Lectures
I'd love to share any of my lectures with your quilt guild or bee. I will introduce a new lecture — "Demystifying Design for Foundation Paper Piecing" — starting October 1, 2026. This lecture, which is explained below, can be booked now for any dates after September 30, 2026.
My most popular lectures are "Pagtinabangay: The Quilts & Quiltmakers of Caohagan Island," and "Color the World with Quilts."
Don't see a lecture that's right for your guild? Let's talk. I've been known to create lectures specific to guilds' needs. That's how my color and block trunk shows came to be. Tell me your topic. If I'm qualified to address it, I will.
New in Fall 2026!
Demystifying Design for Foundation Paper Piecing
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I'm introducing this lecture in conjunction with the release of my second book — Designing for Foundation Paper Piecing: Creating Custom Quilts with Precision and Joy. This lecture is a lively romp through my FPP design process wrapped in a trunk show of quilts I've foundation paper pieced. You'll see block quilts, pictorial quilts, abstract art quilts, and more, as you learn the basics of designing for FPP.
For guilds who want to go deeper, this lecture is a great companion to my Demystifying Design for Foundation Paper Piecing workshop.
All blocks and quilts shown here were designed and pieced by Dana Jones. All are copyrighted. Do not reproduce as photos, quilts or in any other format without Dana's written permission.
Color the World With Quilts
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This trunk show delights as it subtly shares best practices in color selection without the jargon that can cause quilters’ eyes to glaze over. You’ll see more than 40 quilts up close and personal, plus more in the accompanying slide show. Learning color has never been so easy, so intuitive. Within the hour, you’ll be on your way to tuning into your unique color sense. The trunk show and slides include quilts designed by speaker Dana Jones plus those designed by others and made by Dana. Color experts and those a bit intimidated by color with find inspiration in this light-hearted, conversational presentation.
Pagtinabangay:
The Quilts and Quiltmakers
of Caohagan Island
You’ll be transported to a tiny island — just 13 acres — in the central Philippines as you enjoy images and stories of the colorful quilts and the more than 100 quiltmakers of Caohagan Island. You’ll see photos of more than 50 of these handmade, one-of-a-kind quilts plus be introduced to the unique techniques developed by these quiltmakers whose tools are simply fabric and scissors, needle and thread. I spent more than a month on the island, quilted with the residents, went fabric shopping with them on nearby Cebu Island, and snorkeled the reef that surrounds Caohagan. Those who view the quilts come away smiling, inspired by the creativity of these women and men. This lecture is perfect for warming up a winter guild meeting.
Around the Block: Creating Quilts from Blocks from Traditional to Contemporary
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From traditional blocks to modern blocks, from repeated blocks to one-of-a-kind blocks, from blocks you know to those you’ve never seen — quilters past and present (and likely future) love blocks. This trunk show includes more than 25 quilts from a range of quilting genres, including block quilts I've designed and block quilts designed by others. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to join me in becoming a “blockhead” — newly defined as a quilter entranced by the infinite world of quilt blocks. I hope you’ll come away from this presentation proud to be a chip off the old block of our quilting foremothers and our quilting mentors and peers. Plan to join me on this colorful trip around the block.
Indigo, Taupe & More:
Japanese Fabric from Vintage to Contemporary
In a whirlwind round of interviews with multiple generations of Japanese quilt-makers, I learned a lot about working with Japanese fabrics from indigo to taupe and beyond. I talked with master quilters Kuroha Shizuko, Yoko Seito, Reiko Kato and Keiko Goke. In this slide show, you’ll learn how each of these women selects and designs fabric. You’ll see images of quilts by each quiltmaker, plus a variety of Japanese fabrics.
The International Honor Quilt:
Women Remembering Women
When Judy Chicago’s iconic feminist art installation, "The Dinner Party," was first exhibited in San Francisco in 1979, women who came to see it were deeply moved. They didn’t want to just view it; they wanted to contribute to it. This posed a dilemma for Judy. She understood "The Dinner Party" as a finished piece. She also understood the women’s desire to recover stories of more women, women who had made a difference in their lives. The International Honor Quilt was envisioned as a way for viewers of the "The Dinner Party" to respond to the powerful and personal impact it had on them. A call for 2-foot x 2-foot x 2-foot triangular quilts, each celebrating an individual woman, a group of women or a women’s issue, went out. As "The Dinner Party" was exhibited across the United States and beyond during the 1980s, triangles were added until there were more than 500.
This slide show and lecture shares stories of some of the triangles, the makers and the women honored with an emphasis on triangles made by women who would later become known quilters and those made to honor quilters. You’ll also see triangles quilted by 11 children of one woman and some of the most unique of the triangles. The stories range from fun to inspiring to heartbreaking. The quilts range from exquisitely made to first efforts. In the end, this is the story of women responding to a moment in history through an international community art project.