Wisconsin Winter Quilt Show 2023

Last week I shared the Fabulous exhibit of Fad quilts at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Art. This week I attended their Winter Quilt Show and I had a wonderful time. It was such a joy to connect with so many quilters ~ many dear friends and some new ones. In the past I’ve shared some of my favorite parts of shows I attend and the response is always positive, so here I go again. I wish I could share all of the quilts with you, but space is limited, so I hope you’ll enjoy seeing a few of my favorites in no particular order.

As I wandered through the show I noticed a number of themes that some of the quilts fell into (this was all in my head, but I think you’ll see it too). Like asymmetrical quilts. “Solar Flare” by Karen Franks fit this theme:

as did “Evening Star” by Diane Galarneau:

I also enjoyed many other quilts in the modern category, like this grouping of small works:

I was amazed at the number of makers who worked with many, many pieces in their quilts. “Anemone” by Judy Goldammer was made with paper foundation piecing.

I had the opportunity to meet Judy and was tickled when she told me that she keeps trying to make small quilts, but they always end up being bedsized. She said she actually doesn’t have much wall space and rotates her quilts on the beds.

Another, more traditional quilt with many pieces was “All Squared Up” by Sharon Meyer:

This is a very large quilt and I didn’t measure them, but I think the blocks are 3″ square! Sharon exchanged them with a group of friends, and then came up with this exciting setting and border. WOW!

As I continued to snap photos of quilts with lots of pieces I found this amazing hand appliquéd piece which was based on a civil war era quilt.

When I read the sign I discovered it was made by Sharon Meyer ~ the same quilter who made the square in a square quilt above! Her piecing is as great as her appliqué. Sharon called this quilt “Grapes and Cheddar/Wine and Cheese”, and there are 1620 circles on the quilt. That would definitely place her in my “many pieces” category.

And speaking of talent in both piecing and appliqué ~ Ellie DeLia’s quilt “Sewing Lesson” also fits my category:

Just look at all those half square triangles!

The next quilt fit the museum’s theme of being part of a Fabulous Fad ~ Lori Weaver made “Feed Sack Frenzy” from the feed sacks she’d collected for over 40 years.

Lori wrote that she was unsuccessful in “using up” her feed sacks 😄.

I always love to see quilts in the Youth category. We need to raise up and encourage the next generation of quilters, and Lindsey Kroening did a great job with her quilt “So Much Space”:

I can’t resist sharing just a few more that made me smile… like Kathy Foster’s quilt “America’s Heartland”. What an interesting setting for her octagonal blocks.

And my friend Cathy Borneman’s quilt “Ant’titude”.

What fun! Speaking of fun ~ I just had to enter my Rainbow Bibs in the miscellaneous Fiber Art category. I love the way they were hung.

And the quilts in the show’s challenge “Hearts All Around” were delightful!

There were quite a few new vendors this year, and the variety and amount of inspiration did a bit of damage to my pocketbook.

Sew Smart was one of the vendors, and I don’t remember visiting them before. They have shops in Wausau and Rhinelander. Mary owns the Wausau shop and she taught me something I hadn’t heard of before. I was admiring the lovely quilts in her booth ~ which I thought were pieced with panels,

when I overheard her telling 2 other quilters that they weren’t pieced quilts, but they were actually “digital panels”. As we looked closer we discovered that these “wholecloth quilts” were entire tops printed with the panels the shop had for sale, and they looked as if they were already pieced into a quilt. Mary said the fabric manufacturers offer them to shop owners to save them from having to make so many store samples! Here’s a close up:

I think you can see that they are layered and quilted with a simple all over meander. These pieces are not available for resale. She had one that was quilted on the seam lines and it was very hard to tell it hadn’t been pieced (I didn’t get a photo, so you’ll have to trust me 😊). What a clever idea. Thank you Mary for allowing me to share these photos and information. I think I need to make a trip to Wausau to visit Sew Smart. Mary said they have a new educational area. Who knows ~ maybe I’ll get to teach there sometime in the future.

Oh, speaking of teaching, I was so pleased to share my Friendship/Autograph quilts in an afternoon lecture. What a blessing to be a part of the show!

It was a wonderful day. Thank you to EVERYONE who had a quilt in the show ~ for giving us so much inspiration! Thanks also to the museum and all their spectacular staff and volunteers.