Set Sail to Alaska

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Set Sail With Us in 2023

Alaska Cruise

The trip we have all been waiting for is finally here! Gammill is setting sail to Alaska on August 7, 2023 for a seven-night Alaska Glacier Cruise on Quantum of the Seas!

Join us for education, fun and beautiful scenery. This seven night cruise will feature lecture-style education for hand guided and computerized quilters onboard during times at sea.

August 7, 2023: Depart Seattle, Washington

August 8, 2023: Cruising

August 9, 2023: Sitka, Alaska

August 10, 2023: Skagway, Alaska

August 11, 2023: Endicott Arms, Dawes Glacier, and Juneau, Alaska

August 12, 2023: Cruising

August 13, 2023: Victoria, British Columbia

August 14, 2023: Seattle, Washington

Set Sail With Gammill

Cruise Pricing

Pricing is per person and based on double occupancy and is USD. For triple rooms, singles and other suite pricing, please email [email protected].

In order to be a part of the Gammill cruise, at least one person in your party must take part in the Gammill longarm quilting conference. The registration system requires you to purchase at least one conference in order to check out. If you have additional guests in your party who will be staying in a different room, please email [email protected] for a payment link for the additional room(s).

Cruise pricing includes: cruise fare, taxes, fees, port fees, gratuities for all included meals and services, ship accommodations, ocean transportation, meals (there are many included options on board for every meal and snacks), beverages (such as tea, water, and lemonade), and on-board entertainment.

Not included: Internet packages, beverage packages for sodas and alcohol, shore excursions, specialty restaurants such as Chops Grille, spa and salon services, and transportation to and from the ship.

Conference Fee includes: Registration for 10 classes you pick from our menu of class options during our time at sea, invitations for you and your party to the Gammill-only reception, dining reservations each evening in the main dining room in our group section for you and your party, participation in other Gammill-only onboard activities.

Cruise Pricing

Per person based on double occupancy

Interior with virtual balcony: $1,550 per person

Oceanview (window – no balcony): $1,650

Oceanview Balcony: $2,150

Junior Suite: $3,400

Conference Fee: $599 early bird (April 1, 2023)

*$699 after April 1

Refund/Cancellation Policy (per person):
Now to May 25, 2023: $100 cancellation fee
May 25 to July 1, 2023: $350 per person cancellation fee
July 2 to July 28, 2023: 50 percent refund
After July 28, 2023: No refunds

Please visit https://gammill.com/education/terms-conditions/ for all terms and conditions.

*Trip insurance is available to purchase for an additional fee

FAQ

Do I need to own a Gammill to attend?

No, you do not. Classes will be available for both CreativeStudio users and hand guided users. The hand guided classes are a perfect fit for any long arm quilter. Please note that all classes are lecture style – there will not be machines on board.

What is Included?

Cruise pricing includes: cruise fare, taxes, fees, port fees, gratuities for all included meals and services, ship accommodations, ocean transportation, meals (there are many included options on board for every meal and snacks), beverages (such as tea, water, and lemonade), and on-board entertainment.

Internet packages, beverage packages for sodas and alcohol, shore excursions, specialty restaurants such as Chops Grille, spa and salon services, and transportation to and from the ship.

Conference Fee includes: Registration for 10 classes you pick from our menu of class options during our time at sea, invitations for you and your party to the Gammill-only reception, dining reservations each evening in the main dining room in our group section for you and your party, participation in other Gammill-only onboard activities.

Who will be teaching on the cruise?

Scroll down to meet the educators!

What classes will be offered?

You will have the chance to pick from a menu of computerized and hand guided classes. Classes are held in the Conference Center onboard the Quantum of the Seas during times at sea.

Can I bring guests?

Absolutely! In order to be a part of the Gammill cruise, at least one person in your party must take part in the Gammill longarm quilting conference. The registration system requires you to purchase at least one conference in order to check out. If you have additional guests in your party who will be staying in a different room, please email [email protected] for a payment link for the additional room(s).

Meet the Educators

On this page, meet the educators who will be offering classes onboard our Set Sail Alaska Cruise and view the list of classes. Conference registration includes 10 classes you pick from our menu of class options during our time at sea. Please note classes may be added and repeat sessions of classes may be added.

Joan Knight moved with her husband, Dusty, in 2002 to central Alabama from Louisiana. With this move, Joan “retired” and is now pursing her love of quilting full time. What she thought would be a hobby after purchasing my Gammill Optimum Statler Stitcher in 2006 has grown into a wonderful job and teaching opportunity. Joan has traveled the country teaching at educational events. Students constantly inspire her to learn something new and push the software to new limits.

