QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting event in the world, bringing together thousands of quilters from around the globe to celebrate modern quiltmaking.
We got a scooter for Maxine. Because of the scooter, we had to figure out how to get down to the show floor without using an escalator. The Raleigh Convention Center is not well designed. One elevator does not go all the way from entry level to show floor. It takes two elevators at different locations in the building. Aaargh! But we figured it out by trial and error plus, Maxine got practice on how to go forward and reverse on the scooter, entering and backing out of the elevators. The scooter takes a bit of a knack to ride, there is no brake and so to stop, you release the hand controls.
Before venturing down to the show floor I took some overview pictures. First, looking to the left, are the quilts hanging in the distance at the far corner. A total of 470 quilts were juried (or accepted) into QuiltCon 2026. Central to the hall are the tables for the concession stands for food and drinks. Second, looking straight on, are some of the vendors. Third, looking to the right, are more vendors. QuiltCon had 123 vendors. It was easy to get lost; the vendors had no assigned booth numbers and we had no correlating program. We finally realized the tall square columns each had an alphanumeric designation on them so we could find each other and meet up when separated using them as rendezvous points.
THE QUILTS
On our way out we took photos by the welcome banner.
Logistics and orientation accomplished, we set out to view the quilts first, leaving the vendors for later. I am more of a traditional quilter, so modern is not my vibe, but I can still appreciate the visual impact and the workmanship. I share the following pictures of sixteen quilts, which amounts to less that 3.5% of all of them, but these were my favorites. I am, of course, attracted by the color selections, but the quilting on many of these positively blew me away! I divided the quilts by the show categories of Challenges, Youth, Modern Traditionalism, Piecing, Appliqué, Improvisation, and the featured artist Hillary Goodwin.
CHALLENGES (3)
MID-DAY BREAK
SAYING FAREWELL(Windham Artisan Cotton 2026 Challenge)
Algorithmic Strictures of Deep Learning
by Colleen Pokorny / Albany, Oregon / Corvalis Modern Quilt Guild
This quilt was inspired by a Midjourney-generated image exploring shape, negative space, and Mid-Century Modern geometrics. Using Photoshop and Illustrator, I refined color placement, developed the pattern and templates, and mapped the quilting design. While co-designing with Al sparked bold ideas, its limitations, like poor color control and iteration overload, frustrated me. The final design reflects a layered process of digital experimentation and disciplined translation, transforming imperfect outputs into a precise, tactile composition.
(Windham Artisan Cotton 2026 Challenge)
Wings
by Beth Wells / Portland, Oregon / Portland Modern Quilt Guild
This piece began in a pattern free class and grew into a playful abstract work. The specific color of the Windham fabrics were my main inspiration, lending itself to the spontaneous flow of the composition. Machine applique was the perfect technique to achieve the clean crisp edges that give the quilt its graphic pop.
(Diamonds Quilting Challenge)
Accidental Asterisk
by Lindlee Smith / Bozeman, Montana / MQG Individual Member
My sole intention when designing this quilt was that I wanted 8 small stars stars within a larger star. It wasn't until after I shared about this quilt (and several people pointed it out) did I see the stars within the quilt actually formed an asterisk shape at the center of the star. I hadn't even seen it! It's so interesting how sometimes we can't even fully see what we are working so intently on.
YOUTH (3)
Ahh-moo-tions (emotions)
by Georgia Wespiser, age 9
Lee, Massachusetts / Northhampton Modern Quilt Guild
Lee, Massachusetts / Northhampton Modern Quilt Guild
This quilt is an expression of emotions inspired by the movie, "Inside Out 2". Can you pick out the blocks with these emotions; anger, jealousy, and nostalgia?
Midnight Blooms
- by Ellie Stuckey, age 18
Spring, Texas / MQG Individual Member
Midnight Blooms emerges from the whisper of antique blue-and-white china - moonlit porcelain reborn in fabric and thread. Deep indigo and soft white dance together, echoing the fragile grace of hand painted petals and timeworn glaze. Curves unfold like blossoms in twilight, each stitch a quiet brushstroke of memory. This quilt is a meditation on elegance and endurance - where the cool stillness of porcelain blooms into the living warmth of cloth.
by Lorelai Kuecker (age 16)
I did not record the title of this quilt nor the dress this teen quilter wore but I was very impressed. In fact I think I was in awe. I have pre-ordered her book, First-Time Quilter's Handbook from Amazon.
