QuiltCon 2026 Recap Part 2 - The Quilt Show

This is the second in my series of posts about my experiences in QuiltCon. The first recap post was about my quilts - Play Time! and Lavender Marmalade.

Overall, I took less quilt photos that I typically do at these shows. In fact, I appear NOT to have taken a photo of the Best in Show! Thankfully, the MQG has full photos of all the award winners here.

Midnight and Noon by @creativelifesampler won Best Hand quilting. It was fascinating to view the hand work from the front and the back.

The special exhibit for this year's show was quilts from the Gee's Bend Quilters. A number of quilters were in attendance and some were selling some of their quilts. These were my two favorites.

Both of these pieces were untitled and created by Marlene B. Jones

I did capture photos of some of my favorite quilts from the show and some of these were award winners in their categories.

(top) Elemental by @patticoppock, Stone @carolina_oneto, Small Acts @jen.broemel

(middle) Straw into Gold @bimbambuki_blog, Connect #2 @b_plus_q, Field Counts 1 @susanjlapham

(bottom) 2718 @quiltingjetgirl, Tinker Toys @wildpoppyquilts,  (I didn't capture the name of the artist - if you know, please comment so I can update the post!)

I love each of these quilts for so many different reasons: Straw into Gold is a repurposed rag, 2718 and Elemental for the precision of the piecing, Stone for the simplicity of the design and Small Acts and Connect #2 for the handwork.  

Having QuiltCon in our backyard made seeing quilts from fellow Triangle MQG guild members very exciting. The guild had a total of 11 quilts in the show, 2 of which were mine. I am so proud of the talent in our guild! In addition, we had 6 quilts (that I'm aware of) in the youth category!

(top) Gerrymander @karen_jones_kepley, Flock @rachelbrownartstudio, No Kings @aw_quilts

(middle) Paraboleum  @spanishquilter, Exothermic @spanishquilter, Possimpible  @meliwoodcrafts

(bottom) Fortress @rct_quilts, 2 Bee the 10 of Us @feltlikesweets, Boo  @ohsewsphynxy

There were a lot of quilts which focused on the terrible things going on in the US right now as it relates to our treatment of immigrants, LGBTQ+, and the overall state of the country. There were certainly more than these 9 but they were the ones that spoke to me.

(top) - Threads Speak @alderwoodstudio. This quilt was the first place winner in Group and Bee Quilts; Based On Race by Carey Petersen; Stitching What's Been Silenced by Sandra Hoyt

(middle) - Resistance @made_by_ecz; The Part of History @thequiltymagpie; He's Eating the Dogs, He's Eating the Cats @spaghetti_and_thread

(bottom) -  All Out of Fucks @cottonandbourbon;  Use Them or Lose Them, Banned Words June 2025 @melissasherrow,   No Kings @aw_quilts

I'll have another post in a few days sharing some of the best bits of the experience beyond the actual quilt show!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

QuiltCon Recap Part 1 - My Quilts

QuiltCon returned to Raleigh this year. I was able to attend all 4 days of the show plus I volunteered to hang the show, worked registration on Wednesday and then helped package up and mail all the quilts.

Was I exhausted by the end? Most certainly! But the week long event was so much fun, it was quite worth it!

As I have in past years, I am going to spread my thoughts about QuiltCon over a series of blog posts - this is the first in the series.

Play Time! hung in the Group and Bee category. I so enjoyed watching people react to the stick figures all over the quilt.

The prompt for my bee mates was Balance. I asked everyone to give color and shape to everything they were dealing with on a daily basis. A common theme was finding enough time to create and play. As the blocks came together, they took the shape of a giant playground structure. There are 37 stick figures scattered around the play structure. How many can you find? (Be warned, one guy blends right into the background.)

I was able to grab a photo with 8 of the 10 friends who contributed to the quilt. Such a wonderful group of people!

Standing: Emily @emilylangquilts, Ellyn @ellynz, Me! @elmstreetquilts, E.A. @eacox24, Elizabeth @elizabethkray and Charles @feltlikesweets

Kneeling: Chris @scarf.mama, Isabell @southbaybella, and Jenn @jenngeorgeburt

Not pictured: Sarah @sarahgoerquilts and Sara @bysarahruiz

Lavender Marmalade hung in the Diamonds Quilting Challenge category. Of particular excitement for me is that the quilt and pattern was featured in QuiltCon magazine!

While making this quilt, I kept (softly) singing the first verse and chorus of the Beatles song 'Diamonds in the Sky'. The line "tangerine trees and marmalade skies" inspired the quilt name. Creatively, the biggest challenge was using my walking foot to create the detailed quilting while trying not to focus on the overwhelming task of burying over 1,000 threads!

In addition to the walking foot quilting, I added some hand quilting.

I feel both honored and fortunate to have 2 quilts juried into the show.

Back soon with my next recap - the show quilts!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Introducing Play Time!

I am thrilled to share that my quilt Play Time will be on display at QuiltCon in just a few days.

Early last year, I was invited to join the @unscriptedquiltsbee . My month was June and my prompt for my bee mates was Balance. I asked everyone to give color and shape to everything they were dealing with on a daily basis. Bee members were sent a color palette and a FQ of Painter's Palette Blackberry for the background. You can see all the blocks below - aren't they fun?

Top Row: @emilylangquilts, @sarahgoerquilts and @southbaybella

Middle Row:  @ellynz, @bysarahruiz, @elizabethkray,, and @jenngeorgeburt

Bottom Row: @scarf.mama ,@feltlikesweets, and @eacox24 

As I shuffled the blocks around to figure out the final design, the result resembled a giant playground structure which fit nicely with a common theme that balance was needed to find enough time to create and play.

The background was quilted in a cross-hatch grid and then all the balanced shapes were quilted differently in coordinating colors. (Quilting was done on my domestic machine. I did use a fusible batting for the first time with great results and will do so again. )

As I was quilting it, the idea to add stick figures enjoying the playground was born! There are 37 stick figures scattered around the play structure. If you've a chance to see the quilt in person at the show, let me know how many can you found? (Be warned, one guy blends right into the background!)

Have a wonderful day! Patty