Last month I made it to my first QuiltCon. I’ve been lucky to travel to many national quilt shows, but QuiltCon was an experience all on its own! The trip was made even better by going with Kendra, one of my quilting besties! We decided to jump all in this year going “Hard Core,” attending all 4 days, taking classes, and lectures and immersing ourselves into the QuiltCon universe. The result was an event that I believe will inspire and shape my own quilting in some very significant ways. Here are some fun takeaways from my first QuiltCon:
Takeaway #1: QuiltCon is about community.
While QuiltCon is technically a quilt show, the way the event is structured encourages community building. It looks like a typical quilt show, but there are some key differences that makes it easier for quilters to connect:
Membership in the Modern Quilt Guild is encouraged. QuiltCon attendees are encouraged to join the MQG to take advantage of early registration on classes, lectures, and more. But one of the biggest benefits of membership is joining an amazing world-wide community of quilters.
Members belong to a local guild or are independent members like me. I’m over 2 hours from the nearest MQG local guild, so I’ve enjoyed being an independent member and accessing online resources, which are good. I’ve enjoyed the online forums and learning more about what MQG quilters are working on. Even though my participation has been minimal so far, membership helped me feel like I was really part of the QuiltCon community.
QuiltCon has community spaces to sit down and chat during the event. Lounges and make and takes at vendor booths were available to encourage people to sit, chat, and create for a while. The coffee shop at the Raleigh Convention Center was also a busy hub.
The QuiltCon and MQG community is friendly and open. It was easy and fun to approach other members to chat. We all were excited to share our love of quilting!
Takeaway #2 - QuiltCon is colorful!
This applies to the fabrics, quilts, and the people! The colors of the fabrics and quilts varied widely and seemed much brighter. There were lots of solid colors and unexpected color combinations in fabrics, notions, quilts in the show and in the vendor booths. The Bernatex Booth even encouraged attendees to create their own color palette with colorful solid mini charm squares. The booth was popular, and it was fun to explore all the colors and pick my own palette. To me, QuiltCon seemed more vibrant both in color and energy than other quilt shows.
Takeaway #3 - QuiltCon is full of fun, colorful quilted fashion.
From bags to jackets to dresses and even a few jumpsuits, the Quilted Runway at QuiltCon was fun! Everyone seemed to bring out their best quilted couture just for this event. This really spoke to me because I started my sewing journey sewing and designing clothes and studied fashion design. I didn’t have time to make anything this year, but seeing everyone’s creative creations has inspired me to make something for my next QuiltCon and to think about where I can add some Quilt Couture to my regular wardrobe.
Quilting Daily hosted a runway fashion show at the event and you can see some of these great quilty fashions here.
Takeaway #4 - Quiltcon is a fun snapshot of Who’s Who of the Quilting Industry.
My friend and I went all 4 days and saw so many people we follow online as well as quilting and sewing pioneers like Marianne Fons and Amy Barickman. We missed seeing Kimbery Jolly, Misty and Natalie Doan and the Ruby Star Designers. But I saw many people I’ve worked with as well both personally and during my QOVF days. It was great to catch up with everyone and meet new people.
Takeaway #5 - QuiltCon’s lectures and classes really opened learning opportunities.
QuiltCon’s class structure facilitates learning in a different way from other quilt shows. Learning opportunities come in 2 forms – classes which are either 3 or 6 hours and lectures which are less than one hour. Both the classes and lectures are reasonably priced. Lectures are available to 100’s of people, hosted in a huge ballroom and you can sign up last minute if you’d like. This makes learning very accessible.
I’ve attended AQS shows in Daytona, Paducah, and Branson and the International Quilt Show in Houston and these shows have a similar class structure. The difference between these shows and QuiltCon is the format and number of lectures offered. One show or format is not better than the other – just different. I really enjoyed the lectures I took and how easy it was to buy at ticket and attend at the last minute.
I took 2 classes, learning FPP for the first time and learning my EQ8 software better, and attended 4 lectures. The lectures focused on boosting creativity, photographing quilts, and zero waste quilting. I learned a lot hearing from peer quilters who gave the lectures that I will implement in my own quilting. Here’s some highlights.
- Take time to create just for me, following that whisper, nudge, or crazy idea.
- When I’m struggling with creativity or have a block, go back to the basic principles of design and apply it to my project to see if that changes anything.
- How to take pictures of quilt flat lays with a ladder and different types of lighting.
- How to edit my quilt photos using simple tools on my phone.
- Ideas on gifts or donation projects I can make from my project scraps.
Takeaway #6 - QuiltCon challenged my thinking about quilts and art.
This year over 470 quilts were displayed at QuiltCon. The quilts were so creative and colorful! It’s hard to really describe how much these quilts expand the art of quilting. There were so many unique color palettes - colors I would have never put together but inspired me to expand how I think about color in my own quilts.
Another fun element was how quilters took basic shapes and “re-invented” them by morphing them, adding texture, used color to make them stand out, and more. I also loved the 3D elements several quilts had such as flowers, loops holding fabric rings, and quilted pieces and shapes going beyond the quilt edge. One of my favorite quilts like this was a quilt made by a youth who added a quilted black tail to their cat portrait quilt which gave it an unexpected and adorable finish.
The quilting on many of these quilts was amazing, too! There was a wide range of techniques – hand quilting, Kantha quilting, custom longarm quilting, embroidery, and beautiful free motion quilting. Many of the quilts were elevated by the quilting which sometimes became the focal point of the quilt.
Some of the quilts challenged my thinking, too, with social and political commentary. These quilts were art in pure form – evoking a response, a feeling, and thoughts about the quilt’s tough subject. I saw these quilts as a reflection of our current tough times and it was a deep experience, not only the art of making the quilt but also the message the quilt was sharing. I personally appreciated the collision of the craft of quilting and the expression of art in these quilts.
I encourage you to check out the top QuiltCon awards for some great examples of all of these unique quilt elements here.
My first QuiltCon was memorable, and I was lucky to share it with Kendra! It helped me move past some big creative blocks I’ve had for a while. I’m inspired and excited to try the new things I saw and learned this year. We’ll see how this year’s QuiltCon shapes my own quilting going forward. I know it will be a fun adventure, almost as fun as this year’s QuiltCon!