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Happening Now: The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show 2021 Virtual Experience

September 9, 2021 Tara Lovdahl Leave a Comment

Starting today, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show will provide quilt lovers a space to learn about and celebrate quilting with an enthusiastic community. It will include live, interactive educational opportunities from leading experts, a virtual vendor mall and more – all online from the comfort and safety of home. 

It’s not too late to register! Visit quiltshow.com today for free registration and more information. Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect from this year’s event, Sept. 9-11.

Lectures from Leading Experts

Presentations from nationally-known quilting educators will be streamed at quiltshow.com and on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. A live Q&A session will follow each lecture. Topics include big block quilting, quilt-as-you-go, how to organize scraps, using solid color designs, activism and quilting, incorporating quilting into garments and more!

Jhasmine Andrews will discuss incorporating quilting techniques into garments

Virtual Vendor Mall

Our virtual vendor mall includes 60 knowledgeable vendors offering the latest fabrics, threads, notions and sewing machines. From 11 a.m. to noon and 3-4 p.m. (Central Time) each day during the virtual experience, vendors will live stream video content such as product demos, tutorials and studio tours. You can move from one vendor’s stream to the next, much like booth-hopping at a physical vendor mall.

Photo Gallery Quilt Exhibits

Quilters of all skill levels were invited to participate in this year’s fun quilt challenges: The Panel Quilt Challenge, The 100 Years of Art Deco Quilt Challenge, The Modern Mini Quilt Challenge and The Kids’ Quilt Challenge. During the virtual event, view the juried selection of the entries in beautiful photo gallery exhibits.

We will also celebrate the talents of our community’s quilters with a curated showcase of previous years’ Quilt Contest winners. The full 2021 Quilt Contest will be featured as a special exhibit when we return to the Alliant Energy Center in Madison for the 2022 in-person show.

The Cherrywood Challenge Five-Year Retrospective exhibit will also look back on previous quilts we have celebrated during The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show. Enjoy a curated exhibit of several finalists from the Wicked, Lion King, Van Gogh, Prince and Bob Ross Cherrywood Challenge Exhibits.

This year’s special exhibit, “Racism: In the Face of Hate We Resist,” is presented by Textile Center and Women of Color Quilters Network. Curated by Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi, this juried collection of 63 quilts grapples with issues surrounding racism today and throughout history. Stories of resistance, fortitude, pain and hope are woven together in this powerful photo gallery exhibit.

Finished quilts from our annual community service project “Quilt to Give.”

Community Projects

It’s not too late to participate in our community service project, “Quilt to Give,” which will benefit Domestic Abuse Intervention Services and Enchanted Makeovers. We’re sharing the talents of our quilting community to create bed-sized quilts that will be of use and comfort to others. For more information including step-by-step instructions, read this blog post from Nancy Zieman Productions. Quilts must be shipped or delivered to arrive at Nancy Zieman Productions by Friday, Oct. 1.

Additionally, all youth and adult quilters, sewists and fiber artists are invited to contribute to this year’s virtual community quilt, hosted by 4-H and The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show. The community quilt is a great way for participants to swap stories and come together through a shared love of quilting.

Chris Lynn Kirsch teaches viewers a versatile technique during her lecture You Can Quilt-As-You-Go

Online Auction

In lieu of our annual in-person raffle, we will host a four-day online auction during the virtual Great Wisconsin Quilt Show. We are proud to offer a free, virtual experience for our quilting community that provides educational opportunities and a chance for participants to safely celebrate something we all love. We encourage registrants to donate what they can to make sure we come back next year stronger than ever, including monetary gifts and donations to this year’s online auction. Bidding starts Thursday, Sept. 9!

Register Now

Free registration for the three-day event is still open at quiltshow.com. All quilt lovers are invited to draw inspiration and delight from each other in this online and interactive experience.  

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show is presented by PBS Wisconsin and Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC. Proceeds from The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show support PBS Wisconsin programs and community outreach projects.

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