MODERN TRADITIONALISM (3)
Imagination Factory
by Paula Steel / Adlington, Lancashire, United Kingdom / MQG Individual Member
Using children's drawings as inspiration, the quilt uses both classic and hybrid blocks to build a creature/toy from a child's imagination. The bright colours are reminiscent of a child's crayon selection adding to the child like simplicity. Is it a bird, a frog, a puffin a robot or a mix? It is of course whatever you would like it to be.
Bloomin' Lot
by Tara Glastonbury / Kensington, Victoria, Australia / Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild
by Tara Glastonbury / Kensington, Victoria, Australia / Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild
I hope this quilt makes you as happy as it makes me! Made from quilting cotton and a number of upcycled sheets, Bloomin' Lot was inspired by the flower shapes I saw people creating with Lego dots. The product is no longer available, but the base units of the flowers were essentially drunkard's paths and squares, so I set about covering a quilt layout with a bright mix of flower shapes, leaving no spaceuntouched.
Hue's to Say?
by Erin Kroeker / Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada / MQG Individual Member
by Erin Kroeker / Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada / MQG Individual Member
We all view the world through a unique lens shaped by experiences, values, and perspectives. When these lenses overlap, like in a Venn diagram, shared connections emerge alongside distinct viewpoints. Just as overlapping colored lenses create new hues, our perspectives blend to form something richer. My father and son, both colorblind, experience colours differently, reminding me that even when our views don't align conventionally, the unique perspectives of others enrich our understanding of the world.
PIECING (1)
Where the Wild Quilts Are
by Cassandra Beaver / Urbana, Ohio, United States / MOG Individual Member
When driving through New England, I loved seeing the dome-shaped individual trees interlocking along the hillsides, resembling a wild version of a clamshell quilt. Eighteen whole-cloth mini quilts are joined into a single quilt using a potholder quilt technique, where each individual component is quilted and bound as its own entity before being combined into a larger quilt.
APPLIQUÉ (2)
Peppermint Twist
by Ann Feitelson / Montage, Massachusetts, United States / Northampton Modern Quilt Guild
by Ann Feitelson / Montage, Massachusetts, United States / Northampton Modern Quilt Guild
An homage to the humble candy disk. I love stripes; I love to make them whirl and twirl. I love color gradations. The backgrounds and the candy disks are arranged in gradating sequences.
Mod Floral
by Corinne Sovey / Austin, Texas, United States / Austin Modern Quilt Guild
This piece reinvents the floral quilt using a modern perspective. My favorite technique, turned-edge appliqué, allowed me to place complex shapes onto a single, uninterrupted wholecloth background. It was a rewarding challenge to manage the scale of the wholecloth fabric while ensuring every appliquéd element achieved a clean, crisp finish.
IMPROVISATION (1)
Hopes and Illusions
by Emilie Trahan / Joliette, Quebec, Canada / MQG Individual Member
Fourth chapter of a series that explores the relationship between red and every other color. This quilt is centered around red and green. I challenged myself to use an old Christmas tablecloth as a print, while trying to stir away from Christmas. I focused on two complementary principles: hope and illusion. Opposites and alike, separated by the fading line of reality. Hope is essential, but illusion is its mandatory counterpart. Can you see the difference?
WORKS of HILLARY GOODWIN (3)
Hillary Goodwin is a textile artist and quilter based in Northern California with roots in North Carolina and Washington State. Her work explores modern themes while paying homage to the rich traditions of quilting, dyeing, hand stitching, and leatherwork. Botanically dyed fabric, repurposed t-shirts, grain sacks, as well as modern textiles all show up in her often hand-quilted pieces. Her work has won prestigious awards and been exhibited internationally, and has been featured in multiple books and magazines. One of her community quilts was acquired in 2021 by the Henry Form Museum in Detroit and is part of their permanent collection.
