Join the 6th annual Modern Mini Quilt Challenge on social media!

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show and Nancy Zieman Productions invite quilters and sewists of all experience levels to join the sixth annual Modern Mini Quilt Challenge, taking place throughout the month of May on social media!

Stitch a 24-inch square (or smaller) modern mini quilt in fabrics featuring a modern color palette and design. Then, send a high-resolution image of your quilt to [email protected] by 5 p.m. CST on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Enter one modern mini quilt for a chance to receive a prize from one of our generous sponsors. A complete list of rules and prizes can be found here.

Share your progress on social media throughout the challenge by using #ModernMiniQuiltChallenge! The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show will post entries to their Facebook page throughout the month of May — be sure to look for your entry.

We will then use entries to curate an exhibit for The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Sept. 8-10, 2022.

Previous Modern Mini Quilt Challenge winners:

“American Alligator” (15″ x 15″) by Kelly Spell of Hixson, Tennessee, first-place winner of the 2017 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge.

Artist statement: “I volunteer as a docent at Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga and love the skin patterns on the gators who live there — they inspired this quilt. I used raw-edge appliqué and free-motion quilting techniques to create loads of texture. Many people assume alligators have green skin, but the color can vary depending on the environment where they live!”

“Unscripted in Mint” (18″ x 20″) by Kim Lapacek of Poynette, Wisconsin, first-place winner of the 2018 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge.

Artist statement: “I used improvisational piecing to create this modern mini quilt. The fabrics “told” me what to do with them, and the final result makes you think and look farther into the quilt.”

“Prism Perfection” (23” x 22”) by Susan Bolte of Parrish, Wisconsin, first-place winner of the 2019 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge.

Artist statement: “Equilateral triangle play with stripes and gradient fabric.”

“Quarantini” by Barb Vedder of Madison, Connecticut, first-place winner of the 2020 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge.

Artist statement: “I was inspired to create this quilt after reading ‘Olive, Again.’ I love to work with circles, so it was fun to make martini olives with them. Cheers!

“Maximalist Fans” (21-1/2″ x 23-1/4″) by Elizabeth Ray of Bentonville, Arkansas, first-place winner of the 2021 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge.

Artist statement: “This quilt started when I took an improv curves workshop at my local NWA MQG guild’s retreat in November 2019 taught by Therese Ramsey. The workshop and Maximalist Fans quilt was inspired by a score or techniques from ‘The Improv Handbook For Modern Quilters’ by Sherri Lynn Wood. I had a lot of fun using my many solid scraps in a saturated modern palette and building and joining the many fans improvisation-ally. I quilted it with rainbow variegated thread using many quilting motifs I learned from the QuiltCon 2019 Modern Simplicity class I took from Jodi Robinson. I finished the quilt in November 2020 with a yellow binding for a bright cheerful finish.”

Thank you to our event sponsors: