Thoughts on QuiltCon 2024

I’ve been collecting my thoughts for a few days about the whirlwind that was QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh, NC. QuiltCon is my favorite quilt show–there’s so much energy and excitement, the quilts are spectacular, and it’s such fun to see so many artists and makers there.

I was only able to go to QuiltCon last year for one day, and I was determined to make up for lost time this year! I signed up to go Wednesday night through Monday morning so I didn’t miss anything.

It was an amazing experience. I bought a lecture pass so I could see any of the lectures I wanted to–my favorites were the first one–David Owen Hastings and Teresa Dureya Wong presenting 10 exciting international artists, and the last one–artist and fabric designer e bond talking about her process to create my current favorite fabric lines!

I unexpectedly gave a lecture myself. My friend Sarah Bond wasn’t able to be at QuiltCon, so I was asked to substitute for her with a new lecture on color. Many thanks to Elizabeth Berger for the photo.

I had one quilt in the show–in the Maximalism exhibit. Many thanks to Heather Pregger for the photo. Full Wild was a fun exercise in using prints and solids together. Each block was cut freehand out of one of e bond’s fabulous prints from her Root line, plus three coordinating shot cotton solids from Oakshott Cottons. The result was wildly colorful due to the variety of fabrics, yet oddly soothing due to the single block composition.

I didn’t take any classes–I haven’t done that at QuiltCon for a while–so I had time to visit the show multiple times. With over 600 quilts, its easy to miss some. The Maximalism exhibit was one of my favorite sections, and not just because that’s where my quilt was hanging.

As a teacher, I was so proud of three of our students from the class I team taught with Maria Shell and Sarah Bond at Madeline Island last September for having their class quilts accepted at QuiltCon!

And I’m excited to announce that we will be teaching together again at Madeline Island at the end of September 2025! The class is called Medallion Madness and you can get more information at https://www.madelineartschool.com/shop/instructors/quilting-instructors/sarah-bond/piecing-perspectives-medallion-madness-3/

One of the best things about QuiltCon is hanging out with friends that I might not see at other times of the year, as well as running into friends old and new as I walk the show. The first image below is of three pairs of boots worn by Maria Shell, Kerri Green and me after a long day walking the show. And the second is a group of us at the AirBnB we rented hanging out in the evening.

Here are a few quilts that I especially liked, in no particular order:

I love the shapes and colors of this one by my friend Heather.

 

I met Paola in person in 2022 at my solo show in France, but we’d been online friends for several years. The use of value to create excitement in this one is mesmerizing. It was good to see her again.

This is an important statement in my opinion, plus I really liked the use of color and value to make the words stand out.

Simple, but stunning–I’m always interested in different ways to use curved shapes.

UPDATE: my original post accidentally misattributed this quilt to someone else. My apologies to both makers!

Karen’s use of color in this piece made my heart sing!

I’ve followed Jennifer for some time and it was great to see her work in person. It’s huge and has such visual impact. The judges apparently agreed and awarded her First Place in the Improvisational category.

Finally, I had fun doing a book signing in the C&T Publishing booth on the Saturday! Thanks to Gailen Runge for the photo.

I was inspired, energized and exhausted all at once when QuiltCon was over—but already looking forward to next year in Phoenix.