites. Sherri’s designs incorporate a diverse range of quilting techniques, including traditional piecing, English paper piecing, foundation paper piecing, partial seams, bias tape appliqué, needle turn appliqué, wool appliqué, embroidery, and pearl cotton. She also has a love of hand quilting with the big stitch technique.

Among her notable creations are the Madawaska Mittens, the Dear Daughter quilt, her Scandinavian Christmas designs, and her beloved scrappy block-of-the-month patterns. Sherri views quilting as a profound form of creative expression. In 2016, she began adding sentiments and quirky sayings to her quilts, starting with the Dear Daughter quilt, which features tender, thoughtful messages for her daughters about living a joyful and simple life. Sherri lives in New England and can be found at rebeccamaedesigns.com.

Penni Domikis

I am the owner of Cabin Quilters (dba Cabin in the Woods Quilters), a quilt pattern design company established in 2003.

I am the owner of Cabin Quilters (dba Cabin in the Woods Quilters), a quilt pattern design company established in 2003. I am a self-proclaimed Jill-of-all-trades and take pleasure in many hobbies including watercolor painting, clay building, gardening, photography, and scrapbooking. I was introduced to quilting by a family friend, fell in love with sewing and immediately used my skills as a graphic designer and photographer to build a thriving pattern company. As an award-winning quilter, I have developed a reputation for breaking down quilt designs into manageable pieces for quilters of all skill levels, following my company motto, “Make it simple … but make it with style!”

I love the creativity of coming up with new designs and delight in all aspects of the pattern process from the cutting, to the stitching, to the print layout for production. I am a self-published author of 5 books , four of them all about scrap quilting. I love working with fabric companies and product companies to showcase fabrics in their best light. As a designer I am happy to meet quilters from around the world and enjoying seeing their creations from my pattern inspiration. I live in North Carolina and host an all-inclusive Quilting Retreat facility. My husband and I, and our two pups, Stan and Olly, love working from the lake and I love entertaining quilters from around the world for our 5-day retreats. From the new studio, I am able to teach quilters with online classes and YouTube videos.

You can visit me online at www.cabinquilters.com or on YouTube at www.youtube.com/cabinquilters.

Nina Snyder

Meet Nina, a retired Law Enforcement officer turned crafty maker quilter extraordinaire.

Meet Nina, a retired Law Enforcement officer turned crafty maker quilter extraordinaire. Throughout her thirty-year career, she always tailored her own uniforms, but don’t ask her to hem pants anymore, quilters don’t do that! Nina lived and worked in CA for more than 50 years and when she retired from Law Enforcement, moved to Idaho with her husband where she can sew all day long and she thinks that is fantastic.

Nina has had a sewing machine since she was very young. She still has her first machine, a mini toy singer hand crank which she used to play with as a child! She was always crafty making all kinds of things for her children, home, and gifts for friends and family. But one day in 2019 tried quilting and finally understood what her high school geometry teacher had been trying to teach with all those angles and shapes.

Nina’s first Legit Kit quilt was “The Kracken”. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, it was a no brainer. And it was purple. After that one quilt she was hooked and couldn’t wait to help others learn how to make their own Legit Kit works of art.

Nina is a skilled educator with a background in curriculum design and adult learning concepts. Her style of teaching is energetic and fun. She has a certificate on Instructor Development and Adult Learning Concepts from Santa Rosa Junior College and went on to become a CA POST Master Instructor. She attended Handiquilter retail academy and is familiar with Handiquilter and Prostitcher.

If she isn’t behind a machine, you might find her swimming laps at the rec center or walking the dog along the river; Idaho is such a pretty place to live!

www.Ten7quilting.com

Instagram: @ninaquiltedthat

Joan Ford

We're thrilled to have Joan Ford traveling with us to Japan. Read more about her below.

On February 8, 2003, Joan Ford took her first quilting class and was hooked! Since then, Joan has completed countless quilts – hundreds and hundreds. But who’s counting?!

In 2006, Joan established her company, Hummingbird Highway. She has taught workshops, featuring the popular ScrapTherapy book and pattern series which helps quilters relieve the guilt of a growing scrap fabric stash.

A thorough overview of the process is detailed in the book ScrapTherapy®, Cut the Scraps! published by The Taunton Press. Her second and third book in the Scrap Therapy series ScrapTherapy®, Scraps Plus One! patterns and ScrapTherapy, The Verstaile Nine Patch, were released by The Taunton Press in 2013 and 2017.

As an avid bird lover, Joan developed a monthly pieced pattern series called The FLOCK. A new patchwork bird kit is shipped to member quilters each month. She is currently developing new techniques and online classes to combine quilting and charted stitchery.

As owner of Hummingbird Highway, LLC, Joan designs in her home studio and office. Joan, her husband, Dave, and their pet birds live in Syracuse, New York.

Jen Wagner

We welcome Jen to the Quilting Adventures family. Read more about her below.

Hi! I’m Jen Wagner, a quilt pattern designer and instructor from Las Vegas, NV, with a background as a women’s health nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife. After decades of helping women make informed health decisions, I now have the joy of helping quilters create quilts they love.

