Kathy K. Wylie is coming to Quilt Canada 2017!

There is nothing more ideal than having a Canadian quilt celebrity  teach and be one of the feature evening entertainment at Quilt Canada 2017 to celebrate our 150th! Kathy Wylie is just that quilter!
If you know her or have had a workshop with her, you know exactly what we mean when we say she embodies Canadian quilting and all that it is! She teaches with the patience of a sweet mom, has the quilting knowledge compared to a genius and her quilts are exquisite, plus she excels at both hand and machine quilting! So every quilter can adore her!

If you haven't heard it yet, we know her evening lecture will sell out. So don't wait too long buying tickets.

It was fun to ask her to open up a bit so you can find out a bit more about who this amazing quilter Kathy K. Wylie really is, and why you will regret it, if you dont' take her workshops at Quilt Canada!

Tell us a bit about when you quilt, or what motivates you to do what you do.

The creative process brings me joy. I have been stitching and crafting since I was a girl, but quilting became my passion as soon as I discovered it in the spring of 1994. I guess I am motivated by that passion and by the thrill of discovery. Quilting can take so many forms, styles, genres and techniques – it just never gets old.

When do I quilt? Whenever I can ;) Winter and summer tend to be my quilting seasons; spring and fall are my teaching seasons. I like to do studio work during the day (designing, prep, machine work) and try to do a couple hours of hand work in the evening.

Tell us a bit more about your workshops that you are teaching at Quilt Canada 2017.

 106M - Designing with Diamonds in EQ7

One Half Day Workshop
Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 08:30 - 11:30
Cost: $75.00

Take your EQ7 quilt design software to new heights with five diamond design challenges: stunning kaleidoscopes, classic nosegays, pictorial pieced backgrounds and much more!

Students need to have EQ7 installed and activated and bring their own laptop. In this class, we work on five different design exercises – all featuring diamonds.

Exercise 1: Fabric Kaleidoscopes – we learn about the Fussy Cut and Rotate Fabric Tools
Depending on the fabric choice, different kaleidoscopes can be virtually created – or auditioned.

Exercise 2: Drafting an Eight Pointed Star Block – we practice using PatchDraw with the Eight-Pointed Star grid.

Exercise 3: Blocks in an Eight Pointed Star Layout – we set blocks as diamonds into an eight-pointed star layout.

Exercise 4: Variable Point Layout – we set blocks as diamonds into a Variable Point Layout

Exercise 5: Photo Patchwork – we use the Photo Patchwork tool to create a diamond background layout from a photo and add applique motifs on Layer 2.

 106A - Quick & Easy Turned-Edge Applique: The Apliquick Way!

One Half Day Workshop
Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 13:00 - 16:00
Cost: $75.00

Discover the Apliquick method for turned-edge appliqué. The innovative Apliquick tools provide unprecedented ease and precision for preparing fabric for hand or machine stitching – even miniature-sized. If you have always wanted to learn turned-edge appliqué, or struggled with it in the past, this system is for you. Apliquick rods will be available in class so you can try before you buy, but we’re sure you’ll want a set for your toolbox. Award-winning quilter Kathy K. Wylie has specialized in appliqué techniques for over ten years and she hasn’t seen anything like them!

There’s something here for everyone. For those who have never done turned-edge applique – or who have struggled with it in the past – the Apliquick method will make it very easy for them to get started and achieve excellent results. For those who enjoy turned-edge applique and have had success using other methods, Apliquick will allow them to take their applique to new heights – smaller scale, more detailed shapes. Once the applique shapes are prepared, they can be sewn by hand or by machine – appealing to both types of sewists.

 206 - Machine Cutwork: The Look of an Heirloom in a Fraction of the Time (Janome)

One Full Day Workshop
Thursday, June 15, 2017, 08:30 - 16:00
Cost: $145.00

Cutwork is a needlework technique where portions of fabric are cut out and the resulting holes are reinforced with embroidery. Learn how to create this heirloom needlework by machine in a fraction of the time.

There are four project options in this class: lacy snowflake; glittery snowflake; snowflake quilt block; stained glass snowflake.

Bring the beauty of winter indoors with one of these beautiful snowflakes!

Basically, you cut out a hole and then satin-stitch over the raw edges. The technique we will be learning in this class uses water-soluble stabilizer (like Solvy). I also teach my three-pass approach for satin stitching and how to miter the stitch to create perfect points. There are lots more photos and detailed descriptions on my blog,

 - layer two pieces of fabric wrong sides together and satin stitch over the cutouts. This creates a lacy or doily-type snowflake.

