Registration for the 2026 Empty Spools Seminars is opening tomorrow,  April 26 at 10 am PST and I am thrilled to be part of the top of the line group of teachers for the year 2026. My session will be in group 3, from April 19-26, 2026.

For those not familiar with Empty Spools: It is a quilting retreat in Asilomar, CA. Quilters and teachers gather for 5 weeks and each teacher provides a five day workshop. Can you believe it? 5 days!! Five days of talking and working with fabric and color, combined with a great social program in the evenings. Asilomar is located  right on the beautiful West Coast and apparently walking along the coastline is something not to be missed. Excellent food, comfortable beds....sounds lovely, not? Quilters with the same passion are working and being together, and I have heard many stories of lasting friendships that started at Empty Spools. There are people who return every year, there are people who had a visit to Empty Spool on their bucket list and will come for the first time. I know some Houston "Agamy Stripe" students said that they had been often and they will take my Freestyle Color Collage class at Empty Spools. 

It is my first time teaching here. Such an honor!  This June it has been 3 years that I sold my fabric shop and  since then my teaching has become an amazing journey on its own. Empty Spools is not only one of the top places to take classes, it is also the top place to teach classes. Not an ordinary retreat, but a special place where people like to work with the best in fiber art.

Quilters that I have admired for years are teaching here and many of their classes will sell out fast. Mine is probably going to take a while as there is a difference between Jane Sassaman, Kathy Doughty, Irene Blanck (and other big names) and Carly Mul.  We will see, it's nice to be a newbie somewhere! There are the absolute top international teachers and there are many teachers who I know from other national quilt shows and Virginia. The organisation is always looking for new teachers, so it makes sense to see some very well known names and names that you are not familiar with yet. Everyone has a very specific skill/style and an excellent teaching referral, otherwise they wouldn't be invited. 

You can take a great variety of classes from traditional quilting classes to art classes. Collage of course, as well. Some are very strict and some are very open. There is something for everyone, for sure.  Just to browse the variety of classes is already a lot of fun. In total there will be five weeks and in every week you will have the choice of eight, nine teachers. That also means that the evenings will have opportunities to connects with students and teachers from other groups. Teachers will present a show and tell and that by itself sounds like such a treat to me!

In case you think that 5 days is a long time: Yes, it is!  That's why this is so special. We can explore everything that comes up and talk about balance and keeping the tension in a bigger work, replacing sections, changing the feel of the colors etc.  All these things require looking at a work over and over again, discussing what you want to achieve or getting suggestions how to look at it in a different way. Brainstorming really and that will be such a luxury to have. Things I deal with when I make my own quilts, but that I can't bring up in one or two day classes. It takes me about two-three weeks to do the design of a collage, so I think 5 days will still not be enough to go home with a finished quilt, but we will be getting quite far. A quick student can always start the quilting process, which of course will be discussed as well.

Check out the Empty Spools' website and I'm sure you will understand why I am so excited for this opportunity.