Learn with Colorado Threadworks!

Lori Thompson is a quilt designer, instructor, longarm quilter, and owner of Colorado Threadworks, a quilting studio in Grand Lake, Colorado. Drawing on more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership and her experience as a quilting professional, Lori offers engaging lectures, hands-on workshops, and consulting designed to inspire quilters, build skills, and help guilds and quilting organizations thrive.

Lori served as Executive Director of the Quilts of Valor® Foundation (QOVF) from 2021–2023, leading a national organization with thousands of volunteers and giving her firsthand insight into the opportunities and challenges facing quilting organizations today. Her quilting work has been published in Fons & Porter and For the Love of Quilting, and she has appeared on For the Love of Quilting and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Learn more by contacting Lori at info@coloradothreadworks.com.

Lectures & Consulting

Quotable Quilts
Discover how favorite phrases can enrich your quilt's story, with creative ways to add meaningful quotes, words, and motifs using easy, nontraditional techniques and materials. Explore how die cutting machines like a Cricut can make adding letters to your quilt easy and quick.
Colorado Block: Piecing Colorado’s History with HST Blocks
Discover the story behind Colorado’s own quilt block and explore the many designs inspired by this iconic pattern. Lori will share a brief history, showcase a variety of Colorado-inspired quilts, and demonstrate tips and tricks for making the block using half-square triangles (HSTs), including ways to make it easier, more accurate, and more fun!
Quilting for a Cause
Discover 6 meaningful ways your quilting skills can make a difference in your community. Learn how to choose a cause or organization that resonates with you, plus a curated list of established organizations ready to connect with quilters who want to give back. Leave with clear next steps for turning your passion into purpose.

Quilts of Valor® Presentation
Inspirational stories about the quilters, recipients, and impact of QOVF, drawn from Lori’s time as Executive Director. Learn more about how this grassroots movement has honored service members and veterans and how your guild can be a part of QOVF.
Guild Leadership Training
Board Officer Coaching — Build confidence in your leadership role and connect it to your guild's bylaws and mission.
Volunteer Support — Strategies to boost volunteer recruitment, retention, and enjoyment.
Community Partnerships — Build local partnerships that grow your guild's reach, funding, and support.
Marketing — Simple ways to share your guild's story and build community support.
Strategic Planning — Guided facilitation to set goals and create a plan that serves your members and mission.
Specialized Guild Leadership Consulting
Drawing on more than 20 years of nonprofit management experience, Lori works one-on-one with guilds and quilting organizations on governance, volunteer management, marketing, community partnerships, and event planning. Sessions are tailored to your guild's specific needs and challenges, and are available as a single consulting session, a half-day workshop for guild leadership, or an ongoing engagement.

Workshops

Quotable Quilts
Learn hands-on how to use a die cutting machine to create easy, quick lettering for your quilts. Try making heat transfer vinyl lettering and appliqué letters with this technique to create a 10” mini art quilt.
Stitching on the Edge: Raw Edge Appliqué
Explore raw-edge appliqué method using three different types of stitches. Experiment with different threads and discover how stitching can add texture, dimension, and personality to your quilts—all while creating a small quilt to take home.
Colorado Block Workshop: Piecing Colorado’s History with HST's
From the lecture to quilting! Choose one of the Colorado Block-inspired designs from the trunk show, and Lori will guide quilters through the process of piecing and assembling the quilt using half-square triangles. Learn tips and techniques for making accurate HSTs and how one block can become so many different quilt designs.
Creating for a Cause Workshop
Discover six meaningful ways to use your quilting skills to bless others and make a difference in your community. This interactive workshop will help you identify the causes that matter most to you, what organizations you can join that support these causes, and how to create a project to meet needs in your own community. You’ll leave with a roadmap and inspiration for turning your passion for quilting into a project, program, or ongoing opportunity to create for a cause.
Quilts with Dimension: 3D Flowers, Bows, Motifs, and More!
Create 3D elements to embellish your quilts. Try making 3D flowers, bows, favorite motifs, and more. Make a small quilt to try these techniques and take home.
Choose Your Own Workshop
Remember the Choose Your Adventure novels? This is the quilting version. Browse the Colorado Threadworks shop here, choose your favorite project, and Lori will create a customized workshop around it, tailored specifically to your group, their skill level, and the techniques they want to learn.