Connie Teaches Quilting

Connie Bowles, a member of the Peninsula Quilters Guild of San Mateo, California for nearly two decades, has taught at quilt shops in the San Francisco Bay Area and at the Kauai Quilt Guild. She has been quilting since 2002, and the thing she likes best about quilting is being inspired by new patterns, techniques and, of course, fabric. Connie enjoys sharing her love of quilting and her skills with all levels of quilters. She is open to holding individual or group classes.

Beginning Quilting

I began making quilts and quilted items around 2002 and was astonished to find it so fun and fulfilling. Alex Anderson had a wonderful show on the educational channel and, as I was working full time, I would tape her shows and watch and learn in the evenings after work.

After many years of taking classes, making quilts and quilted items, I began teaching people, new to the art, how to get started. The class features all the steps from knowing how to read a pattern, what to know before purchasing your fabric, prepping fabric and right through to adding the binding and label. My classes also cover terms, tools, and techniques.

Ricky Tims' Harmonic Convergence

I fell in love with Ricky Tims' Convergence Quilts, and so will you! You will be surprised how fast it is to create something that looks so complex but is surprisingly easy and fun using only four fat quarters or one yard of a hand-dyed cotton fabric. I love teaching this workshop as everyone has a great time and usually walks away with a completed top. As Ricky Tims says, ".....these quilts create themselves." All skill levels welcome.

Happy Wonky Quilt

I would like to share my method for making tipsy blocks which creates movement across the quilt. It’s easy to piece, and the result will be a quilt that will make you smile. Though it may look complicated, once you get into the rhythm, it’s simply fun. So, grab your fat quarters and let’s create some joy.

One Block Wonders and One Block Wonders Cubed

Maxine Rosenthal wrote One-Block Wonders and partnered with Joy Pelzmann to publish One-Block Wonders Encore! These two books provide the basics of making hexagons and cube shapes.

In my class, we will use a fabric with either swirled designs or large-scale print, avoiding small prints, prints with lines or a lot of blank spaces. The larger the print the less the finished blocks will resemble the original fabric, which is the result you want, and will be full of delightful surprises.