Have you met Claudia Porter? She is a self-taught quilter of 30 years, who turned her part-time hobby into a full-time business called Create with Claudia. Her blog and YouTube channel focus on quilting projects, patterns, fabric crafts and other tips. She sells a number of her designs in her Etsy shop. In October of 2020 she was named YouTube’s Creator of the Day and in March of 2022 she was named one of YouTube’s Women Creators on the Rise celebrating International Women’s Day. Today, you can find Claudia’s patterns in such quilting magazines as Make Modern and Quiltmaker.

Please, say hello to Leah Malasky at Quilted Delights! Leah started quilting about 25 years ago when her children were very young. She taught herself through books, online tutorials/videos, and through lots of trial and error. What started as a hobby has turned into a passion! She loves all things quilt-related and enjoys sharing her passion with others. A few years ago she started a beginner quilt class in her area hoping to help others find their quilting passion. Today she has patterns published in such magazines as McCall’s Quilting and Fons & Porter Love of Quilting and continues to share valuable quilting tips and inspiring the community!

Are you following our Greek Ambassador, Mania Hatziioannidi from Mania for Quilts? Mania started dealing with crafts at the age of 6-7. In the beginning, it was cross stitch, embroidery, crochet, and knitting. She moved on by attending classes and got the opportunity to extend her knowledge to more advanced techniques. Mania speaks four languages beyond Greek, which helped her communicate online with many teachers and crafters from around the world and follow many blogs and sites. At the same time, she was dealing with every craft, extending her knowledge to candle making, sewing, furniture remake, mosaic, micro-weaving, felting, and she entered the magic world of quilting. Her previous professional experience and her willingness to transfer her knowledge drove her to be a quilting teacher.

Please welcome another member of the Island Batik Ambassador family! Susan Deshensky of Lady Blue Quilt Studio is an award winning quilter and designer with patterns, published in numerous magazines including Quiltmaker, Fons and Porter Love of Quilting, Quick & Easy Quilts and McCall’s Quilting. A Certified Instructor for Quiltworx Judy Niemeyer Quilting, Susan is also a life member of the American Needlepoint Guild and Embroiderers’ Guild of America. Susan loves to teach and is available for in person or Zoom classes/lectures. She resides in the metropolitan New York City area with her husband and dog.

Give a warm welcome to Pamela Boatright at PamelaQuilts! As a self-taught quilter, she takes great pleasure in motivating fellow quilting enthusiasts on their creative journeys, generously imparting practical advice along the way. Right from the beginning, Pamela has relished the art of quilt design, finding immense satisfaction and excitement in the fusion of traditional blocks and techniques to craft fresh and captivating designs. Beyond her larger projects, Pamela also finds joy in the intricacies of miniature quilting, embracing quick and efficient methods like strip piecing, all while expanding her repertoire of tools to enhance her precision and speed.

It’s time to introduce another wonderful member of the Island Batik Ambassador family! Brenda Alburl, the creative mind behind Songbird Designs, has been quilting and sewing most of her life. She discovered quilting and sewing as a child, being taught by her grandmother to enjoy needlework. She would watch and help her grandmother draft patterns on cardboard boxes from her grandparents’ country store and stitch up quilts using feed sack fabrics from livestock feed! When her daughter was young, Brenda took a “real” quilting class and was hooked again! She continues to try new techniques to hone her quilting skills and enjoys designing her own quilts using the Electric Quilt software.

Have you met Suzy Webster at Websterquilt? She’s been an Island Batik Ambassador for 7 and a half years and we’ve seen lots of amazing quilts she has created in that role! Suzy has been quilting since age eight when she arranged some scrap triangles and told her mother, “You should sew it like this.” One of the things Suzy loves about quilting is that the design possibilities and fabric choices are endless. She has been entering competitions since college and has many quilt show ribbons to her credit including Road to California, Machine Quilter’s Exposition, The American Quilter’s Society Shows, and International Quilt Festival. Suzy loves to piece, appliqué, and free-motion machine quilt, design mystery quilts and patterns, as well as teach and give trunk shows of her quilts.

Have you met Denise? She’s been with us since 2019 and we love all of the gorgeous projects she has created in her role as an Island Batik Ambassador ever since! Denise has spent more than half of her life trying to recreate the feeling she felt the first time sleeping under a quilt her grandmother made. “That quilt, along with everything around me inspires my creativity, though the finish rarely resembles the inspiration.“ She is a self taught quilter behind Quiltery-For the Love of Geese and a pattern designer who revels on pushing the boundaries of her ability and creativity. Her patterns have been published in Annie’s Catalog as well as Island Batik fabric catalogs. She and her husband of 31 years enjoy the solitude of living high above the Mississippi River in Grafton, Il.

Say “hello” to Emily Leachman at The Darling Dogwood! Emily joined the Island Batik Ambassador family in 2019 and we’ve been swooning over all the stunning quilts she’s whipped up during her time with us. She been quilting for more than 20 years after starting during her college years. Emily enjoys a wide variety of quilting techniques and is always willing to try something new with fabric. She is active in the online quilting community and a member of the Charlotte chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild. When not quilting, Emily is also a librarian!