This exhibit explores the creative potential of a 12 x 48 foot vertical format. Artists transform narrow space into bold statements, drawing inspiration from nature, abstraction, and personal stories. Each quilt stretches upward like a towering landscape or an unfolding scroll, using color, texture, and stitch to push boundaries. Through innovation and artistry, these pieces prove that even within constraints, fabric and thread can create limitless possibilities.

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.

The beauty of the four corners region relies heavily on the amazing geology of the Colorado Plateau and surrounding mountains. The high deserts, scattered forests, striking rock formations, and blue skies so characteristic of the region often serve as inspiration for artists in the regions. In this call, 4CC artists were asked to reflect on this geography, creating artwork that both literally and figuratively “rocks!”

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.

Advocacy quilts allow marginalized women and children to tell their story and reach new partners in the Global North. The Advocacy Project helps these communities use embroidery as a tool for therapy, human rights, and advocacy. With support from experts in the north, we turn their embroidered squares into quilts, tea towels and/or bags.

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.

The colors black and white create a cinematic backdrop for a bright pop of color. In this fun, eclectic collection of quilts made by the Handi Quilter National Educators, the drama of beautiful quilting is highlighted by this classic combination of light and dark. All styles of contemporary quilting, from classic blocks to modern improv piecing are highlighted by the beautiful machine quilting from these expert quilters.

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.

This exhibit features 15 Brazilian quilts to exemplify how continental and plural the country is. With various techniques and artists from different places, we are presenting a Brazil full of bossa, colors and unforgettable places, rich in diversity and with a very present artistic textile force. The concept of Brazilianness is based on aspects of national culture linked to nature and life in large centers.

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.

Art is an excellent way to express emotions. For this exhibit, artists depict 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 range of emotions from happy to sad.

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.

The most unusual creatures on earth live in the abyss of the deep ocean. Just as they have adapted to limited light, quilters here were challenged to design with limited colors. They used insight and personal style to create an underwater experience. Quilts in this Challenge were selected based on originality, creativity, design, impact, workmanship, use of fabric, and overall variety of the exhibit.

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.

The biggest group quilt in the history of Ukrainian patchwork made by 47 quilters in collaboration with the famous Ukrainian painter Orest Skop under the coordination of Natalia Lashko. The quilt consist of 65 segments which were sewn by Ukrainian quilter settled in different cities and countries as the refugees. Cossack Mamai is not just a historical or folkloric figure but a symbol of the resilience of the Ukrainian people.

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.

The works exhibited this time were meticulously crafted by Taiwanese quilting teachers, many of which have been previously showcased around the world.

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.”

Exquisite Quilt was launched as a collaborative project inspired by the Surrealist game Exquisite Corpse, where multiple quilters contribute to a composition without seeing the full picture. Each quilter builds upon a hidden foundation, guided by a designated connector point, resulting in a quilt that is both unpredictable and interconnected.

This exhibit celebrates the vibrant colors and beauty of fall through the artistry of Ontario’s quiltmakers. Drawing inspiration from golden leaves, crisp air, and Thanksgiving feasts, this exhibit blends traditional techniques with contemporary innovation. Featuring appliqué, paper piecing, and pixel art, each quilt tells a unique story..

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. The earliest documented use of the Princess Feather design was found on a quilt dated 1818, and Feathered Star quilts began appearing in the 19th Century, as well, intricately pieced and time-consuming to construct. Modern sewing methods and machines make quick work of these two cherished designs. This exhibit features both antique and contemporary works.

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.

This collection represents the best of noted quilter Frances Holliday Alford’s body of work.

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.

This exhibition of works by Virginie Peyre represents some of the values that are dear to her: the beauty of nature, wonder, respect for the living, faith in a united humanity, the opening of the heart necessary to meet the other, friendship, joy, the great yes to life, freedom, love, spirituality, and gratitude.

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 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 some of these international artists.

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 2025 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR). We’re sure you’ll enjoy the quilts of Texas, with winners her in both the Adult and Juvenile categories.

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.