Enjoy these Kids’ Quilt Challenge entries from The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show

July 27, 2022 Tara Lovdahl Leave a Comment

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, presented by PBS Wisconsin and Nancy Zieman Productions, celebrates the art and artists of quilting. Each year the event invites youth quilters and sewists, ages 15 and under, to enter their quilts in the Kids’ Quilt Challenge.

Quilts from the challenge will be displayed at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show in Madison, Sept. 8-10, and participants are invited to attend the public awards presentation at the event on Saturday, Sept. 10. This challenge, sponsored by Nancy Zieman Productions, awards gift certificates to the top three quilts judged on workmanship, creativity and overall appearance.

Enjoy these beautiful and imaginative entries from last year’s Kids’ Quilt Challenge, submitted by youth sewists from Wisconsin and across the country.

There’s still time to participate in this year’s Kids’ Quilt Challenge! Entries must be received by Aug. 12, 2022. Proceeds from The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show support PBS Wisconsin programs and community outreach projects.

“Picket Fence,” created and quilted by David Elsen from La Crosse, Wisconsin

Artist statement: I am David Elsen from La Crosse, Wisconsin, and I am 13 years old. I looked through Pinterest designs and liked the Picket Fence pattern. I wanted to add interest, so I used rainbow thread for the quilting to contrast with the fabrics that I used. The difficult part of the quilt was to match up the edge-to-edge quilting in the hoop!

“The Sky Life,” created and quilted by Maxwell Gibson from Goshen, Indiana

Artist statement: My name is Maxwell Gibson, and I’m from Goshen, Indiana. I just turned 10. Seeing a hot air balloon on spring vacation and shopping for material inspired me. Using multiple types of thread that I wasn’t used to was the hardest part. I enjoyed working on my name tag the most.

“Colors,” created and quilted by Elaina Gray from Summersville, West Virginia

Artist statement: My name is Elaina Gray, and I am from Summersville, West Virginia. I’m 9 years old. It took months for me to talk Nana into letting me use her peacock fabric for my quilt. The beautiful colors in it were my inspiration so I named the quilt “Colors.” I liked moving the half-square triangles around the design board until I was happy with how they looked together.

“The Eight Point Quilt Star,” created and quilted by Taylor Hunt from Columbus, Wisconsin

Artist statement: My name is Taylor Hunt. I am from Columbus, Wisconsin. I’m 11 years old. This is the first wall hanging I have made and my first time doing the quilting and binding. This quilt is called “The Eight Point Star Quilt.”

“Counting Sheep,” created and quilted by Lindsey Kroening from Cedarburg, Wisconsin

Artist statement: I am Lindsey Kroening. I’m 12 years old and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. I chose this project because I raise sheep in 4-H. The most challenging parts of making this quilt were learning to appliqué and creating a pattern from a picture on Pinterest.

“Suncatcher,” created and quilted by Abigail Ray from Bentonville, Arkansas

Artist statement: My name is Abigail Ray. I live in Bentonville, Arkansas. and I am 9 years old. My quilt was inspired by a suncatcher art item I made in art camp. It used tissue paper triangles in contact clear paper. I learned raw edge appliqué to create this same look with the triangles in my quilt. I liked cutting out the triangles with a scissors and selecting the cat fabric backing. The most difficult part was the hand binding. This was my first time doing hand binding by myself.

“Let Freedom Ring,” created and quilted by Abigail Schultz from Columbus, Wisconsin

Artist statement: I’m Abigail from Columbus, Wisconsin, and I’m 10 years old. I made this quilt titled “Let Freedom Ring.” I decided to make this flag as I have been learning that freedom isn’t free as I study our Constitution. Making this quilt, I learned how to do Bargello piecing and free motion machine quilting. The free motion machine quilting was the most challenging part of making my quilt. The binding also was a bit of a challenge!

“My Quilt,” created and quilted by Hailey Swenson from North Branch, Minnesota

Artist statement: My name is Hailey Swenson, and I’m from North Branch, Minnesota. I’m 7 years old. I took a 4-H quilting workshop to sew this quilt. Kits were provided. Fabric was donated by a local quilt shop. I like being able to sew with grandma and other 4-Hers. I was able to quilt this by following the lines in the fabric.

“Self Portrait #1,” created and quilted by Lucas Weisleder from Bexley, Ohio

Artist statement: My name is Lucas Weisleder. I’m from Bexley, Ohio, and I am 10 years old. My quilt is titled “Self Portrait #1.” The head is a computer mouse because I love technology. The eyes are are music notes to represent that I play piano. The nose is a sword because I take Korean sword lessons. The neck is a Gameboy since I love to play video games. The shoulders are pillows because I like sleep.

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show Kids' Quilt quilting Nancy Zieman Productions