Lectures & Workshops
Lectures & Trunk Shows
Zoom Lectures Now Available!
I am excited about being able to visit guilds via Zoom that I would not have had the chance to work with before. The Zoom lectures save guilds on average $1,500 in travel, shipping, and lodging costs.
Available Lectures
Five Inch is a Cinch - Available in May 2021
How Nickel Quilts Are Created –This trunk show is sure to get quilters fired up about using 5" squares of fabric and many of the ideas can also be adapted for using other precuts; such as 2 1/2" strips and layer cakes. I'll show a great assortment of quilts from my collection and we focus on the blocks in the quilts and the simple components they are made from.
Quilts for all skill levels will be shown. One of my favorite things to do is to design a quilt using simple piecing and have the result look like a much more intricate quilt! This is the lecture I recommend for my first virtual presentation with a guild, but of course you can choose whichever one you like.
Fabulous Nickel Borders Lecture - Available in January 2021
Turn a nice quilt into a WOW quilt by adding easy-to-piece Nickel Borders. In this lecture we focus on easy to piece borders that are made from 5" squares. I will show many of my quilts that have pieced borders and I walk you through my method of “auditioning” borders for a quilt.
We have all been there; the inside of the quilt top is done and now what do I do for a border. This lecture will give you many ideas to choose from and allow you to awaken a whole new level of creativity. I have loved designing pieced borders over the years and adding them to my quilts. My book, Nickel Quilts & Borders contains 260 pieced border ideas and I look forward to sharing many of them with you during the lecture!
Fees and more information
My normal Zoom lecture fee is $450.00 for 2021 however, if you have a guild membership of less than 75 members I can offer you a discounted fee of $350.00 for 2021.
My lectures will involve a time investment on my part to create of about 150-175 hours for each lecture. These Zoom lectures will not just be a trunk show of my quilts, they will be more of a seminar, an opportunity for your guild members to gain inspiration as well as tools that will benefit them for many years in their quilting journey.
Workshops are currently not available in Zoom format
I offer a wide variety of workshops, many of which are based on the quilts featured in the Nickel Quilts books. Seven of the workshops are designed so that construction techniques (or units) common to more than one quilt are taught and the student is able to choose from two or more quilts. All workshops are full day (6 hrs), however I am more than happy to discuss tailoring a workshop to fit your needs.
For information on fees please e-mail Pat Speth at Pat@PatSpeth.com.
Combined Workshops
Click on any of the quilts to see larger pictures.
Half Square Triangles and Four Patches
- Quilts Taught: 15 patterns
- Rated: All skill levels.
- Featuring: Jewel Box, Northern Lights, Sunny Lanes, Mount Hood, Flying Home from Bali Bali, Beach Party, Shoo Fly, Jacob's Ladder, Path and Stiles, Idaho Beauty, Churn Dash, Heritage Trail, Market Square, Hickory Hills and Texas Two Step.
These units could be considered the cornerstones of quilting. Simple sewing and cutting techniques will turn your 5" squares into many great quilts. You can choose from 14 different quilts to make. Once you play with these units on a design wall you may come up with a new block of your own! You will also learn how to make 2 different sizes of nine patches from 5" squares and sew a mystery block! A handout will be given and discussed on how to make your pieced border fit your quilt top.
Flying Geese Units
- Quilts Taught: 4 patterns
- Rated: All skill levels.
- Featuring: Dutchman's Puzzle, Stars Over Mitford, King's Crown,and Delta Star.
We will construct this unit with the sew & flip method. No triangles to cut or bias to work with! Pat will show you several great borders using these units. A handout will be given for a second method for making flying geese from 5" squares. Another handout will be given and discussed on how to make your pieced border fit your quilt top.
Small Wonders
- Quilts Taught: 8 patterns
- Rated: Easy to intermediate, not for beginners.
- Featuring: Tillie's Treasure, All That Glitters, Butterfly Waltz, Star and Hourglass, Star and Crown, South Dakota Star, Flying X and Prairie Gems
Once you start with these units you won't want to stop. Simple sewing and cutting techniques will turn your 5" squares into these remarkable units without cutting any triangles or working with bias. A handout will be given and discussed on how to make your pieced border fit your quilt top.
Picket Fence Units
- Quilts Taught: 5 patterns
- Rated: All skill levels.
- Featuring: Millennium Star, Pinwheels on Parade, Woodland Clover, Chesapeake, and Dawn to Dusk
The picket fence unit is made with the sew & flip method. No triangles to cut or bias to work with. You will receive a handout that includes 39 design variations on the Millennium Star block that are created by rotating and substituting the block components. Pat will show you many great borders using these units. A handout will be given and discussed on how to make your pieced border fit your quilt top.
Shaded Four Patch
- Quilts Taught: 4 patterns
- Rated: Easy to intermediate, not for beginners.
- Featuring Shaded four Patch, Brave World, Rocky Road to Dublin and Steamboat Springs.
Working with any fabric combination, we will turn 5" squares into this versatile unit. Before sewing these units together, you will want to play with them on a design wall to see what other fabulous quilts you can design. A handout will be given and discussed on how to make your pieced border fit your quilt top.
Hourglass
- Quilts Taught: 4 patterns
- Rated: Easy to intermediate, not for beginners.
- Featuring: Big Dipper, Texas Star, Mystery Flower Garden and Sea Breeze.
In this workshop you will learn the easy and accurate sewing method for this very versatile unit. The hourglass unit has four triangles in it, but we will make it without cutting any! By sewing first and then cutting, we eliminate working with the bias. I will show you several great borders using these units. A handout will be given and discussed on how to make your pieced border fit your quilt top.
Combination Units
- Quilts Taught: 7 patterns
- Rated: Easy to intermediate, not for beginners.
- Featuring: Labor Day Madness, Pinwheel, Labor Day Stars, Sugar Bowl, Minnesota Windmill, Liberty Star and Pinwheel Promenade.
In this workshop you will learn the easy and accurate sewing method for this very versatile unit. The combination unit has 3 triangles in it but we will make it without cutting any! By sewing first and then cutting we eliminate working with the bias. Pat will show you several great borders using these units. A handout will be given and discussed on how to make your pieced border fit your quilt top.
Nickel Mania Workshop
- 79 quilts to choose from!
Nickel Quilts are perfect for retreats or two day workshops, where the same students are in the class for two days. With a 2 workshop minimum fee, I teach what I call "Nickel Mania". In Nickel Mania I teach all the units offered in my separate workshops and the participants are able to make any of the quilts from my books and patterns.