Florida Quilt Network

Mary-Jeanine's Classes

photo by Roger Copeland

Mary-Jeanine has been presenting her guild programs and workshops for Florida quilt guilds since 2012. She has enjoyed teaching quilting for over 20 years, and has many students who take whatever class she is teaching next! Below are listed some of her most popular classes. However, if you see something in her gallery that you'd like her to teach, please ask.

Monthly Free 'Tips, Tools & Techniques Club'

 

Mary-Jeanine hosts a free Club each month at The Sewing Studio in Maitland. Current we are running the Tips Tools & Techniques Club face-to-face at 10am on the 4th Saturday, plus virtually at 1pm on the 4th Saturday on Facebook Liveor Youtube.. Mary-Jeanine brings her 30-plus years of sewing and quilting to inspire her listeners with tips, tools to make life easier, and techniques you may not have seen.

In addition, the store offers doorprizes and a 15% shopping discount on the items Mary-Jeanine talks about that day.

Quilt Guild Lectures

StashBuster Lecture/Demo (1, 1.5 or 2 hours)

Mary-Jeanine has been making 2 Stashbuster quilts and 1 quick project each month for a lecture series at The Sewing Studio. With this content, Mary-Jeanine offers quilt guild lecture around the state of Florida! Mary-Jeanine demonstrates how each project is made, shares her written instructions for some, and sells patterns for the rest. This has been a very popular series of lectures.

Each time she comes to your organization, she will bring all-new quilts and quick projects to inspire you to delve into your stash!

All lectures come with handouts for all participants.

Here are some reviews after the first Stashbuster Lecture on Zoom:

  • Your presentation was informative and fun.  You explained the free patterns you gave us and shared tips for making the quilts.  I learned some new tips and know I'll be using your tip for ensuring triangle points are matched.  The presentation was interactive with members asking questions.  You welcomed and encouraged discussion and everyone's questions.   Definitely well worth the time. ~Anne
  • I really enjoyed your presentation.  I thought you did an excellent job and I look forward to seeing  more in the future until the pandemic is over. I then look forward to attending more of your classes in person ~Glennda
  •  I loved your presentation.  You and your family did a great job!! ~Brenda
  • I just wanted to say another big thank you for presenting to our Guild on Zoom last week. It was extremely well received.  I thought your technology worked well, sound was good; your presentations were clear.  ~Pat
  • Mary-Jeanine presented a scrap buster workshop on Zoom for the Lake County Quilt Guild recently. Her quilts are perfect for both new and experienced quilters and her presentation adapts well to the Zoom format. But BEWARE! Her enthusiasm is catching! ~Laurel

Please send an email and we are glad to work with you and your guild for Mary-Jeanine to visit for a guild lecture and/or workshop.

Quilt Classes

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Layer Cake Lean-to (3 or 5 hours)

Start with a stack of 10" squares (or a Layer Cake), slice and dice a few times to get all your 'logs' and then its time to shuffle your fabrics and sew them back together. Quick and easy if you know a few of the tricks! You'll get the same number of blocks as the number of fabric squares you started with.

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Birthstone Gems (3 or 5 hours, or 2+ days)

Please see my other website to learn all about these wonderful gems. I haven't been this excited about a series of designs in a long time!! They are just breathtakingly beautiful!

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Dream Big Tablerunner (5-6 hours)

This workshop is all about cutting and fusing. The sewing comes in just for the binding (and FMQ of course). Using a beautiful Dream Big panel means your colors are automatically coordinated. Learn some neat tricks for staying organized with all the pieces, color placement, and machine quilting it. The pattern calls for 6 feathers to make a Bed Runner, but you can make yours like mine and just do the 3 feathers.

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Kira (5-6 hours)

Starting with 10” coordinated pre-cut fabrics means you’re that much closer to a beautiful quilt top. You can also use yardage for this pattern. Kira is a surprisingly easy pattern, even though it looks quite complicated. You will learn how to use the Stripology Ruler, saving time and improving your accuracy.

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Improv Trees (5-6 hours)

Not a big fan of exact seam allowances? These Improv trees are just the ticket...make them short and fat, tall and skinny, throw in some non-Christmassy fabrics just for fun. I actually used thrifted mens cotton shirts for this quilt, which is another option.

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Penquin Party/Swan Island/Koalas (6 hours)

Choose to make either ‘Swan Island’, ‘Penguin Party' or 'Koalas', patterns from designer Elizabeth Hartman. All designs use the same techniques: quarter inch seams and snowball corners. I have good tips for both types of seams, plus suggestions on staying organized with all the little pieces to be cut and sewn.

 

 

 

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Norway Quilt (3 or 5 hours)

A great quilt for beginners, you can make it scrappy like mine or just a few colors. Learn efficient and successful ways to cut, press, sew. I've got TONS of tips and techniques to help you along the way. (Requires purchase of the pattern from Thimble Blossoms.)

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Jelly Roll Rug (3 hours)

An enjoyable 3 hours, learning how to turn strips and batting into a useful piece of art! Each student will make a small version of this rug (mug rug? trivet?) to learn all the steps to making this fun project. (Requires purchase of the pattern from RJ Designs)

Kissy Kissy Garden Trails Purple Bliss Tabebulia

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16-patch Choice (3 or 6 hours):

Each student can choose to make one of these five different quilts, all based on the simple 16-patch block. Each student will get instructions (written and verbal with demos) for all five quilts, but will concentrate on one of quilts during the class.

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A Maze Zing Quilt (3 or 6 hours)

Great for busting that stash of jelly rolls, the student will learn a great way to sew long strips together with NO pins, and NO curves to press out. Its almost magic, it works so well!

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Radiant HST Star (3 hours)

Usually these Radiant Star quilts are made with diamond patches.   However, my redesign with triangles means it's a much easier quilt to make. Promise!

