The 19th Century Patchwork Divas began in 1997 as a block exchange group, organized by Carol Staelhe and Betsy Chutchian, focusing on recreating antique quilts with the new readily available reproduction fabrics. What began as a small group of friends grew into a 22-member group connected by a mutual passion for antique quilts of the 19th century. Inspiration for the exchanges comes from the quilts the women made years ago to comfort their families and beautify their homes.

International Quilt Festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary with this incredible display or red, white, and blue quilts, dramatically hanging from the ceiling. The roots of Festival began in 1974 when Founder Karey Bresenhan opened an antique store in Houston that soon became a quilt shop (Great Expectations Quilts). The next year, she held a “thank you” show, sale, and event for customers. Expecting 200 attendees, more than 2,000 showed up in very inclement weather. Over the years, at larger and larger venues, Festival has become the world’s largest quilt show, sale, and Quiltmaking Academy. Tens of thousands of attendees from every state in the U.S. and dozens of countries come to Houston each fall to celebrate the artistry, creativity, and love of quilting.

This annual judged competition was open to quilters working in any style, and who liked to play with color to create a vibrant work! A $1,000 Best of Show Award and three $500 prizes each in Traditional, Modern, and Art categories were awarded by eQuilter.com.

After 20 years of quilting, Anna Maria has unearthed the essence of how she designs quilts based on overall structural features. Discovering this about her process inspired this body of work where she focuses on a few structures and then varies those themes in multiple ways. Anna Maria said “It feels safe and joyful to have some parameters, yet exciting and challenging to find diversity in palette, technique, and composition. Letting go of ‘my style of quilting’ and simply engaging all my interests was splendid.”

America’s age of Industrial Revolution, c. 1820-1860, brought about outstanding designs in printed cotton goods. Women throughout the country used these beautiful textiles to create their unique bed covers. Explore the rich colors, delightful motifs, and distinctive quilt designs that decorated American bedchambers with exceptional style. There are six contemporary quilts by Leah Zieber, which replicate works of the period.

Newly-made quilts reflecting 19th century designs which originated from Ronningen’s (aka “The Collector with a Needle”) antique quilt collection. Using traditional and contemporary techniques and materials, these quilts owe their roots to 19th century quilters.

This exhibit showcases floral-themed or designed treasures from the IQF’s permanent collection. International Quilt Festival Collection. The quilts—many of which are by artists whose identities are lost to time— date from the 1850s to 1920, and all feature beautiful hand appliqué.

An exhibit of traditional quilts made by the members of guilds based in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, and Arizona. See how contemporary artists are paying tribute to the time-tested styles and techniques of quiltmaking’s past.

Have you ever wondered what happens with a block exchange? A team of Handi Quilter National Educators made 12 blocks, kept one and swapped 11 with other educators. They then took the blocks and created an original quilt. See the fun layouts, color combinations, and the many different ways to quilt the same blocks in this fun exhibit of out of the box sampler quilts.

Lisa Ellis has had a long love affair with the textures and complexity of the overlapping circles of the Cathedral Window design. She was inspired to create this collection when she unearthed a quilt her grandmother made in the 1970s, a Cathedral Window made by hand on a muslin background. She played with the method her grandmother used to design the blocks but realized that she needed to take a different approach. Ellis developed her own construction technique, which can be pieced entirely by machine. She has worked within this series since 2015 and is still exploring its creative possibilities.

Art is an excellent way to express feelings. For this exhibit, artists depicted how they, a family member, or a friend celebrated a loved one’s wedding, birth, birthday, or memorial. Colors, patterns, traditional blocks, or abstract drawings are combined or used alone to convey a plethora of emotions across the spectrum.

This annual judged competition is open to quilters working in any style, and who liked to play with color to create a vibrant work! A $1,000 Best of Show Award and three $500 prizes each in Traditional, Modern, and Art categories will be awarded.

Quilting can be a showing of love and honor by an artist. For this exhibit, artists depicted how they, a family member, or a friend celebrated a loved one’s wedding, birth, birthday, or memorial.

Quilting can be a showing of love and honor by an artist. The works here depict how the artist, a family member, or a friend has celebrated a loved one’s wedding, birth, birthday, or memorial. And artists’ statements will tell their stories.

The changing weather is affecting the world—and often in a negative way. Creative quilts here show how it affects the artists’ homes, outlook, and everyday lives with immediate or long-term events and ecological impact. Quilters have often used their work to encourage growth and express activism.

Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant’ s book, Christmas Quilts, Christmas Memories, is a collection of colorful red and green quilts and heartwarming, often poignant, written memories of Christmas past by well-known quilters, teachers, and the authors. See many of those quilts from the book in this exhibit.

Oneto's work is a journey through color, curves, improvisation, and mathematics. These are disciplines that she develops in pieces rife with movement. They are both improvised and created with time, thought, and structure in patterns. She manifests both precision and impeccable craft, and uses of color as a creative language.

A touring exhibition of studio art quilts to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. Twenty-eight award-winning artists from across the United States accepted the invitation to create new works celebrating women’s suffrage and their eventual triumph.

The works exhibited this time were meticulously crafted by Taiwanese quilting teachers, many of which have been previously showcased in places such as China and Japan.

This work is a collaborative piece organized by Sherrell Cuneo. Artists from all over the world selected plants, birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, insects, and amphibians to showcase. There are 50 stars for 50 states and 50 species on a tattered, embattled flag. Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota said, “One should pay attention to even the smallest crawling creature, for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us.”

Eleven gorgeous antique quilt tops were lovingly quilted by Teresa Duryea Wong on a modern longarm quilting machine with hand-guided techniques and no computers. The story of each maker is lost to time, but her quilt is now finally finished. These objects span decades—even a century—and Wong has created a 21st-century narrative for each quilt by naming it in honor of her ancestors and family.

This exhibit will showcase Princess Feather and Feathered Star quilts. Quilters have long associated feathers with the 19th and 20th Centuries. Modern sewing methods and machines make quick work of these two cherished designs. You may enter antique, modern, recently made, inherited, or purchased quilts in these two styles.

How to Enter Your Quilt:
• Limit of two (2) entries per person
• There is an entry fee of $20 (USD) per quilt
• Registration closes on April 24, 2025
• Size: a minimum of 50 “, maximum of 108” on any side
• There is no “made-by” date requirement

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Andera Brokenshire has an educational background in Zoology and Natural History. She combines her love of the natural world with fabric and paint to create art quilts that depict botanical imagery. She uses fabric and paint to create the wonderful textures of nature while expressing the essence of a flower with the curve of a petal, the vibrancy of color and the diversity of flora. For her the creative process is a journey as essential as breathing. These quilts showcsase Andrea’s creative journey from 2010 to 2023 to find her artistic voice.

Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times. For this challenge, artists focused on the graphic beauty and intense colors of this urban expression.

As a native Guatemalan, Bianchi’s work is a fusion of American and Mayan Guatemalan textile traditions which transcend culture, race, language, and gender. These art quilts document her journey through a 25-year artistic career. The pieces show how she began work in an American quiltmaking traditional style and evolved by incorporating imagery, textiles, designs, and symbols from her native Guatemala.

As a native Guatemalan, Bianchi’s work is a fusion of American and Mayan Guatemalan textile traditions which transcend culture, race, language, and gender. These art quilts document her journey through a 25-year artistic career and show how she began work in an traditional style and evolved by incorporating imagery, textiles, designs, and symbols from her native Guatemala.

Artists from all around the world incorporate influences from their own cultures into the design and technique of their quilts. This prestigious, long-running international showcase includes recent quilts by international artists inspired by their culture, geography, and surroundings.

Artists from all around the world incorporate influences from their own cultures into the design and technique of their quilts. This prestigious, long-running international showcase includes recent quilts by international artists who create works inspired by such.

Artists from all around the world incorporate influences from their own cultures into the design and technique of their quilts. This prestigious, long-running international showcase includes recent quilts by international artists who create works inspired by them.

Frank Klein is a Texas art collector with an emphasis on the art quilt. His love of family, photography, and nature have developed a collection of fine art quilts that inspires the nature lover in all of us. The collection represents some of his favorite quilts collected over the last decade.

This solo exhibition showcases Kumiko Frydl's intricate and vibrant miniature quilts. It’s a journey she began in 2002 with the original classic I'm Still Sane all the way through to 2021 with her most recent creation Emerald Labyrinth and many other exquisite stops along the way. In this exhibit, great things come in small packages!

Featuring 15 selected quilts from last year’s Quilt Festival Judged Show in Houston. This includes four of the Master Award Winners and top winners in many different categories which earned cash, non-purchase prizes provided by industry sponsors.

