Ron Collins - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Ron Collins is Canada’s best known sewing personality and is adored as a designer, speaker and teacher. He is the first male Canadian Designer to have his own line of patterns with Vogue, which premiered in March 2017. Sandra Betzina, Power Sewing icon, and Ron have produced 12 DVD’s including an tailoring for both men and women. Since 2009 they have filmed over 240 on-line web shows called Power Sewing which has received great reviews. He is talented, hardworking and handsome - an absolute natural! Lucky for us he also loves to teach.
Liz Thompson - Vancouver, B.C
Liz has been a passionate sewer since the age of 9. More than 30 years ago she started quilting as “therapy” to ease homesickness after a move far away from where she grew up. She never looked back after that – sewers & quilters truly are super friendly and supportive around their common passion! Her fav sewing is applique/quilting; machine embroidery, garment sewing including bras & other lingerie. She recently retired from a long career in the sewing industry and continues to share her sewing and quilting skills through her sewwithliz.com business. Liz is a proud Canadian living in Vancouver, BC – although she does have a different accent!
Jeanette Poisson - Vanderhoof, British Columbia
Jeanette has been sewing since she can remember and began sewing bras in 2011. In 2013 she completed the Professional Bra Making with Bra Makers Supply. Since then she has been assisting Beverly Johnson with a number of classes including the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference. 2018 She began teaching the Beginner bra classes at the conference. Having Beverly as a mentor has greatly increased her bra making techniques & fitting skills. She teaches bra making, swimwear and lingerie drafting, fitting and sewing techniques to students in Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Northern Alberta. There is nothing better than seeing a student's eyes light up with a great fitting bra they made themselves.
Dianne Jansson - Pritchard, British Columbia
After attaining an Australian Degree in Home Economics and Teaching dressmaking for many years in Australia and Canada the last 25 years have seen Dianne's focus change to quilting technique, rather than artistic design is the basis for most of her machine piecing workshops with colours playing a strong role. Dianne believes that quilting is meant to be a pleasurable activity and encourages students to adapt designs to suit their own needs.
Jan Bones - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Jan is a teacher, author & designer. Teaching is an inspiring & amazing part of her life. Jan knows The Saskatchewan Stitches Conference is the place for all to share ideas, meet new friends & have fun working hard!
For 31 years Jan taught pattern design, garment construction, pattern drafting, tailoring, draping & fitting at the University of Manitoba. She continues to enjoy educating classes of enthusiastic clothing design students at Rev Rive College, located in Winnipeg.
In 1994 Jan started her sewing pattern company "Linger Secrets & there are over 40 designs to fit ladies in all shapes & sizes! Jan travels across Canada & the United States, to have the joy of teaching sewing enthusiasts in seminars, hands on workshops & weekend retreats. Family (including happy perfect grandchildren, aged 10, 16 & 24), volunteer work and summer time at the cottage keep her busy and joy filled.
Ana Buzzalino , Calgary Alberta
Ana Buzzalino is a creator, maker, fibre and mixed media artist, surface designer, teacher and lecturer. Her love of layers and texture combine in her original work. She achieves results using a combination of different surface design techniques such as monoprinting, hand-painting, free-motion stitching and hand-stitching, amongst others to achieve the effects she’s searching for. Her work has won numerous awards at national and international shows. She is a frequent contributor to Quilting Arts Magazine and A Needle Pulling Thread. She was named Quilter of Distinction at Heritage Park in 2019 and appeared in The Quilt Show in 2022.
A lot of her work for the past few years has used aspects of history with an impact on our culture today. In the current climate where everything is new, instant and shiny, history has relevance; old buildings have a soul that modern buildings do not possess. She finds herself returning to those old buildings to look at the marks of passing time.
Ana’s latest work focuses on old, decaying buildings. Structures that show the ravages of time. Weathered wood, rusted metal, peeling paint. The work takes on various shapes and forms to draw the viewer in. The layered elements are used to give the impression of time passing, buildings deteriorating, disappearing slowly to make room for the new.
She hopes to make visible what is overlooked as old and obsolete and give back the beauty to these old buildings.
Ana is the founder and CEO of Create2Flourish, a program to help quilters, textile and mixed media artists avoid frustration and overwhelm and find their own voice so they can create art in their own style. Ana is currently teaching online from her studio in Calgary, Alberta.
