The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show 2025

I want to send a big welcome to everyone who signed on to join my blog at the show, and thanks to all of you who have been loyal blog readers for a while.

It’s that time of year again. The big quilt show in Madison was a huge success and I was so grateful to be a part of it! My preparations were a bit of challenge this time because I presented 3 workshops and 4 lectures. The students were wonderful and it all was so much fun!

My friend Lori and I arrived the day before to get settled into our hotel in preparation for the event. The Clarian has been taken over by the Spark by Hilton ~ and the new design on the building looks quite quilterly. What a nice welcome.

The next morning I looked out the window to see a familiar site in Wisconsin ~ a group of people tailgating. What wasn’t typical was they were waiting for a quilt show, not a ball game. Too funny!

I taught my Paintstick Applique class all three mornings (I’m planning to do a post on that next week), and my new “Problem Solving Tips, Tools and Techniques” lecture in the afternoons. I snapped a pic of the afternoon crowd on Thursday. What a happy, good looking group!

The only down side to teaching so much is that my time at the show is limited. But I did make the most of it and, of course, I hit the quilts first (my favorite part). As many of you know, I like to share some of my favorite quilts here. The ones I choose don’t need to have ribbons, they just need to “speak” to me in some way (I wish I could show you them all!). The ones that grab me often have something unique about them that draws me in, like the use of gradations (one of my favorite subjects), or a view from a different perspective. I hope you’ll enjoy my selections.

Jean Hansen chose a pattern to show off one of her favorite panels for “Happenstance Gone Rural”, and she did a wonderful job of placing her blocks so that the flow from color to color and light to dark value frame the panel beautifully.

I’ve often admired Edyta Sitar’s pattern “Eldon”. Susan Nixon’s version, “Searching for Why” was made during her battle with cancer, and she did did it especially well. What a pretty quilt!

Mary Rapp made “Purple in the Past Tense” from vintage hankies and linens. Lovely!

Rob Stoll taught a class entitled “Skill Builder” in which he had students make common blocks in different ways. His use of blacks and whites made for a very interesting quilt.

“Norah’s Carousel” was made by Diane Casto Tennant for her granddaughter. It features Norah’s favorite animals. Isn’t the gradation fabric in the background a great choice?

“Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” is Sara Stoltman’s original design using appliqué pieces from a kit. I love how the vines curve around in a spiral.

Another original design quilt was made by Katie Henrich and is entitled “Flight of Wonder”. It was inspired by a photograph of Katie’s boys, and every aspect is so well done! The quilting is especially fascinating.

Every year I’m impressed by Ann Crowl Meyer’s work, and I love it when I can talk to her about it. Her quilt this year, “Swiss Spring”, was also inspired by a photo. She uses fused, raw edge appliqué techniques, and her perspective, colors, detail, and workmanship are spectacular.

I’ve admired Linda Fleschner’s work for years, and “Crucible” is not only extremely creative – but it’s orange (I love orange)!

Another very creative quilt is “Into the Wind” by Michelle Bartholomew. She captured the movements of a quilt in the wind in a static piece. Amazing!

Sandra Kohls’ attention to detail is always stunning, and her work in “Jen’s Garden” is a delightful example of it.

Just look at the fussy cutting in this detail shot, and every one of the 2800 pieces is hand stitched!

“Stars in the Windows” by Bill Hoernke was made from a pattern using a beautiful kaleidoscope print fabric. I was fascinated by the way each window crops a star in a different way, creating an intriguing effect.

Nina Schipp made “Strawberry Swirl With Vines” from a pattern and then added her own borders with appliqués and scalloped edges. Delightful!

I’ve admired many tumbling block quilts over the years. At this show I found “In the Image of God” by Jane van den Berg to be a very clever variation. In her own words “Every baby is a gift of life created in the image of God. The letters on the blocks spell BABY BRUMELS CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD”

And here are a few of the blocks close up. Sew sweet – and her handwork is lovely!

This week’s parting photo is one I couldn’t resist taking at the end of the day. Especially when I realized the tired quilter on the bench is a friend of mine (who shall remain anonymous 🤣).

More fun at the show to come in next week’s post!