Each year The Houston Junior Forum honors their president with an original hand-beaded skirt that is an amazing example of needlework arts. This exhibit assembles intricately beaded and appliquéd skirts from their seven-decade collection. Early skirts were worn to “Fiesta” themed fundraisers and reflect designs of the colorful “china poblana” Mexican ensemble. More recent designs reflect history or interests of presidents.

Two great Houston Institutions have come together for International Quilt Festival to present the Blue-Ribbon Winning quilts from the 2024 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR). We’re sure you’ll enjoy the quilts of Texas, with winners here in both the Adult and Juvenile categories. To participate in the HLSR quilt competition in 2025, check their website.

“Barn Quilts” are all over the U.S! Take a drive across rural roads and even cities and towns, and you will find quilt blocks painted on barns, silos, homes, fence rows, and other structures in bright, cheery colors…far larger than any stitched blocks! In this exhibit, take a “Sunday drive” with the family, and play your own game of "I Spy."

“Barn Quilts” are all over the U.S! Take a drive across rural roads and even cities and towns, and you will find quilt blocks painted on barns, silos, homes, fence rows, and other structures in bright, cheery colors. And they are far larger than any stitched blocks! In this exhibit, take a “Sunday drive” and play your own game of "I Spy."

Just as quilters create beautiful pieces of art with fabric, florists and gardeners cultivate works of beauty from the soil. This exhibit showcases floral-inspired quilts from across the spectrum in lush color and splendor.

Just as quilters create beautiful pieces of art with fabric, florists and gardeners cultivate works of beauty from the soil. This exhibit showcases floral-inspired quilts from across the spectrum in lush color and splendor.

Just as quilters create beautiful pieces of art with fabric, florists and gardeners cultivate works of beauty from the soil. This exhibit showcases floral-inspired quilts from across the spectrum in lush color and splendor.

Just as quilters create beautiful art with fabric, florists and gardeners cultivate works of beauty from the soil. This exhibit showcases floral-inspired quilts from across the spectrum in lush color and splendor.

How to Enter Your Quilt:
• Limit of two (2) entries per person
• There is an entry fee of $20 (USD) per quilt
• Registration closes on April 24, 2025
• Size: a minimum of 24”, maximum of 90” on any side
• The piece must be completed between 2022 and 2025

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Contemporary quiltmakers often look to the art form’s rich tradition and history for inspiration for their own works. This exhibit features recently made quilts that incorporate traditional blocks, styles, and/or techniques.

Contemporary quiltmakers often look to the art form’s rich tradition and history for inspiration in their own works. This exhibit features recently made quilts that incorporate traditional blocks, styles, and/or techniques.

Contemporary quiltmakers often look to the art form’s rich tradition and history for inspiration in their own works. This exhibit features recently made quilts that incorporate traditional blocks, styles, and/or techniques.

To celebrate our nation’s capital, many fiber artists portrayed key places and important events in the Washington, D.C. area. This exhibit showcases historical buildings, monuments, landmarks, museums, and recreational areas of the city and area, creating a visual travelogue.

Kaffe Fassett is the undisputed genius of color. From his partnership with Bill Gibb in which multi-colored, complex knitwear designs became his trademark, to becoming the first living textile artist to have a one-man show at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Kaffe has reigned supreme in textiles, patchwork, needle arts and more for over 50 years. As he reaches a milestone birthday this December, we reflect on his influence which has encouraged quilters across the world to embrace the brilliance of glorious colors and the beauty of bold designs in their craft and into their lives.

From valleys and volcanoes to mountains to monuments, landscapes often inspire artists, including many in the quilt world. This expansive exhibit showcases many stunning geographical wonders.

From valleys and volcanoes to mountains and monuments, landscapes often inspire artists, including many in the quilt world. This expansive exhibit showcases many stunning geographical wonders.

From valleys and volcanoes to mountains to monuments, landscapes often inspire artists, including many in the quilt world. This expansive exhibit showcases many stunning geographical wonders.

Fowler’s quilts reflect a lifetime of her fascinations and preoccupations. She enjoys making art about things that capture her imagination like rock stars and their songs, stories, world travel, and fractal geometry. And she’s found her creative delight using fabric, paint, stitch, and scissors. The quilts in this exhibit will spark treasured memories for viewers.

This collection of 19th, 20th and 21st Century signature quilts illustrates the many reasons why they were made, including friendship, presentation, commemoration, memorial, and fundraising examples. Many methods of making the signatures are shown, such as stamped ink, signature ink, and cross and running stitch embroidery. The collection includes a wide variety of pieced and appliquéd quilts.