Welcome to Harper's Sewing Family

Machine embroidery is Barbara’s gig. Fashion sewing with embroideries is her niche. Embroidery Software is her forte.

Bea is truly an outstanding art nouveau artist. Her classes cover creating unbelievable wall hangings using hand sewing appliqué techniques. Her projects are truly one of a kind and you will come away with inspiration you never dreamed possible. She has years of experience to share and enhance your home décor and quilt projects. Ask to see her latest book "Art Nouveau Quilts".

Connie’s grandmother taught her to sew at a very young age, and she’s been stitching ever since. She has a bachelor's degree in Home Economics Education, and a master's degree in Technical Teacher Education. Connie has been a high school FACS educator in Shawnee Mission for 22 years, and has been nominated to Who's Who Among America's Teachers for the past four editions. She has been teaching at Harper's since 1984 and offered the first quilting class there in 1989. She has presented to quilt groups and taught at guilds across the Midwest. Connie has had quilts featured in “Traditional QuiltWorks Magazine”, and “KC Scrapbook”. She is inspired by antique quilts, and thus is the traditionalist in the Harper's group. Connie uses reproduction fabrics and warm, dark colors to create quilts that remind us of our heritage. She teaches hand and machine piecing, hand appliqué and scrap quilting. Color theory and quilt history are always components of her classes as well. And just for fun, Connie says she is the "oldie" in Sewing to the Oldies classes at Harper’s late Friday nights. She loves the sense of community and friendship that come from teaching and sharing her passion for all things fabric.

Debra is the computer Guru. She keeps the website and online store updated, edits Pressing Matters and is the go to person for any computer needs.

Dianne has just joined us as a new instructor. She is bringing experience with Electric Quilt 6 to share with our "hungry" customers. This updated software is a superb, must have tool that you can use to "see" your quilt fabrics and color combinations before you begin sewing. Join Dianne as she shows us how to bring to life the "picture" of your next quilt project as you begin your planning process.

Elaine Johnson, owner or Harper's Fabric & Quilt Co. and Harper's Sewing Machine Co. since 1994, has been with Harper's for 24 years. She is a graduate of Kansas State University in Family and Consumer Science Education and has taught middle school, high school, and college level. Teaching anyone to sew and fine tuning their skills is a specialty that Elaine loves to help her students achieve success.

There are many special instructors whom we call upon to teach you new and exciting skills. These wonderful Harper's Girls are often seen working in the store or participating in our many activities. We are sure you will enjoy what they have to share with you as they are very experienced.

Jennifer Woods is our Heirloom sewing expert. She has new projects and ideas each time she has her classes. Join Jennifer to learn how much fun heirloom can be and how much more exquisite you can make your personal or home décor projects.

Julie Lang has been sewing since she was a little girl. She first started with stuffed animals and worked her way up to sewing her own clothing. Her mother taught her how to sew and she has loved it ever since! She joined the Harper’s team in 2004 and she has a passion is for sewing clothing, home décor and purses. Julie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Missouri and is happily married with two teenagers at home. Teaching helps her to share her love of sewing that she enjoyed both as a child and now as an adult. Julie helps students increase their skills with her classes on home décor pillows and fun items for the nursery. She also offers great clothing classes and her hands on approach to teaching will really make that clothing project attainable for you. Sewing clothing is Julie’s area of expertise so please be sure to take advantage of one of her classes to share in her knowledge!

Karen is a needle crafter extraordinaire. Hand embroidery is her specialty and can sew anything.

Kim is the worlds best sewing machine technician. She has been working at Harper’s since 1989. She has the Blue and Gold certification from Husqvarna Viking, which is the highest certification available. Kim is always increasing her knowledge on all machines.

Mary Honas has been with Harper's since September, 2001. She's been sewing since she was seven starting with doll clothes and began quilting in 1989. Like many other Harper's instructors, she has her mom to thank for her quilting interest and comes from a family of quilters, grandmother, mom and sisters. Mary's greatest joy in quilting is to teach, especially beginners. If you are looking for a great instructor to get you started with your first quilt, her classes will give you a strong foundation. As the mother of five, Mary has unending patience which she offers our beginning and more advanced quilters as well. As her beginning students gain skills, they ask for more advanced classes and she's working to develop quilts, patterns and classes to accommodate their needs! Watch for new classes using traditional quilt blocks in new ways.

Morgan has been around sewing all of her life as the daughter of the owner of Harper's. Is a favorite teacher of our Harper's children's classes. She loves to lead our young enthusiastic kids into the world of sewing. Your children will definitely want to see what she can do to encourage their creativity.

Renay Martin has been affiliated with Harper's for over 15 years making display garments, creating displays, working in the store, and teaching classes as well. Her true loves are garment and purse construction. She has mastered all levels in clothing construction and has expanded her love of sewing purses by creating a pattern company of her own designs called Purse Strings Patterns. Renay's career started on Good Friday in third grade when she made a Barbie doll dress. It was a huge (actually small) success! She hasn't stopped sewing since. She is an inspirational instructor to all who sew, with Unlimited Energetic Creativity! She thanks her mother, Mary Ann, for encouraging her passion for sewing. "Mother always encouraged us create in the sewing room with only two rules: we had to get an "ok" from her before we used any fabric from the sewing room drawers and we had to clean up our projects afterward."

Creative projects have always been a part of Robin’s leisure activities. Her interest in quilt-making and pattern design led her to begin working and teaching at Harper’s in 2003. Robin is energized by assisting customers at Harper’s, helping them find just the right pattern and fabric for their projects. As one of Harper’s instructors, Robin teaches with clarity, patience and enthusiasm. The ever-popular T-shirt quilt is one of her favorite classes. She also enjoys teaching her original designs and other projects she thinks will challenge experienced quilters. Come in and view her many projects on display at Harper’s.

Rosemary is a quilter extraordinaire. She is a member of Quilt Guild of Greater Kansas City, the Heartland Quilt Network. Her "Jewels of the Plaza" pattern was featured in KC Star, March 2003 She earned her BS & MS in Family and Consumer Science Education. Her love of teaching is obvious given that she was a Shawnee Mission Educator for 20 years and an Adult Education Teacher with Johnson County Community College for 10 years

Embroidery Sew & Share Club is Toby's specialty. If you want to learn a new embroidery technique, she is always happy to experiment and then teach the rest of us. She has an amazing knack for new ideas and can help solve questions as you begin or continue to advance your sewing and embroidery skills. Join Toby and other Harper's talented sewing instructors as you learn amazing embroidery techniques in our Embroidery Sew & Share club each month.