Who is Sue Nickels?

Sue Nickels has been quilting for 40 years, starting by hand and gradually focusing on machine work. Sue has been teaching machine techniques for the past 30 years. Sue has taught and lectured nationally for shops, guilds and major conferences, including AQS, IQA and the Mancuso Quiltfests. She has also taught internationally in England, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Spain.

Sue’s major awards include 1998 AQS Best of Show for “The Beatles Quilt” made by Sue and her sister, Pat Holly. Their quilt, “The Space Quilt” won the 2003 IQA Master of Machine Artistry Award and the 2004 AQS Machine Workmanship Award. Sue and Pat’s quilt “Tea at Tenby” won 2009 Best of Show at the Birmingham Festival of Quilts in England. Pat and Sue's quilt "Two of Us" was the 2013 Block of the Month for "The Quilt Show" and won the Home Machine Workmanship Award at the 2014 AQS Paducah Quilt Show.

Sue’s books are “Machine Quilting: A Primer of Techniques”, “Stitched Raw Edge Appliqué” co-authored with Pat and "Fabulous Feathers and Fillers: Design and Machine Quilting Techniques". Sue has also been a judge for many quilt shows. Sue enjoys teaching on cruises for "Quilt Seminars at Sea" once a year.

Sue and Pat held their 1st Annual Hollygirls Quilt Retreats at White Birch Lodge in Elk Rapids Michigan in 2014 and plan to continue this yearly event for many years, following in the tradition of their good friend Gwen Marston's Beaver Island Quilt Retreats! Sue’s priority in the workshops she teaches is to provide a relaxed environment for students to learn machine techniques that are time saving. Sue emphasizes the best quality workmanship, never compromising quality for speed!