Thoughts on QuiltCon 2022

I’m just back from an amazing trip to Phoenix for QuiltCon 2022! I was on the fence about going, and even the day I left I wondered if I was making the right decision, but I’m so glad I did. QuiltCon is an annual show organized by the Modern Quilt Guild featuring a juried show, lectures, classes, and vendors.

The last big event I did before everything shut down was QuiltCon 2020 that February in Austin, TX. So I guess it’s fitting that the first big event I’ve done since is QuiltCon 2022. I didn’t apply to teach and I didn’t take any classes myself, but I did buy a lecture pass and that seems to be the best plan for me. I saw some interesting lectures–particularly the ones by Mary Fons on quilts as art (or not) and by my friend Maria Shell on Building Community through Quilts.

But the absolute best thing was seeing people in person again!

The QuiltCon organizers and the Phoenix Convention Center did a good job of setting things up so people wore masks on the show floor and in the lecture halls and classrooms (I did take mine off briefly for a couple of photos) and the aisles were much wider and more spacious than previously. They even had stickers you could put on your nametag lanyard–green for “please hug me,” yellow for “I’d prefer an elbow bump” and red for “keep your distance.” There weren’t as many vendors, or visitors for that matter, as they have had in the past, but that’s probably to be expected.

I did have a quilt in the show–Blue Confetti in the pieced category–and it was great fun to see it hanging in such good company! The quality of the quilts in the show gets better every year.

Here are a few of my favorites–in no particular order.

This quilt was entirely pieced and the colors were just fabulous! I was sorry I didn’t run into my friend Marla Varner–the talented maker of this one–at the show. It was a little difficult to recognize people with masks on and some had different hair too–like me.

I did get to chat with Sarah Hibbert from the UK. She made this beautiful quilt and she has a new book coming out soon called From Collage to Quilt that sounds very exciting.

I kept going back to look at this stunning quilt by my friend Irene Roderick. I’d seen it on Instagram, but it’s not the same as seeing it in person. Those skinny lines are really skinny and there are some interesting prints included too. I was glad to get to spend some time with Irene during the weekend.

Annie Hudnut won first place in the Improvisation category with Broken Clock. I love the energy of this piece and the use of color. She had several other wonderful pieces in the show as well and I was glad to be able to catch up with her over the weekend.

 

There’s a lot of energy in this piece by Jill Fisher too–and I loved the colors.

The name says it all on this quilt–such a beautifully spare composition by Debbie Grifka!

Patti Coppock won not one but two ribbons for her wonderful Jessica Big Skirt quilt–Judge’s Choice and 3rd place in Use of Negative Space. I love Patti’s work on Instagram and was happy to finally meet her in person. This one is inspired by a drawing by Patti’s granddaughter.

And last but not least, I loved everything about this small piece by Karen Stone–the colors, the curves, the quilting. And the judges did too, since it won a 3rd place ribbon in the Small Quilts category.

I could keep going–there were so many wonderful quilts in the show!

I didn’t do a great job of taking pictures of people, but here’s one of Heather Pregger and me so you can see how happy we were to be there! Thanks to Kathy Cook for the photo in front of a beautiful temperature quilt which I failed to get the name of or the maker. My apologies.

This is the ceiling of the lecture hall–those shapes were so interesting! They might make it into a quilt someday.

And one final shot of a gorgeous sunrise from my hotel room. It was a great trip and I hope to see people again at QuiltCon in Atlanta in 2023!

And I did make a few purchases . . .