 - if you add a third layer of sheer sparkly fabric like tulle or organza, the glitter will shine through the cutouts.

 if you layer the cutwork onto a background fabric, the satin stitching appliques the snowflake into a quilt block.

 - and if you place different colored fabrics behind the cutouts, you create a stained-glass effect.

 306M - Peek-A-Boo Applique Leaf (Janome)

One Half Day Workshop
Friday, June 16, 2017, 08:30 - 11:30
Cost: $75.00

What happens when you reverse appliqué over patchwork? Peek-a-boo! Use strip piecing to create a vibrant green summer leaf, a colourful fall leaf, or even a red Canadian maple leaf. The result looks like patchwork appliqué! Use this technique to add unexpected detail to your appliqué, make exciting border designs, or transform those orphan blocks.

The concept behind Peek-a-boo Applique is using reverse applique over a patchwork block. Imagine the possibilities! The applique is done by machine, and I teach my three-pass approach for satin stitching and how to miter the stitch to create perfect points.  In this class, we will use simple strip-piecing to create a leaf block. It could be a realistic-looking leaf…

… or a patriotic maple leaf!

Once you get the concept, you can use peek-a-boo applique to use up orphan blocks or create innovative applique designs. How about a peek-a-boo heart with crazy patchwork or a peek-a-boo pineapple with a pineapple block?

406 - New Ways to Hexies: English Paper-less Piecing by Machine (Janome)
One Full Day Workshop
Saturday, June 17, 2017, 08:30 - 16:00
Cost: $145.00

Hexies – or six-sided hexagon patches – have traditionally been sewn together by hand using a technique called English Paper Piecing. But modern times have brought along new options and we will explore them in this workshop. Instead of basting hexies to paper (which needs to be removed), baste them to fusible interfacing. Instead of tracing and cutting dozens of hexies out of fusible interfacing, purchase them precut! And instead of whip-stitching the patches together by hand, sew them by machine in a fraction of the time using a 

I have been teaching how to sew hexagons together by machine for many years, including my very first time teaching at Quilt Canada in 2006! But this class has been updated in many ways including:

~ using fusible interfacing for the templates – which can stay in – rather than freezer paper, which must be removed.

~ using the Apliquick method for turning under the seam allowance

~ and arranging the hexies in other ways besides the traditional Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

Tell us something you are most proud of, it doesn’t have to be a quilting

Two years ago, while traveling in Phoenix Arizona, my husband and I decided to hike up Camelback Mountain. I only made it about half-way before I was huffing and puffing and could go no further. When we decided to return the following year, I signed up for a twelve-week training program to get in shape so I could try it again. I lost 25 pounds in the process.

What quilt are you most proud of?

Flourish on the Vine, 2011, 62” x 73”

Won the 2011 IQA Founders Award in Houston and the 2013 CQA Best of Show Award.

And what is your favourite food?

Bread! Not whole-wheat, but pretty much any other kind: multi-grain, sour dough, rye, baguettes, Montreal (the best) bagels, ciabatta… and I wouldn’t turn down a glass of wine with that!

Thanks Kathy! Are you convinced that you need one of her workshop? You should be, go here to register!

Kathy K. Wylie

She is charming and down to earth, and can make you stop in your tracks when you see her quilts.   She won what some say, is the biggest quilting award in North America, and she is Canada's own quilting sensation.  It is my pleasure to introduce Kathy K. Wylie.

Please tell us a little about yourself outside of your quilting career.

I was born and raised in Ottawa, ON. After graduating from McGill University with a business degree, I moved to Toronto to begin a career in marketing with IBM Canada. Seven years later, I resigned to stay at home and raise my family. This was when I started quilting.

I now live in Whitby, ON with my husband and two sons (when they are home from university) and enjoy spending summers at our cottage in Muskoka.

You have won numerous awards, including one of the big ones at Houston, can you elaborate on your success as a quilter?

I entered my first quilting competition in 2002, the “Great Lakes, Great Quilts” Challenge. My quilt “Lake Ontario Fan” was accepted as one of 17 finalists and came in third place. As a result of going to see the exhibit in Houston, I saw the amazing work being done by quilters around the world and what I needed to do to make my work better.

"Instruments of Praise"

I continued to enter my work into a variety of competitions, learning more about my art and craft with each one. “Instruments of Praise” received the Bernina Machine Workmanship Award at the American Quilter’s Society show in Paducah and now resides in the U.S. National Quilt Museum. “Flourish on the Vine” was honoured with the International Quilt Association Founders’ Award last fall in Houston.

