 Help Us Choose!
Do you know an NQA Certified Teacher who has made a difference in your quilting life? One who has inspired you with his/her teaching ability, personality, and professionalism? We need you to nominate that person for the NQA Certified Teacher of the Year Award. A panel of three will review the nominations received and make the selection. The Certified Teacher of the Year will be announced at our annual quilt show in June.
To nominate your favorite NQA Certified Teacher, please read the guidelines for nominations (PDF), fill out the necessary forms, and return the forms to:
The National Quilting Association, Inc.
Certified Teacher of the Year Nomination
P.O. Box 12190
Columbus, OH 43212-0190
Past Certified Teachers of the Year
2005 – Jenny Carr Kinney, Ventura, CA
 "I am flattered to have been nominated by my students and colleagues and honored to have been chosen by the National Quilting Association as 'Teacher of the Year 2005'."
Jenny Carr Kinney of Ventura, CA has been making quilts since 1968 and in 1989 began professionally teaching quilt making. In addition to earning her teacher’s certification from the National Quilting Association in 1999, she has a degree in textile science from the University of California, Davis and a California Teaching Credential in textiles and sewing.
Jenny is a faculty member of her local community college and successfully convinced various committees that quilting is a part of our community and a source of employment and income. Today, Ventura College offers quilt making, quilt pattern drafting and American quilt history to students for college credit as they work towards an Associate Degree.
Jenny also teaches for her neighborhood school district at the Adult and Continuing Education School, is a charter member of the large local quilt association, and has orchestrated many quilt demonstrations and exhibits.
She teaches a variety of techniques because, "One method cannot be mastered by all individuals or is appropriate for all construction situations. There are ten ways to do everything, and five of them work, three of them are good, and you pick one."
In addition to teaching beginners the basics of quilt making, Jenny specializes in historically inspired antique reproductions and period-appropriate quilting motifs sewn with modern equipment using today’s techniques.
To contact Jenny Carr Kinney, or any of our other fine teachers, go to the list of certified teachers that can be found on this web site.
2004 - Sandra Turner, Santa Maria, CA
Sandy Turner of Santa Maria, CA has been an NQA certified teacher since 1995. When informed of her selection as the organization’s Certified Teacher of the Year, Sandy said she was “thrilled” to receive the honor, especially because it was based on letters written by her past and present students. What did some of her students say? Here are a few excerpts:
- "She is truly an exceptional teacher who inspires many beginning quilters, as well as those who have been quilting for some time."
- "Her explanations and instructions are very clear and easy to understand."
- "She is generous with her affection, time, information and humor."
Sandy did not begin her education in quilting with an eye to teaching it some day. She just loved the creativity quilting allowed her to experience, and then to share with others. What inspired Sandy in earliest quilting days, and still does, is the fabric. “I love the pictorial fabrics and the challenge to find wonderful ways to combine the pictorial with the traditional.” She taught basic quiltmaking for eight years through her local adult education system at Hancock College. There she met the challenge of teaching both new and experienced students in the same class. Needing a break from the constant preparation of new material, she began lecturing and offering workshops to local quilt guilds, developing her own technique of hand appliqué, writing, and publishing original patterns.
Sandy now organizes a quilt retreat titled “Out of Hand & Heart, A Quilt Retreat.” She has a book proposal in the works and who knows what the future will bring this talented instructor.
If you wish to contact Sandy Turner, or any of NQA’s fine certified teachers, you will find a complete listing of them on this web site.
2003 - Fran Kordek, Elkins, WV
Fran Kordek of Elkins, WV was chosen to receive the first Certified Teacher of the Year award presented by The National Quilting Association. She has been making, designing, and selling quilted items since 1974. In 1983, a local shop owner asked her to teach quiltmaking, and she has been teaching a wide variety of quilting classes ever since. Her degree in education provided a strong foundation in teaching skills, and, in 1993, she became an NQA certified teacher. Guilds and seminars in and around West Virginia have provided Fran with ample opportunities to share her quilting knowledge and to hone her teaching skills.
Although Fran has a strong background in hand piecing, hand appliqué, and hand quilting, her current emphasis is on machine techniques. Working with the West Virginia documentation project heightened her appreciation of quilting traditions and classic quilt patterns. This developed into a focus on keeping traditional designs alive using newly available tools and timesaving techniques. Fran has also designed a line of stained-glass quilting patterns under the name "Subtle Endeavors".
Fran writes all of her own material for class presentations. She has been complimented on her patient, thorough, and personal teaching style, and is widely recognized for being well prepared. Fran has successfully introduced hundreds of students to the joys of quiltmaking, and has encouraged hundreds more to improve their skills and nurture their creative spirits.
Fran's full-sized quilts have been juried into numerous national quilt shows. Her works regularly earn top awards at regional shows, most recently Best of Show at the 4th Biennial West Virginia Quilters’ Show. Two of her quilts have received the Award for Excellence for Quilting at the Husqvarna Viking International Convention (1998, 2004).
Since becoming an NQA Certified Judge in 1996, Fran has served as an associate judge at the 2003 NQA Annual Show and, in 2004, presented NQA’s first Patricia Morris Memorial Lecture.
To contact Fran Kordek, or any of our other fine teachers, go to the list of certified teachers that can be found on this web site.
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