QuiltCon 2023 — Part 1 — Quilts

This was my second time at QuiltCon. And as the other one, it was exhausting – though less so since I learned from last time that it is well worth it to fly in a day or two earlier.

I had planned to go from Mon – Mon since that would have been best for recovery, but the flight on Mon was canceled so I rebooked to Tue – Tue. And it turned out perfectly.

I had Tue for the long trip and checking in. Wednesday to recover from jetlag and to start with sightseeing, and I was fit and ready by Thu to start QuiltCon. And while I was totally overwhelmed with Quilts & Co. on Sun, it was fun to do more sightseeing on Mon and Tue.

I have divided my recap of QuiltCon into two posts. In this one, I will show you my favorite quilts. The second post will contain info about my workshops, lectures, and sightseeing — and the people, it is what QuiltCon is about for me ;) I hope to have it ready by Sat. Coming back with covid sure derailed all my time management.

Quilts

As you might know, there are various categories like Improv, Minimalism, Handwork, etc. According to someone who counted and categorized, at QuiltCon 2023 hung 471 juried quilts and about 650 in total including the community outreach and special exhibit quilts.

At first, I thought I would sort my quilts this year by my favorites in each category. But looking back at the 100 quilt & quilt detail photographs I took, that would not make sense in most cases. Some categories are just represented by one quilt – if even that. So as last time, I am trying to pick my 10 favorites. And show you a few additional details or statements that impressed me. And I might have grouped a few quilts from one category if I had various inspiring ones.

PS: If you have a MQG membership you have access to all the quilts including the description on the label, that is often very informative. Quilt viewing ends March 31, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

So grab a tea or coffee for a picture-heavy and longer blog post ;)

My Personal Top 10

Modern X Exhibit

Community Outreach

Special Elements & Political Quilts

Small Piecing

Beaded Details

Inspiring Process > Fun Quilting

Political

At first, it felt as if there were fewer (very emotional) political quilts than in 2020. In hindsight, while re-reading the labels, I found quite a few. They were just not as much in your face. Additionally, I have read, that there might have been more quilts by male artists but as with everything here, that might have been a subjective view as well. I hope you nonetheless like my highlights.

Other Reviews

As I find it very interesting to see how differently we all pick different quilts, I’d advise you to read a few more QuiltCon reviews. If you haven’t already ;)

I loved the ones by Laura @quiltfortcompany
QuiltCon 2023 | Quilts in The City of Escalators
QuiltCon 2023 | Trends in Modern Quilting

And I found the quilt in the ones by Sophie @lunalovequilts a great addition. She had a few in the posts that were in my top selection but didn’t make it into my post. It is long enough already ;)
QuiltCon – Part I
QuiltCon – Part II

Thanks for reading such a long and picture-heavy blog post!

And I hope to see you back soon for the second part.

Best wishes
xo Melanie