Help make Wisconsin communities warmer with Quilt to Give

July 29, 2025 Tara Lovdahl Leave a Comment

For over 20 years, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show has been a place for quilters to gather and celebrate the art and community of quilting together. The event will be held Sept. 4-6, 2025, at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

Co-presented by PBS Wisconsin and Nancy Zieman Productions, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show was founded by the late Nancy Zieman, who hosted Sewing With Nancy on PBS Wisconsin for 35 years and inspired hobbyists nationwide to sew, quilt and embroider.

Part of Nancy’s vision for the event was to incorporate opportunities for quilters to directly use their talents to give back, and in 2011, she founded Quilt To Give as a community service project. Thanks to the generosity of participants who donate their time, fabric or completed bed-size quilts to the project, Quilt to Give helps someone in need.

Completed quilts, alongside PBS KIDS and PBS Wisconsin Education learning materials, are shared with refugee families resettling in Wisconsin to help create a warm welcome. Your quilt will be gifted to families in their new communities, distributed throughout the year by PBS Wisconsin Education in partnership with statewide resettlement agencies.

Since partnering with the Quilt to Give project in 2022, PBS Wisconsin Education has provided refugee children and families in Wisconsin over 650 quilts, a much-needed comfort item during an overwhelming transition.

Join Quilt to Give anytime!

Every day from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. during The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, Nancy Zieman Productions hosts Quilt to Give onsite. No quilting or sewing experience is required. Participants can generously give their time to cut and iron fabric. Additionally, project volunteers are onsite to lead anyone who is interested in using the sewing machines through the steps of the simple quilt pattern.

Nancy Zieman Productions also accepts donations of completed quilts year-round on behalf of the event. Vibrant colors are encouraged, but all quilts in good condition are accepted. Please mail them to:

The Nancy Zieman Sewing Studio
120 Front Street
Beaver Dam WI 53916

The quilting process and more details are available online.

Sewing with Nancy The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show PBS Wisconsin Education