Teacher Bio: Charles Johns

Charles Johns started sewing and doing needlecrafts at an early age. Whether he was making his suit for his HS graduation or tapestry needlepoint panels for an antique wooden room divider screen, he always liked to be challenged. As a young adult, he started out sewing women’s and men’s clothing, and then moved on to wedding dresses, window treatments and theatrical costumes. In undergrad college, he designed for, supervised and ran the costume shop.

In 1999 Charles moved to NYC, and three years later took his first quilting class. He was hooked. “Quilting helps me see color and prints in a new way.” He prefers machine piecing traditional quilts, but challenges himself to play with the color and fabric prints to give his quilts a little twist.

Whether he is taking a class or teaching one, Charles enjoys the classroom atmosphere. He enjoys making learning fun so the students develop an appetite to continue their education.

And he has been pleased to find many other male quilters, through these websites: manquilters.ning.com and through the Yahoo group QuiltGuy.com.

"All of my artwork is personal. It is drawn from my life and through my blog and my classes, I try very hard to encourage others to share their stories." Julie's artwork has been published in Quilting Arts Gifts, Cloth Paper Scissors, Somerset Memories, Somerset Digital, Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, Scrapbooking&Beyond, and multiple online e-zines and as a contributor to several books. She has appeared on Quilting Arts TV and she is the host of the "Artist to Artist" segment on Scrapbook Memories TV. She writes a crafty blog where she posts musings, art, tutorials, and inspiration. Julie is the Artistic Director of The Milk Can Theatre Company.

Where Does A Woman's Power Come From? Designed and made by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer	Reasons to Stay Designed and made by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer	Ribbon Cuffs Designed and made by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer	Bedtime Stories Designed and made by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Teacher Bio: Susan Sato

Third-generation Japanese American, Susan Sato has been sewing since age 14. The oldest of five children, she started by sewing her own clothes and later made clothing for her daughter, Jana. She moved from Connecticut to Brooklyn in 1986 and became a quilt-maker in 1994.

While going through an old trunk at her mother’s home about ten years ago, Susan found her grandfather’s kimono and obi with his kamon, the family crest, on it. She knew then that sewing in the traditional Japanese style was the path she wanted to follow for her quilting inspiration. Susan started quilting with Japanese fabrics, incorporating the sashiko form of hand sewing. When her own work inspired her to teach, she began with basic quilting classes in Japanese free-form design classes and branching out into Shibori and silk dyeing.

In celebration of its newly refurbished entrance, the Brooklyn Museum of Art commissioned Susan to create photo pillows for their gift shop. Her line of Japanese handbags and pillows have been sold in Brooklyn shops.

Susan teaches handbag classes for beginners that can be finished in a day. She finds this to be a great way for beginner quilters to learn how to work with a pattern and construct a bag. “I enjoy teaching beginners and the advice I have for them is patience and practice. The Brooklyn Bridge wasn’t built in a day.”

A member and past co-president of The Quilters’ Guild of Brooklyn, her work has been featured in exhibits throughout the Northeast. Keep an eye out for one of her quilts to be included in a new quilting book this summer!

Japanese Circles Designed and made by Susan Sato	Shibori Sample Designed and made by Susan Sato	Mini Modern II Designed and made by Susan Sato	Silk Handbag Designed and made by Susan Sato

Teacher Bio: Nancy Rabatin

Nancy Rabatin considers herself a dollmaker who also makes quilts. Dolls are her specialty, and everything that she has learned and done over her career contributes to their creation.

Nancy started sewing as a child in Rockland County, taught by her mother who also taught her sisters and brothers to sew. She began sewing clothing--for herself and for her Madame Alexander dolls. Her childhood ambition was to become a fashion designer. She studied at Hunter College and FIT, and has held a wide range of jobs in the fashion industry, including responsibilities for merchandising, technical design, and purchasing.

Her first foray into making dolls came in seventh grade when she made a cloth doll as part of a book report on Treasure Island. She doesn’t recall what kind of grade she received, but it was enough to get her hooked. Nancy has gone on to take many classes from well known doll-makers to further her skills, as well as drawing and anatomy classes, to add to her technical knowledge of the human figure. She says she has learned something from every teacher she has studied with, but her style is uniquely her own.

Nancy enjoys making dolls because it gives her a chance to use all of her skills, from clothing construction to embroidery, beading and felting. Consequently, she is able to bring to bear a wide variety of artistic perspectives as a teacher. She loves to see what creative things students can do on their own once they learn a technique, and how surprised they are when they see what they can produce.

She teaches all kinds of doll classes at The City Quilter, ranging from traditional cloth dolls to whimsical creatures made of stray socks and gloves. Nancy is also our resident felting expert and has taught classes in wet and dry felting.

Elfin Designed and made by Nancy Rabatin	Large Doll: Hattie Small Doll: Elsbeth Made by Nancy Rabatin	Pere Noel Designed and made by Nancy Rabatin

Teacher Bio: Barbara Feinstein

Barbara Feinstein started quilting when her sister Emily signed her up for a beginning patchwork class with Judy Doenias. That, according to Barbara, was “the beginning of the end!” As a lifelong crafter and sewing enthusiast, Barbara was a natural quilter. Like her sister, Barbara has been sewing all of her life, and also credits her mother with teaching her to sew. Barbara sewed her own clothes, as well as things for her two sons.