My patterns blend modern and traditional techniques while embracing bold design and vibrant color. Teaching quilters the techniques I use in my patterns—curved piecing, reverse appliqué, and foundation paper piecing—has been incredibly rewarding. I love seeing the moment when everything clicks and they fall in love with the process.

At Snapdragon Quilting, I design quilt patterns, curate gorgeous quilt kits, and stock my favorite notions to make the quilting process smoother and more enjoyable. Our Las Vegas shop brings quilters together for classes, inspiration, and community. I’m honored to work with beautiful fabrics, tools, and threads as a BenartExpert with Benartex, an Oliso Ambassador, and a Threaducator for WonderFil, sharing inspiration, techniques, and tips with quilters everywhere.

https://www.snapdragonquilting.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@snapdragonquilting/

https://www.instagram.com/snapdragonquilting/

https://www.facebook.com/SnapdragonQuilting/

https://www.tiktok.com/@snapdragonquilting

Jean Biddick

Jean Biddick is an award-winning quiltmaker, author and teacher whose specialty is creating stunning machine-pieced masterpieces.

She is well known for her quilts inspired by mosaic tile work. Her quilts have won awards from both the American Quilter’s Society in Paducah and the International Quilt Festival in Houston. One of her miniature quilts is in the permanent collection of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. She is the author of two quilt books published by AQS.

She has been teaching quiltmaking for more than 40 years and loves to help students become more confident in their piecing skills. She started designing Mystery Quilts for The Quilter’s Market in 2006 and enjoys sharing those designs with her students.

Shirley Gubatan

Shirley Gubatan is a Certified Laura Heine Collage Instructor from Warrenton, VA.

Shirley was born and raised in the Bay Area of California and has been sewing and creating for more than 40 years. Fifteen years ago, she jumped into the quilting world with both feet! Since then, Shirley has used an array of techniques to produce numerous quilts (of various designs and patterns). For several years, Shirley has been a quilting and needlework judge at various fairs and shows. In addition to quilting, Shirley enjoys creating quilting collages and hand making bags. She is a certified Laura Heine Collage technique instructor and has taught those classes from coast to coast.

Cris Roach

As an experienced educator, Cris teaches Stripology® patterns, beginner-to-advanced Free Motion Quilting, ruler work, longarm quilting, and Pro-Stitcher classes.

Cris Roach has been quilting for over 43 years. She began her quilting journey with hand piecing and hand quilting, and as quilting techniques and technology evolved, she continued to learn, grow, and expand her skills. Over 27 years ago, she took her first Free Motion Quilting class on a domestic sewing machine and transitioned to a longarm quilting machine a few years later.

Through her business, Highview Quilts, Cris offers custom and edge-to-edge longarm quilting services. About six years ago, a client gifted her her first Stripology® Ruler, introducing her to GE Designs patterns and products. She quickly fell in love with the innovative cutting techniques and became a Certified Stripology Instructor in 2024.

In 2025, Cris published three books inspired by her teaching style and successful quilting techniques: Free Motion Quilting: Trace, Draw, and Quilt, Beautiful Borders & Sashings, and Circle Magic. She has also designed three machine quilting rulers—Circle 1, Circle 2, and 2-in-1—for ruler work on both domestic and longarm machines. In addition, she offers an online Ruler Work for Beginners class.

Cris continues to expand her creative work by designing quilt patterns that incorporate traditional piecing methods and Stripology® Friendly techniques, making innovative designs accessible to quilters of varying skill levels.

As an experienced educator, Cris teaches Stripology® patterns, beginner-to-advanced Free Motion Quilting, ruler work, longarm quilting, and Pro-Stitcher classes. She shares her knowledge and enthusiasm at Mid-Appalachian Quilters Seminar, Lancaster/Lebanon Quilt Show, Northeast Ohio Quilt Show, Mancuso’s Quiltfest Virtual School, Original Sewing & Quilting Expo, and through numerous local quilt shops, quilt guilds, and retreats.

Cris is passionate about helping quilters build confidence, develop new skills, and discover the joy of creating beautiful quilts through innovative techniques and hands-on learning.

Carla Alexiuk

Carla is a dedicated and experienced quilting instructor with over 30 years of quilting expertise and 25 years of teaching experience. Her passion for quilting is matched by her enthusiasm for sharing her knowledge, particularly in quilt design, piecing techniques, and the effective use of modern tools in quilt construction and creativity.

Leveraging her background as a retired post-secondary educator, Carla applies her extensive skills in adult education to her quilting instruction. She is committed to guiding students through every step of the quilting process. Her teaching approach is characterized by patience, organization, and a genuine enthusiasm that creates a supportive and engaging learning environment.

Carla has published 15 of her own quilt designs and is proud to serve as a Pattern Designer with Island Batik. She is also a Certified Instructor for Studio 180 Design’s tools and techniques, specializing in precision traditional piecing, and for Sew Kind of Wonderful, focussing on their No Stress/No Pins curved piecing methods. Carla’s deep knowledge and passion for quilting make her a sought-after instructor in the quilting community.