February Meeting – Susan Smith
February 18 @ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Susan Smith is the presenter for our February meeting. Her program is titled “Treasure Hunt.” Her presentation is a guided walk-through vintage quilt tops she has finished—each one teaching its own lesson along the way. Using a photo-rich slide show, Susan will share what she discovered quilt by quilt: decisions around cleaning, choosing edge-to-edge versus custom quilting, reinforcing fragile areas, and working with mystery fabrics with unknown fibers and dyes that sometimes bring unexpected surprises. One attendee will receive a vintage quilt top during the program!
Rather than a how-to lecture, this session follows the real learning curve—what each quilt taught her, how that informed the next decision, and how those lessons can help you approach vintage quilts with more confidence, care, and grace. We love these quilts – even when the outcome isn’t perfect.
Susan Smith is a longarm quilter, educator, and the founder of Stitched by Susan. With more than 1,400 client quilts completed, Susan brings a deeply practical, real-world approach to machine quilting, helping quilters build confidence, skill, and joy at the machine.
Known for her clear teaching style and generous sharing of hard-earned lessons, Susan specializes in free-motion quilting designs that are both artistic and practical. She teaches a wide variety of designs suited to many quilt styles, helping quilters develop confidence in their design choices while working smoothly and efficiently at the machine. Her approach emphasizes creativity supported by sound technique, rather than rigid rules.
Susan also speaks candidly about building a sustainable longarm quilting business—one that supports creativity, good systems, and a balanced life. Through workshops, trunk shows, and photo-rich presentations, she encourages quilters to trust their eye, learn from experience, and focus on quality without unnecessary complexity.
She teaches nationally and online, and her work has helped thousands of quilters feel more confident in their skills, their process, and the quilts they finish.
Visit Susan’s website: https://stitchedbysusan.com/