Brett Lewis - Edmonton, Alberta
Relatively new to the world of quilting, having bought his first sewing machine in 2016, Brett has completed over 70 quilts, attended multiple International Quilt Markets, pattern tested for international-renowned designers, been featured on quilting podcasts, CBC Radio, CTV, and in international quilting magazines. He has created his own original quilt patterns and fabric designs, been featured in the 2022 and 2024 Quilter’s Planner, is a BERNINA Canada Ambassador and developed Artist’s Palette thread collections with Wonderfil Specialty Threads. His debut fabric collection, Stag and Thistle, for Northcott Fabrics, launched in the fall of 2019, Prairie Meadow in the fall of 2021, Wild in the fall of 2022, Water’s Edge in fall 2023, and his fifth collection Ornithology in January 2025.
Wendy van der Walt - Brandon, Manitoba
For over 22 years, Wendy has been in the business of making colorful dreams come true! For the first 15, Wendy was the Creator and Faerie Godmother of Faeries from the Prairies, a costume and clothing manufacturer you might have seen at a Canadian Craft sale near you.. Currently, Wendy is the Chief Creative Shenanigator and Hand Holder at Fabriculous Fresh Modern Fabrics in Manitoba. Opening in early 2012, Fabriculous has expanded and evolved to include two location, shows and teaching engagements across western Canada, as well as legendary retreat hosting! Wendy and her husband George have also developed their own line of Collage, Bag Making and Quilting designs and patterns under the Fabriculous banner. The heart of the business, as well as the energy behind the growth has been Wendy's enthusiasm and excitement for taking projects that seem intimidating and dauting, and making them fun, fast and accessible to everyone. "you can do this!" is her favorite thing to say!
Melissa Marginet - Beausejour, MB.
Melissa grew up next door to her wonderful grandmother, whom she credits for her creative life. She caught the quilting bug in 2001 when she took a Log Cabin class to get rid of some fabric she had laying around. Needless to say she has way more fabric laying around now than she did back then. She loves to teach and enjoys sharing her knowledge and inspiring others. She is a DIY quilter from beginning to end and encourages her students to do the same. She has published two books "Walking Foot Quilting Designs" and "Edge to Edge Walking Foot Quilting Designs".
Shelley Tobisch - Saskatoon, SK
Shelley Scott-Tobisch discovered her love of quilting after immigrating to Canada from the United States in 1986. The desire to share her passion for quilting led her to begin a teaching career soon after. Shelley's love of scrap quilts, pursuit of precision and desire to make it more easily attainable led to the development of the techniques and tools used in the Easy Precision Piecing System. Shelley is the author of Easy Precision Piecing and with her husband, Bernie cofounded Little Oak Pattern Co. Ltd. in 2011. Together they have deve4loped Acorn Precision Piecing products for the Easy Precision Piecing System.
Bernie Tobisch - Saskatoon, Sk.
Bernie was born in Germany and moved to Canada as a young boy. He grew up in Saskatchewan and moved to Alberta in his early twenties, where he began his career as a sewing machine technician with Singer. He became a dealer after a few years and continued to service machines. In the late 1980's he moved to the Vancouver region, opened up shop where he remained until he recently moved back to Saskatchewan. Together with his wife, Shelley, they have worked together for the last twenty years teaching classes.
Michelle Miller - Bienfait, Saskatchewan
Inspired by nature she is renowned for creating works of art out of recycled wood, fabric, metal, glass and more. Unafraid to try something out of the ordinary. Her unique creations are always in demand. Once exposed to rug hooking she quickly developed a love for primitive designs and enjoys sharing her talent and passion. Tow of her designs have bee featured in a A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine.
Bonny Voice, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Bonny is a self described fabricoholic and she loves t quilt and sew. A well spent day for is one spent in her sewing room designing and making her next quilted project. Bonny's been teaching, sewing and quilting for most of her adult life She has taught across Western Canada, at four Quilt Canada Conferences and at the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference since it inception in 2003. Her work has been exhibited in numerous shows and galleries.
Sarah Rorquist - Lloydminster, Alberta
Sarah is an avid crafter and quilter. Her love for technology has lead to her love of creating projects using the Artistic Edge Cutter. She has made numerous unique T-shirts, for her family and friends, along with water bottles, painted signs and other decorations as gift.
Amanda Brown - Hamilton Ontario
Amanda is a vibrant force in the quilting world, living her colorful creative life in the Hamilton, ON suburbia. After discovering quilting in 2010, she traded seven years of science-focused education for a career built on creativity and connection.
As the founder of the Canadian Modern Quilt Collective and a sewing educator for Janome Canada, Amanda inspires Quilters and Sewists across the country to embrace bold colors, intricate designs, and their own creative journeys. Whether teaching workshops or traveling to share her passion, Amanda is dedicated to helping others overcome creative fears and find joy in modern sewing.
