March 2026 - Kathie Kerler
March 12th presentation: Art Quilting Steps and Missteps or What were the Judges thinking
Artist, Quilt Judge, and Teacher
Kathie Kerler is a quilter and hand embroiderer.
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This is a hybrid meeting. Kathie will be joining us in person.
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As someone who began her fiber art practice with hand embroidery and a particular love of crewel work, she gravitated to appliqué, both hand and machine, as her primary construction technique. While she creates abstract quilts and still ventures into traditional work, her niche is representational art quilts. But rather than being realistic, they have a cartoon-like quality.
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As a graduate of the rigorous three and a half year program in design and embroidery at the City and Guilds Institute of London, she completed both traditional and experimental work. One of the primary takeaways she gained was the importance of sampling—sampling both materials and techniques to determine what best suits the design and project. Materials might include textile paint or watercolor pencils for surface design and techniques could be couched, hand-twisted cords or machine zigzag appliqué.
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She has been judging quilts and wearables nationally since 2002 and certified through the National Association of Certified Judges (NACQJ). Kathie is one of their Qualified Instructors and a passionate teacher of their Two-Day Judging Seminar. She also frequently presents to guilds on this topic. Her goal is to explain how the evaluation process is meant to encourage and educate, rather than be something to fear.