Joan Knight

Georgia Stull has been quilting on a Statler since 2006. She has also been a national and international instructor for the past 14 years and is passionate about providing her students the tools to be successful. Georgia is passionate about providing her students the tools and education to feel confident and successful. She teaches efficiency and effectiveness (without compromising quality!) so her students go home inspired, enabled and energized.

Georgia Stull

Vida Anderson has always been creative and in 2015 started her own business making and teaching everything from sewing to knitting. She quilts on a Statler. In 2022, she was asked by Quiltworx to piece and quilt a sample for the latest Judy Niameyer Technique of the Month quilt, Carnival Flower. Vida has also designed several quilt patterns for her local shop and serves as the president of her guild. Vida lives in Missoula, Montana with her husband, Shane. In her spare time she loves to fly fish and camp.

Vida Anderson

Kat Fehr has been professionally quilting on her Statler for more than eight years. She specializes in custom quilting, combining computerized and hand guided quilting. Kat’s favorite art project in elementary was to draw seashells on a piece of paper without lifting the pencil. She never forgot that art lesson and is constantly doodling, sometimes on paper but mostly on fabric. Kat’s goal is to inspire others to use their machines, press those buttons, try new things, and make pretty art.

Kat Fehr

Karen Marchetti pieced her first quilt top in 2003. One scrap of fabric lead to another and two years later she purchased her first Gammill and opened Creative Longarm Quilting – turning her hobby into a business and developing her own unique style of custom quilting. Karen entered her first quilt show in 2006 and won Judge’s Choice. Since then, she has won numerous national awards for her personal quilts, as well as client quilts. When she’s not stitching you can usually find her doodling away!

Karen Marchetti

Sherilyn Mortensen is owner of Sea Sherilyn Sew. She has spent the past 20 years enjoying some form of quilting. In the past seven years her interest, skill level and passion for quilting has tremendously increased with the wonderful addition of free-motion longarm quilting. Her passions include free-motion quilting, pattern designing, teaching and presenting. She and husband, Mark, currently live in Tyler, Texas but spent many years sunny Central Florida.

Sherilyn Mortensen

Helen Robinson began quilting in 1997 and fell in love with the entire process of design, fabric shopping, piecing and quilting! Nine years ago Helen bought a long-arm Gammill classic to put finishing flourish on her piles and piles of quilt tops that were waiting for that last layer of love. Six years ago she began working with her sister Jenny and Sew Kind of Wonderful creating fresh new contemporary quilts using the Quick Curve Ruler.

Helen Robinson

Jodi Robinson has been a quilter for more than 20 years. She has taught at national shows and won numerous national awards for her quilting skills. In addition to teaching, Jodi designs pantograph patterns, has self-published nine machine quilting design books, and provides professional quilting services to her clients. Jodi’s books and classes focus on teaching easy methods to create beautiful, freehand designs that will personalize, and make your quilting unique.

Jodi Robinson

Lisa Rogers purchased her first longarm machine in 1992 and upgraded to a Statler in 2012 to start a quilting business. Lisa is from Salt Lake City Utah. She has taught nationally for 10 years. She enjoys sharing her love of quilting with others and watching their skills and excitement for quilting grow. In her free time she enjoys piecing and custom quilting her own quilts. “I love to challenge myself and try new ideas, with CreativeStudio there is no limit”.

Lisa Rogers

Mickie Sienko rented time on a Gammill Statler in 2011, fell in love with it and immediately knew she wanted her own longarm machine, Purchasing her own Statler in 2014, she continued her quest to learn as much as possible about its creative abilities, and enjoys sharing this knowledge with other Statler owners. In her free time, Mickie also enjoys the outdoors — including gardening, photography and riding her motorcycle.

Mickie Sienko

Norma Stark has loved the art of quilting since 2001 and is a national teacher who taught for the Virtual Quilt Show in 2020 to students all over the world. Her specialty fields include running a successful long arm quilting business, Norma’s Quilt Studio, and teaching piecing longarm Statler classes in person and online. She moved from Texas in February 2022 to the lovely “Evergreen” state of Washington where she currently resides.

Norma Stark

Class List

Conference registration includes 10 classes you pick from our menu of class options during our time at sea. Below is a partial list of classes that will be offered. Students – please watch for an email in mid April to begin submitting class preferences. All classes will be taught lecture style. All classes will have less than 20 students.
Classes are grouped by educator and in alphabetical order of educator’s last name.

