My experience at QuiltCon 2026 in Raleigh
I attended Quilt Con for the first time in 2026.
QuiltCon vs. Houston – the quick take
The QuiltCon quilt show itself was a bit smaller than the International Quilt Festival in Houston (which I attended in 2025). QuiltCon is maybe half the size in the number of quilts and the number of vendors. This made QuiltCon a bit more manageable to see everything and a little less creatively overwhelming. The quilts were definitely on the more modern side, with plenty of political statements made in quilts. If you’re looking for traditional quilts, this show will likely disappoint. But if you’re just looking for creativity and art, this will be fun.
On taking classes
Part of my exploration of quilt shows was to take a lot of classes. I am a self taught quilter so the whole class experience is new to me. I’ve now taken classes both at Houston and at QuiltCon, and the classes are the same caliber – and obviously dependent on the teacher. I didn’t end up taking a ‘bad’ class at either show, but I did conclude that I really enjoy learning on my own more. I’m easily overwhelmed by people and noise and by the end of each day I was happy to retreat to my hotel room. With both shows I felt like I got more creative juice from wandering through the quilts than from the classes.
Classes I took at QuiltCon 2026
Principles of Foundation Paper Piecing Design
Melissa de Leon Mason – https://www.quiltallthethings.com
I took this because I am trying really hard to like paper piecing and I thought if I was able to design my own patterns I might like it better? I think that if I had completed more than one paper piecing project in my life (like 10-20?) I would probably be able to figure this out, but the whole purpose of my convention class experience is to lean in to learning from other people.
Melissa had a very well thought out approach to teaching how to turn a picture into a paper piecing design. She was a very sweet and thoughtful teacher. I believe everyone in the class felt gently led down the path of learning this process and had success in the end. She had asked us to bring photos of our own that we wanted to turn into paper piecing designs, but we did not get to them. I would have definitely benefited from an expert’s opinions on how to approach my photo. I haven’t yet tried on my own since returning, so I don’t know how well the class information stuck yet!
Don’t Fear the Zipper & Advanced Zip Pouches
Emily Lang – https://www.instagram.com/emilylangquilts
I took both these courses. I am really curious about making bags, had only made one, and was looking for a course that would help me understand spatial things about designing bags and also some tips on different ways to install zippers so I wouldn’t have to learn by doing.
I should have read the descriptions more.
I really loved Emily. She was a great and clear instructor. She had a knack for keeping us all on track and moving along even though we were all at different points. There was quite a lot of advanced prep work and it was definitely good that she required it. In all, I made 4 different pouches and came home with supplies to make quite a few more.
But we just followed patterns. I only learned two ways of inserting zippers, 3 basic bag shapes and 3 different pocket options. If you have trouble following patterns, these were great courses. I was hoping (again, my fault) to get more design information. But I will take what I learned forward as I explore.
Skinny Grid Inset Piecing
Sharon Nicholls-Thomson – https://www.instagram.com/marmalade_hill/
I love precision piecing. I wanted to precision piece skinny strips in grids. This is not what this very adept and fun teacher was all about. This was more about modern improvisational piecing that had random skinny grids.
I did release the urge to be precise and definitely had fun (Sharon was a blast), but I’ll be figuring out some additional things on my own if I decide to add skinny grids to one of my designs.
Precision Needle Turn Applique
Barbie Mitchell https://barbiemitchell.com.au
This was more my style! Barbie was yet another great teacher. I feel really comfortable with the whole process of needle turn applique now. She was not only fun , but also had great demonstrations, with good timing and repetition.
She sent out a whole additional video after the class via email just to reinforce everything we learned. The thing that most impressed me was that I had a very specific question about ‘why not this way’ that another teacher may have brushed off, but she was able to think through it and explain clearly why it wouldn’t work. Great teacher!
I now have a project that I can take with me that is actually quilt related instead of having to resort to crochet when I travel.
Houston or QuiltCon?
If you’re debating Houston versus Quilt Con? Houston is bigger, has more classes, vendors and sheer volume of people alongside mostly traditional quilts. QuiltCon is about half the size, with more modern quilts and a focus on political statement quilts and nontraditional quilts. Both have wonderful quilts to spark your creativity and awe with plenty of classes to take to explore new techniques.
