Studio Social with Queer Craft Corner: Bring Your Own Tote

Bring Your Own Tote! Inspired by the textiles featured in American 250: Common Threads, this Studio Social invites you to give your well-loved tote bags new life through hand-stitched embellishment. Led by quilting artist Linda Pumphrey, you’ll learn how to combine patchwork fabric, simple embroidery, and decorative details like buttons and stitching to transform an everyday bag into something uniquely yours. Bring your own tote or use one of ours.

Studio Socials are more than workshops — they’re creative nights out designed for connection and exploration. With a relaxed, drop-in format and a cash bar, these events make art approachable and fun. Come with friends or on your own and enjoy a welcoming space to experiment, socialize, and head home with something you’ve made by hand.

Tickets are free. Reserve your spot online or with Guest Experience at (479) 657-2335 today.

Studio Socials with Queer Craft Corner are more than workshops, they’re creative nights out designed for connection and exploration. With a cash bar and a relaxed, drop-in format lead by Queer Craft Corner and special guests artists, these events make art approachable and fun! Whether you come with friends or on your own, you’ll enjoy a welcoming, safe space to experiment, socialize, and leave with artworks you’ve made yourself.

Lorna Pumphrey

Lorna comes from a family of quilters and those who love hand sewing, and hence, her love of needle arts started at a very young age. Although her professional career is in the medical field, her love of fabric, thread, and handwork feeds her soul.

Lorna has competed and won awards in local contests for her finished pieces. However, participating in contests is not the focus of why she does her craft. It is for the pure joy of creating.

Lorna enjoys donating her finished art to non-profit organizations for fundraising events and as gifts to family and friends. Lorna’s favorite quilt is a quilt made of embroidered blocks of Irish Water Spaniels. This quilt was donated and raised a significant amount for the Irish Water Spaniel Club. It is now in a private collection in Alaska.

Linda Pumphrey

Linda‘s lifelong passion is quilts, old and new. As a quilter, she found herself able to feed her passion with a career spanning over 35 years in the quilting industry. She is an active member on several non-profit boards and is the current Acquisition Coordinator for the International Quilt Museum.

Linda is known for her hand quilting, for which she has won international awards. But her first love is any type of hand needle art, especially embroidery. Embroidery was her first needle art, starting at the age of seven or eight.

Linda enjoys sharing her love of quilting and needle crafts by teaching classes and workshops. She has taught quilting and handwork across the United States and internationally. Additionally, Linda has written two books, Mountain Mist Historical Quilts and Red and White Quilting.

Linda started collecting quilts in the mid-1990s and focused on quilts where the design has very small pieces. Her collection has grown to include international pieces from her travels.

Linda’s love for quilting and needle art grew from her mother and grandmother. She can trace back that there have been quilters in her family for at least five generations. Perhaps it is in her DNA.

Meet Queer Craft Corner:

Founded by Armando Garcia, a proud Mexican American raised in sunny California, Queer Craft Corner NWA was created to provide safe places that encourage creativity, love and connection through arts and crafts. Through a full schedule of creative events across NWA, Queer Craft Corner seeks to build community within welcoming, safe, and inclusive spaces. Each artful gathering offers a chance to explore one’s creativity, share our stories, form meaningful connections, and support each other while crafting something beautiful.

America 250: Common Threads is organized in partnership with the American Folk Art Museum. This exhibition is part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, presented by Craft in America.