Vida Anderson

CS7 For Beginners
Educator: Vida Anderson
Level: Beginner
Machine: Elevate or Statler
A good foundation is key in your quilting journey with your Gammill Statler. In this class, Vida will take you on a tour of CreativeStudio 7 that will give you the foundation needed to become a confident quilter.

Should I FILL or Should I TRIM???
Educator: Vida Anderson
Level: Confident Beginner
Machine: Statler
Vida will take you through how to use FILL and TRIM and when and how to use them.

Kat Fehr

Class Title: Divide and Design
Educator: Kat Fehr
Level: Confident Beginner and up
Machine: Statler and Elevate
Class Description: Expand your pattern catalog by using nodes to divide, alter and create new quilting patterns from your existing ones. In this class, you will learn about the different types of nodes and how you can edit them in CreativeStudio. You will learn how to break a pattern apart into smaller sections, how to remove sections, how to combine two patterns, and how to alter a pattern so that it fits into a custom block and stitches out properly.

Class Title: Artfully Designed Applique
Educator: Kat Fehr
Level: Confident Beginner and up
Machine: Statler and Elevate
Class Description: In this class, you will learn how to edit patterns in Creative Studio turning them into applique patterns and blocks that you can stitch out onto a quilt while it is loaded on the frame. You’ll learn about selecting the best patterns for applique on the frame, which fabric types work best, and tips for cutting away the excess fabric while the quilt is still on the frame.

Class Title: Custom Combinations
Educator: Kat Fehr
Level: Intermediate and up
Machine: Statler and Elevate
Class Description: Learn how to enhance your custom quilts by combining computerized patterns with hand-guided quilting. Don’t be afraid to drop those belts! You will learn how to decide what to quilt in each section of the quilt, and how combing hand-guided
quilting with computerized quilting can add texture and dimension to your quilts.

Joan Knight

Draw Boundary
Educator: Joan Knight
Level: Beginner
Machine: Statler
One of the main components of CreativeStudio is the Draw Boundary
feature. It is used in both overall and custom quilting. Relocate??
Convert?? SID?? Draw Line Boundary?? There are many faces of Draw
Boundary and this class will explore them.

Concat That
Educator: Joan Knight
Level: All
Machine: Statler
Concatenation is a fun feature that will add an extra element to your
quilting or create a visual effect. Looking at overall quilting with modern
linear patterns or block backgrounds or borders with sashings will hopefully
spark your creativity to use this feature more often.

Pop and Pizzazz
Educator: Joan Knight
Level: All
Machine: Statler
Draw Text with multiple threads, “Statliquė” (appliquė on the Statler),
apply, couching, crystals, trapunto on the Statler. Give your customers a
little added extra by adding a minky name to their quilt or dress up your
own quilts.

Negative’s a Positive
Educator: Joan Knight
Level: All
Machine: Statler
Negative space doesn’t have to mean modern- think about setting
blocks, star block backgrounds, sashings, borders, and more. Techniques
will be described for each of these everyday quilts but of course, there’ll be some modern
backgrounds thrown in too.

Karen Marchetti

Surface Strategies
Educator: Karen Marchetti
Level: All
Machine: All
Class Description: Creating texture is an art – when and where to add it on a quilt top can be a difficult process. Karen will share variations of designs to showcase how fabric surfaces change by creating layers of texture. You’ll learn to take basic quilting to a new level by adding depth and texture. We’ll examine various quilting textures and how they affect designs.

Make Your Feathers Move
Educator: Karen Marchetti
Level: All
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Learn some of Karen’s favorite free-formed feathers and how to adapt any feather to work for your comfort level. You’ll learn how to stretch and curve feathers so they appear to move. Utilizing this effect, the feathers will work in any area of a quilt but also hold their own beautifully. Karen uses these techniques in her all-over feather backgrounds.

Flat Factor
Educator: Karen Marchetti
Level: All
Machine: All
Class Description: Wonky borders, saggy blocks, and troublesome quilt tops? Learn some tricks of the trade in this class where Karen shares years of experience dealing with problem quilts and some fool-proof ways of fixing them!

Sherilyn Mortensen

Collage Quilting
Educator: Sherilyn Mortensen
Level: All
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Collage Quilting – combine many designs into one to beautifully fill your wide open spaces.

Fresh and Fantastic Feathers
Educator: Sherilyn Mortensen
Level: All
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Join Sherilyn for the ultimate guide to fresh and fantastic hand-guided feathers.

