Certified Teachers Program

Lois T. Smith from Rockville, Maryland, is a teacher known for instilling, by example and word, the love of quilting and the value of excellence and attention to detail. She values the memories gathered over thirty years of teaching.

"To see passion override reason in a student is the highest compliment one can receive," says Lois.

Lois is both an NQA Certified Teacher and NQA Certified Judge. In addition to teaching locally and in more than forty states, Lois has taught in Africa, Brazil, Canada, and Scotland. Her quilt, Golden Memories of Christmas, won Best of Show in the Houston Quilt Festival in 1988 and was the first machine quilted piece to win that honor. Her Summertime Sampler is a part of the permanent collection of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.

While Lois' early work stemmed from traditional geometric patterns with a twist, more currently her pieces include her hand dyed fabrics and various surface design techniques. Most pieces relate to nature and the sea. Design elements or feelings come together as her work progresses. Lois seldom sketches a piece in detail, but puts more emphasis on collecting a workable color palette of fabrics that will then develop bit by bit. She is often surprised by the outcome. Once pieced or appliquéd, copious amounts of free-motion machine quilting are used to enhance and embellish the quilt surface.

Lois Smith is the author of Fun and Fancy Machine Quiltmaking (American Quilter's Society, 1989) and Lois Smith's Machine Quiltmaking (American Quilter's Society, 1997).

A native of Illinois, she graduated from Monmouth College and is married to Donovan A. Smith. They have seven children, ten grandchildren, and enjoy a vacation home on Chincoteague Island, Virginia.