From the artist:
Quilts hold the stories of our lives. Mine tell the story of my participation as an early fan and member of the Modern Quilt movement with the experimentation and bold style this group encourages. They pay tribute to other quilters with collaboration. They speak of my life as an ER doctor who started her career at the onset of the HIV pandemic and worked on the front lines through the Covid pandemic. And lastly they pay tribute to my experience as a member of the world during a tumultuous time who has tried to stand on the right side of history and find comfort one stitch at a time.
!!!
by Hillary Goodwin / California, United States / MOG Individual Member
Exclamation marks can express both distress and delight. For me, in our current political setting these marks scream danger and the colors are intentionally largely skin tones. This was a meaningful collaboration with quilting done by Shashari Kiburi.
Bloberella 2.0
by Hillary Goodwin / California, United States / MQG Individual Member
Blobs make me happy as do improv stripes. This quilt is a celebration of improvisation both front and back and part of my "Bloberella" series adding small components of improv onto odd shaped appliqued circles.
The Egg
by Hillary Goodwin / California, United States / MOG Individual Member
This piece plays with free form improvisational piecing and the elaborate and detailed quilting by Rachael Dorr - a fun collaboration.
MID-DAY BREAK
After gawking at the quilts, we stopped mid-day for lunch, sitting at a round table and people watching while we ate. The escalators were a great source of amusement. We watched, befuddled, as more and more people came down the escalator while it appeared very few were going up. Where was everybody going to fit?
Some vendors have things to try as well as items to sell. My sister had a blast trying out this long arm quilting machine.
PURCHASES
My husband is supportive of my hobby. When I go to shows he encourages me to buy stuff. "After paying for your airfare, hotel, and meals, make sure you make the trip worth your while," he says. Having just completed the 21 Day Declutter Challenge from Just Get It Done Quilts, I did rein myself back. Here is what I bought.
My husband collects stamps so this fabric caught my eye. I bought it in gray tones but I thought the yellow colorway would provide a good contrast. I bought one yard of each. When I got it home, I was happily surprised to find out the yellow was a pastel spectrum with color gradations of blues, greens, and pale reds as well.
This is only ½ yard but I could not pass up these cute Tula Pink fruits on a happy green background.
I bought two patterns and a mini kit to make a pop up canister.
My sister was thrilled with her purchase of two zippers. She had never seen striped zippers before, much less those with contrasting teeth. They are 30" long so she plans to make a tote bag of some kind.
THE VENDORS
After lunch we went over to the to the vendor side of the show floor. We did learn that the vendor stalls were super crowded, and to get close to the wares was a challenge. The lines to pay for items were long but everybody chatted and was cheerful while waiting. The area with 123 vendors was indeed a mob scene. You had to have eagle eyes to spot something you wanted from out in the aisle or have the patience and flexibility to squeeze your way in close enough to get a better look. The were many of literally "on line" conversations struck up while waiting to pay for treasures to be bought. It was a friendly, chatty crowd, but also oblivious to anything other than the fabric and other vendor wares. My sister in her scooter was below eye level. What we really needed was a tall flag so Maxine would stand out in the crowd. When in a tense pedestrian traffic situation, the instinct is to hold on tight — not let go. We had a few skirmishes but no one was hurt. All involved saw the humor in the situation, and we had a few good laughs. Robin turned down the speed of her aunt's vehicle. Huh — and I thought I'd left the freeway traffic back in California!
Robin bought a panel for customizing an article of clothing for walking though her next quilt show. Some of the outfits folks were wearing as QuiltCon were amazing and we were a bit remiss in not decking ourselves out so artistically! Robin also got some iridescent Tula pink scissors. She did not have any checked luggage so I had to take them back to California with me and mail then to her in Oklahoma lest they be confiscated from her carryon at the airport. For her husband, Robin bought the shirt, "i enjoy romantic walks through the quilt shop". He is a tremendous help at her quilt guild shows and would happily wear this shirt. He had flowers and chocolate waiting for her when she came home.
On our way out we took photos by the welcome banner.
Earlier in the day, Robin had met outside the convention center for a photo with all the quilters from Oklahoma that had come to QuiltCon. My daughter is standing second from left, between and R and the A of Raleigh.
I am glad for the adventure and time enjoyably spent with my sister and my daughter. There was a lot of very impressive talent to behold at this modern show. Sharing your thoughts and opinions with those you love is invaluable. I am so grateful we had this time together.
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