Learn to Doodle
Educator: Sherilyn Mortensen
Level: All
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Learn to doodle, learn to quilt! Learn the importance of doodling to up your free-motion quilting game.

Helen Robinson

Ruler Work
Educator: Helen Robinson
Level: Confident Beginner and up
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Using rulers while custom quilting can greatly enhance all kinds of custom quilting. Helen Robinson of Sew Kind of Wonderful, will explore how rulers and custom quilting work together to create a beautifully finished quilt.
Specific topics that will be explored:
– various types of rulers for custom quilting
– basics of how to use rulers on both sit-down and longarm machines
– which rulers work best on different types of machines
– multiple quilting designs that can be created with rulers
Color booklet with multiple quilting examples will be provided. Also included will be several paper quilt blocks and quilt layouts for participants to practice the discussed quilting techniques. 12+ quilts will be shown as examples of Ruler Work and Custom Quilting.

Step-by-Step Custom Quilting
Educator: Helen Robinson
Level: Confident Beginner and up
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: What are the steps for developing a custom quilting plan for every quilt?
Helen Robinson will outline 8 Steps to creating a custom quilting plan for any kind of quilt. Following these steps will ensure each quilt has a balance of elements that enhances the beauty of the quilt. This planned custom quilting approach works on all quilts from traditional, modern, sampler, medallion, or block layout.
Some of the topics that will be explored are:
– What is the overall quilt layout and how does that affect the custom quilting plan?
– What custom elements can be added to every quilt?
– What are the 8 steps to work through?
Color booklet with multiple quilting examples will be provided. Also included will be several quilt layouts for participants to practice and plan the discussed custom quilting techniques. 12+ quilts will be shown as examples of Step By Step Custom Quilting.

Unique Quilting for Unique Spaces
Educator: Helen Robinson
Level: Confident Beginner and up
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: What to quilt in this really cool space? Hmmmmm…
This is a common question we have all asked. Helen Robinson will introduce quilters to a “6 Point Process” for creating unique quilting motifs that will enhance the quilt. Participants will learn to use a combination of techniques including feathers, swirls, and geometric patterns to achieve their desired results.
Some of the topics that will be explored are:
– ruler work
– thread choice
– balancing quilting throughout the quilt
– multiple “filler” stitches
– repeatable quilt motifs
– feathers and feather variations
Color booklet with multiple quilting examples will be provided. Also included will be several paper quilt blocks for participants to practice the discussed quilting techniques. 12+ quilts will be shown as examples of Unique Quilting For Unique Spaces.

Jodi Robinson

Look Beyond the Lines
Educator: Jodi Robinson
Level: Confident Beginner and up
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Learn to look beyond the Lines – A new class that teaches you how to see new designs in your stencils.

Modern Simplicity
Educator: Jodi Robinson
Level: All
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Learn to create simple but effective designs that don’t need to be perfect.

Wholecloth Design
Educator: Jodi Robinson
Level: All
Machine: Hand Guided
Class Description: Learn a very simple technique to design a wholecloth.

Lisa Rogers

Clip Art to Applique
Educator: Lisa Rogers
Level: Intermediate and Advanced
Machine: Statler and Elevate
Class Description: Learn how to use Clip Art and Draw Text to create beautiful appliqued quilts on the longarm.

Business 101
Educator: Lisa Rogers
Level: All
Machine: All
Class Description: How do I set up and run a successful Longarm business? We will talk about Quilting Strategies, Customers, Pricing, Wholesale, Taxes, Business Entities and Business Records.

Jump Start to CS7
Educator: Lisa Rogers
Level: Beginner
Machine: Statler and Elevate
Class Description: Learn basic computer skills and how to navigate CS7. This class is aimed at beginners but everyone is sure to pick up some tips and tricks along the way.

Mickie Sienko

Going Round in Circles
Educator: Mickie Sienko
Level: All
Machine: Statler and CreativeStudio
Class Description: Going ’round in Circles (and Squares) Using Circular Array – using patterns already in CS, participants will learn to use these patterns to create various arrays to enhance their quilting designs.Participants should bring their laptop with SAM loaded with the most recent version of CreativeStudio. A project will be provided for the class.

One Draw Pattern; Endless Possibilities
Educator: Mickie Sienko
Level: All
Machine: Statler and CreativeStudio
Class Description: Using a simple pattern, class participants will learn how to create an endless number of patterns by making simple changes to the patterns’ properties; giving the quilt a custom look. We’ll then move on to creating block and border designs using Draw Pattern. Participants should bring their laptop with SAM loaded with the most recent version of CreativeStudio. A project will be provided for the class.