It’s no wonder that Barbara became a quilting teacher. Teaching has been a part of her life since college. Barbara (as well as her sister) attended the State University of New York at Cortland, where she received a BA degree in elementary education, and a BS in accounting.

Family responsibilities took her to to various places around the US and Europe, where she continued to teach, and to learn different crafts. In Sweden, she learned tie dye and macramé, and in Italy she learned to knit and became a certified knitting instructor. She also taught Swedish businessmen to speak “American” English. The class was successful, but the students all learned to speak with Brooklyn accents!

Barbara is well known at City Quilter for her love of Japanese fabric and design. One of her sons lives in Japan, and Barbara’s work has been influenced by trips to visit him and his family. She loves the challenge of adapting patterns from Japanese books and magazines to use in her classes. She likes to see students learn a new skill, and come away from the class with a finished project. 

Barbara loves traditional quilts - she’s an official Goddess, having completed an entire Dear Jane® quilt - but her creative use of fabrics gives them her own unique twist.

Her favorite hobby is - what else? - shopping for fabric in Japan!

Gates Designed and made by Barbara Feinstein	Dear Jane A reproduction of Jane A Stickle's Quilt made by Barbara Feinstein	The Red Line A Quilt "as you go" Quilt made by Barbara Feinstein

Teacher Bio: Emily Klainberg

Emily Klainberg was destined to become a quilter, since she has been sewing and doing crafts for nearly her entire life. She started young, learning to crochet at age 6 to make a beret for her doll. Her mother was a big influence for Emily, as well as for her twin sister Barbara, because, in Emily's words, "she did everything." Emily and her sister both learned a wide range of sewing techniques - in fact, all of their friends would come over for lessons as well!

Emily has also done embroidery, needlepoint, jewelry, (gold, silver and cloisonné enamel) beading, knitting and crochet. Her book, Step By Step Crochet, was published by Golden Press in 1970. (Alas, it's now out of print.)

Emily learned to quilt when a friend convinced her to help with a quilt-in-a-day type of project. She agreed. She enjoyed it so much, she decided to sign herself (and her sister) up for a beginning class with Judy Doenias. She went on to take many more classes, and then became a teacher herself.

She loves to work on, and teach a variety of topics, from hand work to art quilts, and she continues to take classes to expand her horizons. She especially enjoys teaching beginners, because she loves to see them blossom into full-fledged quilters. Her greatest joy is having a student come back after the class has ended, to buy more fabric for their next project.

Emily's fans know her for her fun classes and her easy-going approach. What they may not know is that she is also a great cook (she was once a sous-chef at a West Village bistro) and that she makes a mean cosmopolitan. When not sewing or teaching, Emily enjoys theater, ballet, and travel with her husband, Dolph.

Brush Stroke Designed and made by Emily Klainberg	Oriental Fantasy Made by Emily Klainberg	Finished Before Barbara's A reproduction of Jane A Stickle's Quilt made by Emily Klainberg

Teacher Bio: Judy Doenias

Judy Doenias came to quilting as a second career, after working for 26 years for the government. She learned to hand piece in 1987, and two years later, started teaching. As a math lover, quilting appealed to her love of geometry. As an avid knitter and needlepointer, she was also attracted to colorful fabrics and the satisfaction of handwork. Her first quilt remains unfinished, but she discovered a new obsession.

Judy’s work takes many forms. She has experimented with just about every technique, and her interests range from the most traditional topics like English Paper Piecing, Sashiko and Dear Jane, to such contemporary topics as Colourwash, Tessellations and her own particular fascination, Quilt As You Go. Her innovations in this technique, in which the blocks are pieced on a foundation of batting and backing fabric, allow her to make more quilts in less time. Not content with basic patterns, Judy has gone on to adapt designs like Drunkard’s Path, New York Beauty, and Inlaid Appliqué to Quilt As You Go. She puts her unique stamp onto easy designs like Log Cabin and Rail Fence, and her QAYG classes are always popular at The City Quilter.

Her CQ classes run the gamut from beginners (Basic Patchwork by Hand, and Hand Quilting) to advanced (Everyday Best, and the wildly popular CQ University Log Cabin) as well as such novelty topics as Fabric Crochet, Locker Hooking and Toothbrush Rugs.

She is a member and past president of Empire Quilters, and a former member of Manhattan Quilters Guild. Her teaching credits include many guilds, conferences, including Quilting By The Lake and The Great American Quilt Festival, as well as at the American Folk Art Museum.

photos by Cindy Russell	photos by Cindy Russell	photos by Cindy Russell
Tipsy Strips Designed and made by Judy Doenias	Quilt As You Go NY Beauty Designed and made by Judy Doenias	The Wanderer Designed and made by Judy Doenias

Teacher Bio: Christine Frederick Janove

FITTING IN Designed and made by Christine Janove	Postcard Designed and made by Christine Janove	Spring Applique Designed and made by Christine Janove

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Teacher Bio: Diane Rode Schneck

A Diner Ode, 1995	Rose Sampler Quilt Top, 2005 Patterns from "Rose Sampler Supreme" by Rosemary Makhan	The Late Show, 1993