"Flourish on the Vine"

Kathy, you have one book published, did I read somewhere you have another one coming out?

My first book is called Sewflakes: Papercut Applique Quilts. It was published by C&T Publishing in 2008.

C&T is also publishing Pattern Packs for my quilts “Flourish on the Vine” and “Instruments of Praise”. Pattern Packs are an ideal format for an applique quilt. Inside the glossy 8 1/2” x 12” cardboard envelope are full-size pattern drawings and a 16-page colour instruction booklet. The pattern for "Flourish on the Vine" is out now and "Instruments of Praise" will be available next June.

Tell us a little about your work as a quilt author?  

Writing a quilting book was a dream of mine. I remember attending the professional development sessions at Quilt Canada 2004 to hear the sessions on publishing and pattern designing. I had an idea; I just had to figure out what to do about it.

I downloaded the submission guidelines from two or three publishers. I decided to start with C&T Publishing because of their excellent photography and the “look and feel” of their books. Carefully following the guidelines, I completed my proposal and submitted it in June 2006. The proposal included a questionnaire, sample chapter, sample project, plus two quilt samples. It wasn’t until November that I learned that C&T had accepted my proposal!

We agreed on a deadline of May 2007, which would mean the book would be released in May 2008. There were some intense moments, but the process went smoothly for the most part. I was in a good position since most, if not all, of the quilts were already completed so I wasn’t scrambling to finish quilts and a manuscript at the same time.

Editors are great and they make my work better. Still, it was sometimes a challenge to clearly communicate the changes/edits I wanted made. It was so much easier this last time around, now that technology offers so many more options!

Writing a book is very much like making a quilt. It is a creative challenge; there is a lot of editing and problem-solving required along the way; it takes time and energy; and the end result is extremely rewarding. 

Your quilts show a lot of hand appliqué work, is this a favourite technique? 

Yes, hand applique has really emerged as my signature technique. I have always liked hand work and now that I quilt exclusively by machine, I find my quiet meditative enjoyment in the applique. I also find that I have the most control and get the best results with needle-turn applique.

Your quilts have been related to passages/terms in the Bible, is that a source of inspiration for you?

Definitely! Thank you for asking. My faith and my relationship with God are very important to me. He has given me this gift of quilting and I want to use it to honour and glorify Him.

How do you go about designing/coming up with an idea of a quilt and getting that onto fabric?

There are three main tools I use for designing:

1. Computer - I find EQ Quilt Design software very helpful for auditioning layouts, border widths, even fabrics. Some quilts have been designed exclusively in EQ; others in part. But I find it indispensable! I also use CorelDraw software for drawing, editing clip art, or manipulating images/photos.

2. Paper and pencil (and eraser!) - Sometimes it’s still easier to do it by hand - especially the hand applique motifs. I often work in combination with the computer: scanning my hand drawings or tracing my computer printouts.

3. Design wall - Here is where the actual fabrics get placed into the design. It is risky business to rely on the computer screen for this - it has to be live. I might use EQ for colour schemes, but I still want to see the actual fabrics working together on the design wall before stitching them into the quilt.

Close up of "Flourish on the Vine"

What are some of your favourite aspects of quilting?

As long as I’m being creative, I’m not unhappy. I think my favourite times are quietly stitching my applique or machine quilting my quilt into life. But I receive great joy and energy from quilters at guild meetings and students in the classroom. The challenge is finding balance between the two!

How often do you get into your studio?

Not as often as I would like! (Doesn’t everyone say this?) My strategy this fall has been working really well: I have scheduled a minimum of one day per week as studio time on my calendar. I treat it as an appointment and won’t schedule anything else on those days if I can help it.

Hand applique doesn’t require studio time and I find I am able to get in a couple hours most evenings.

If you could describe your studio in a few sentences, what would you say?  

Well, I actually have two studios…

My home studio is a room in the basement. It has two tables in the middle of the room, surrounded by book shelves filled with fabric, books, thread, notions, and tools. It is a comfortable and efficient workspace - not always as tidy as I would like.

Home Studio

My cottage studio is new, so therefore blessedly uncluttered. It has three walls of windows and is filled with natural light. It looks out over the side yard and I can even see glimpses of the lake. I am still learning how to manage the back-and-forth, but I’m not complaining about finally having a dedicated space to create in the summer months!

Cottage Studio

What is your favourite food while quilting?

Um, there’s no food while quilting! a) I couldn’t possibly eat and stitch at the same time and b) I wouldn’t want to get my quilt dirty! I do like to have a bottle of water nearby.