Repeat Pattern vs. Edge to Edge
Educator: Mickie Sienko
Level: All
Machine: Statler and CreativeStudio
Class Description: We’ll take an in-depth look at all aspects of these two processes and discuss how participants can take back control of the quilting process by using Repeat Patterns. Participants should bring their laptop with SAM loaded with the most recent version of CreativeStudio. A project will be provided for the class.

Norma Stark

Dream Big – Tips on Customizing Panels
Educator: Norma Stark
Level: Confident Beginner to Advanced
Machine: Statler and Elevate
Class Description:
I bought a beautiful panel – now what? Purchasing the panel is the easy part and then we freeze. There are so many beautiful panels and digital designers that give us custom choices to fit those panels. Let Norma help motivate you and share with you her tips about choosing that custom fit, stabilizing your panel, and best ways to organize and complete your custom designs for your panel. Also these same techniques can be used when making wholecloths.

Help! – Edge to Edge/Decision Making Factors
Educator: Norma Stark
Level: All Levels
Machine: Statler
Class Description: No matter your quilting experience there is always that one quilt that stumps us and we don’t know what to do. However, this is a great class for those new to Statler to discuss choices for your quilt and factors Norma uses when choosing her to edge-to-edge quilting. So many digital designs to choose from and so many quilts to quilt. This class will be very helpful for narrowing down that edge-to-edge search as you keep it “real” to the quilt and Norma shares her suggestions. Topics and techniques included will be Edge to Edge, Pattern Search, using edge to edge where Trim and Fill come in handy, Customer Choices/Tips and Lots of Quilt/Pattern Ideas for you.

Repeat That! Repeat Patterns and; Relocate Technique
Educator: Norma Stark
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Machine: Statler
Class Description: Sometimes it just works best to Repeat That! This class includes learning about Repeat patterns (why, when, and how) and how to use the Relocate technique. Yes, there is a difference in Edge to Edge and Repeat Patterns. Norma will be discussing the patterns and situations when the repeat pattern technique might be the better choice. She can’t wait to show you her very favorite tip on why she uses “Repeat Patterns.”

Georgia Stull

Edge-to-Edge from Basic to the Top of the Iceberg
Educator: Georgia Stull
Level: Beginner to Confident Beginner
Machine: Statler
All Statler users need to know many different ways to finish an E2E! Georgia will cover CreativeStudio basics, teach how to set Controller Definitions, teach shortcuts and Hot Keys, and share different methods of quilting edge-to-edge patterns. She will cover when to use E2E mode and when Repeat Pattern mode might make the job easier. She will teach you how to alternate, concatenate, trim, and fill. She will also teach you recovery methods for those times when problems arise. She always shares lots of practical tips and tidbits to help you have a great quilting experience with your Statler.

Let’s Chunk a Border
Educator: Georgia Stull
Level: Confident Beginner to Advanced
Machine: Statler
Borders can add a powerful framework for a quilt. Don’t dread adding borders! Become a pro! This class will cover as much about borders as Georgia can pack into your time together. She will start with how to choose the perfect pattern to enhance that quilt top and the preparation work that is so important. Next up, she will teach you her Easy Peasy method of quilting out those borders. (Not kidding! It really is EASY PEASY!!) She finds it unnecessary to turn most quilts, she chunks! Come chunk a border with Georgia.

Custom Quilting As Special as the Great Frontier of Alaska
Educator: Georgia Stull
Level: Advanced
Machine: Statler, Elevate
You can do custom quilting that makes a quilt extra special, and you can do it on your Statler. Quite honestly, Georgia says she doesn’t do a lot of handguiding. Okay… maybe not any handguiding. That single fact drives her to figure out ways to make CreativeStudio work for her when she is working on a custom quilt! Georgia also wants her custom quilting to be as efficient and effective as possible and she always wants it to be beautiful. She will teach you her special method of background fill. She will also cover features such as Point-to-Point, Fill, Trim, and Echo. You will become best friends with your right-click menu.

An Adventure of Tips, Tools and Tricks of the Trade
Educator: Georgia Stull
Level: All Levels
Machine: All
Sometimes, it’s the little things that make all the difference!! Georgia has been quilting for more than 17 years. Wow, what a wonderful adventure it has been. Join her as she shares so many things that have improved her life as a longarm quilter.

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