feline fanatic

You'd be surprised. Are there any guilds in your area? If you have a large guild, I strongly recommend joining. You don't have to attend meetings but you will hear about teachers and lecturers coming in to present to the guild through the newsletter. I live near Albany and our guild got Sharon Schambers to come teach. You can't get much more big name than that. If the guild is large enough they can afford to pay the fee and as a member you can offer up a recommendation. Some shops will occasionally bring in a big name if there is enough interest. Again, you have to find if they have an online presence and sign up for their newsletters and haunt their class offerings regularly. You need to check out the national shows. AQS has a national show coming to Syracuse the beginning of August. http://www.quiltweek.com/syracuse/ They have not yet published what workshops they will be offering. Lancaster PA is in March. The big shows always have workshops and lectures offered by big name teachers. But be aware big name teachers charge big fees for classes. Ranging often at $100 to $150 for a one or two day workshop. To find out if you have local talent you have to get out to your local guilds, local shows and quilt shops.