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Machine Quilting (6 hours)

After 18 years of teaching this class, Mary-Jeanine has compiled the most complete collection of information, tips, techniques and samples for this very thorough class.  Includes discussion of batting choices, thread choices, needle choices, 3 ways to baste a quilt, how to mark a quilt, how to come up with a quilting design, tools you can't live without (and which ones can be found at the hardware store), resources for inspiration, troubleshooting and much more.  You will leave with a full brain and an enthusiasm to practice, practice, practice!

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Faux Log Cabin Spiral & Faux Log Cabin Barn (3 or 6 hours)

Because of the high contrast of lights and darks, this block looks like a log cabin, but it is much quicker and easier to make.  Be sure to have lights and darks, no mediums.  This block is easier with fat quarters or yardage, even though it look like scrappy strips. A very popular class with a handout.

KissyKissy
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Kissy Kissy (3 hours)

This quilt utilizes two different blocks: a 16-patch and an 'X' block. Mary-Jeanine has some original techniques to create these classic building blocks. This can be done very scrappy, or with 5 or 6 coordinating fabrics, as you see in this example. Mary-Jeanine's self-published pattern comes free for each student.

Strip Twist
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Strip Twist (3 hours)

Using your collection of coordinating (or not!) 2.5" strips, these blocks go together fairly quickly as long as you follow a few important steps. You will also learn a handytechnique for sewing and pressing long strips. This design comes to us from Bonnie Hunter as a free pattern.

Color Slabs
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Color Slabs (3 or 6 hours)

From the very popular Sunday Morning Quilts book, this fun class gives us the opportunity to really dive into our scraps to make a beautiful quilt. In this class you will learn about color and values; the sewing is easy. Bring your scraps or purchase a few fat quarters. We can do some scrap trading in class to get lots of interesting value changes. You will make a few 'slabs' of color (12" or 15"blocks) in the class, and Mary-Jeanine will give you some tips on efficient sewing and color arranging for the blocks and for the quilt.

Rose Bag
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Rose (3 hours)

This is an orignal design that can be used to decorate a tote bag, pillow, or create many rose blocks for a quilt. We will actually spend the 3 hours on making the rose block, but if you want to go 6 hours, Mary-Jeanine can teach the Easy Tote, described below.

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MJ's Easy Tote (3 hours)

You don't need to buy a new pattern everytime you want to make a tote bag. Mary-Jeanine will guide you through the basic building blocks of any tote: handles, pockets, lining, boxing the bottom corners, closures and finishing. She brings lot of examples of various styles and options. What a great gift idea! No pattern needed, but Mary-Jeanine has a free outline/handout for each student.

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Happy Stars (5-6 hours)

Uses Mary-Jeanine's self-published pattern. She gives lots of options for creativity with this pattern and class. Choose your outline (flat piping or pieced), number of colors in each block (either 2 or 6). This is a great pattern for those coordinating 6-packs of fat quarters we all buy and then don't know how to use. Pattern is an extra $7.

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Perky Pinwheels (3 or 6 hours)

Uses prairie points to create 3-D pinwheels. Also a self-published pattern by Mary-Jeanine, the 3-D pinwheels is a technique you can use in lots of other quilts to add texture and interest. Pattern is an extra $7.

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Stack 'n Whack (6 hours)

Mary-Jeanine is the Stack 'n Whack Queen (going on 14 quilts so far!) and will share all the tricks you will need to create your own masterpiece. This is a classic pattern, and the joy of seeing the blocks come together never gets old.

Teaching Fees: Contact Mary-Jeanine to discuss classes for your guild. If your venue is more than one hour from Mary-Jeanine's home in Maitland, she prefers to spend the night. This can be a hotel stay or a home stay (no cats please). $.58 cents per mile is also charged.

And finally, a few nice comments from my students to share with you ...

your class was really great, I especially liked some of the basics you threw in.  I think my stitches are much improved after using your 1.5" trick. ~Sue

You gave an Excellent lecture and workshop for our guild! The entire guild was
enthralled with your teachings - which goes to show you can teach old dogs/gals new tricks! What
a Blessing! On behalf of us all - MANY THANKS!!

Loved your class. So happy Alice and Ginger invited me, and might I say after seeing and hearing everything you do
You are amazing.
Thank you again, Happy Thanksgiving and see you that Saturday. ~Connie

Hi Mary-Jeanine, Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your program at our guild meeting
It was one of the best programs we have had.
You actually explained "how" to do something. And the hand out was great! :).
Thanks again! Nan

Thank you so much for the excellent class you recently taught at The Sewing Studio.
I learned so much valuable information, not only about the course's title subject, machine quilting,
but also about so many important aspects of quilting in general.
You are a delight.

If you teach something other than what I have taken from you, please let me know. I'd love
to join you! I think you're a knowledgeable & keen teacher.

I just want to say you are a delight to work with.
I appreciate all your attention to detail and prompt response.
Just a little praise for this Wednesday morning!

Not only did I enjoy & learn new tricks in your class, you have made a
believer out of me & I am soooo glad I had the opportunity to play hooky
from work and join you! Thank you ever so much!!!

Thank you once again for an awesome class. I am thrilled and excited about continuing
my new endeavor in free motion quilting. You have no idea how I feared it.
THANKS!!! And thanks to Ms. Judy for recommending you to me.

I really enjoyed the Stack & Whack class and your patience and helpfulness with us all. I look forward to doing another class
with you and hope you have a great trip out west this summer.

I did enjoy the class today very much...
you are a great teacher & make it all seem like fun too!

Enjoyed your program, as I did the first one. You are informative, entertaining,
and a hoot to watch. Thank you for coming to our guild. Hope you do it again in the future.

ES, St. Pete