About the Author
Linda Giesler Carlson has always been inspired by her students' undiscovered talents. Her devotion to teaching quilting stems from her educational background, including two bachelor's degrees in education and a certification by the Library of Congress to transcribe braille. Through her teaching experience, Linda possesses a good sense of humor, patience, and flexibility, and allows her students to follow the creative beat of their own drum. Since the 1980s, Linda has taught all areas of quiltmaking, specializing in applique and the history of and techniques in making large four-block quilts. She has taught throughout the United States for guilds, retreats, symposiums, and quilt shows such as the American Quilter's Society Show and Contest, the Quilt Odyssey, and the International Quilt Festival. For the past 10 years, Linda has judged quilt shows, fairs, and contests both locally and nationally. She believes that judging helps her bring valuable information back to her students. Linda's own work and quilts from her collection have been featured in many exhibitions. About 30 quilts from her four-block collection were exhibited at the Museum of the American Quilter's Society in Paducah, Kentucky. Linda has written four quilting books, as well as numerous articles for several national quilting magazines. In 1995, she presented a research paper on the roots of the large four-block quilt for a symposium at the Smithsonian Institution. In 1996, Linda received the G. Andy Runge Ambassador Award to recognize her representation of her hometown of Mexico, Missouri, during her teaching excursions. Linda's workshops and lectures offer 27 classes featuring mostly hand applique and/or pieced quilt projects from large applique pieces to intricate scherenschnitte designs. Topics include machine projects, commemorative/memorial quilts, designing specific features for quilts such as feather borders, center and corner treatments, perfecting applique, 3-D techniques, and choosing background and quilting motifs.
