On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, I woke up at 2:30 a.m.—the hour reserved for bakers, long-haul truckers, and people who love quilting enough to catch a 5:00 a.m. flight—so I could leave Eugene, Oregon, en route to Raleigh, North Carolina, for this year’s QuiltCon.
During my layover in Denver (where I collected my partner-in-crime, Marketing Coordinator Emily Pillard), I ducked into the bathroom. As I was washing my hands, I spotted a woman wearing a dark blue coat adorned with quilt blocks marching neatly along the spine and down the arms.
“I have a feeling you’re headed to QuiltCon?” I said to this complete stranger, in a public restroom, with full confidence.
She turned immediately and confirmed that yes, she was indeed QuiltCon-bound, and no, her coat was not finished yet. For the record, it looked plenty finished to me.
Naturally, I complimented her excellent work, and we exited the bathroom side by side like old high school friends.
“See you on the other side!” I told her as we parted ways for our respective seats at the same gate. As I made my way to where Emily waited for me, I looked up to see more quilted coats. And quilted bags. And quilted tees.
At that point, it became clear that United Flight 2269 was less a commercial flight and more an unofficial QuiltCon charter. Upon boarding, a flight attendant came over the radio to welcome Modern Quilt Guild members—and all other quilters aboard—which was met with enthusiastic cheers from the cabin. As it should have been.
The next morning, Emily and I were up early again, making our way to the Raleigh Convention Center to grab our four-day passes. From there, we headed straight to the popular viewing landing at the top of the escalators, overlooking the entire show floor. There was a small line for selfies because of course there was.
This was our second time at Raleigh for QuiltCon since we started attending in 2023. I remembered that feeling vividly—the first descent down the escalator, floating onto the floor, passing booths and quilts the way you scan the windows of a candy store, trying to decide where to look first, and feeling like you’ll never see it all.
We made it less than three feet before someone spotted us.
What followed was eight hours of barely moving, stopped every few steps by past magazine features, vendors we’ve worked with, and friends we first met right here on this floor three years ago.
And honestly? That’s what makes QuiltCon great. It’s like a family reunion—if the guest list were limited exclusively to your favorite cousins and the cool aunts. Thankfully, we had three and a half days to see everything we could.
We started on the vendor floor because why not spend all your money immediately? (In my case, I made it as far as Latifah Saafir’s booth before my wallet started sending up a distress signal.)
All weekend, the building was packed with quiltmakers and quilt appreciators alike. It’s always exciting to see what new and inventive products people bring each year—fabric, labels, tees, hair clips, pins, bags (and that was just one of my receipts). But even better is hearing what folks are excited about and how far they’ve come since last year. You do, however, have roughly 45 seconds to ask because those lines must keep moving. In fact, we made maybe three trips past Modern American Vintage to try to chat up Chris Hanson, but his booth was packed the whole time. By the time we caught him on Sunday, half of his shelves were bare.
And do not—under any circumstances—get us started on the Ruby Star Society line.
The main quilt exhibit filled the second half of the convention center floor. On day one, we took a brief break from the vendors to wander through the quilts. Thankfully, most quilters are kind and instinctively follow a natural flow of traffic, even when hundreds of people are clamoring to see the same piece.
Emily and I optimistically decided we’d really focus on the quilts on day two—early—to beat the crowds.
Silly us.
Still, it was wonderful to see so many people filing in to ooh and ahh over the hours (and years) of labor and love created by their peers. And when I say this, I mean it with my full chest: every single quilt was worth fawning over. And fawn, we did.
From the stunning handwork of Frances by Jeanne Eileen Garcia to the impeccable appliqué in The Quilter by Katherine Jones and everything in between.
There were quilts that made people laugh, quilts that made people gasp, and quilts that made people whisper, “How did they do that?” And there were quilts that made people cry—both because of the sheer skill involved and because of the stories stitched into them.
If I had to choose a favorite, though, it would be 9-year-old Lilah Briggs’s Hallucinations. I’ll let the description speak for itself:
“Hi, this is Socks. Socks ate too many Skittles, so now he’s having hallucinations. I made this quilt because I always wanted a black cat, but I can’t because my dad’s allergic to cats. Also, I really like Skittles.”
No notes, Lilah. Absolutely perfect.
For the past three years, Quiltfolk has put together a fashion video showcasing the incredible quilted garments spotted at the show, and this year was no exception. Each year, more people toss their (quilted) hats into the ring—coats, dresses, skirts, coveralls, shoes.
It’s grown so popular that several vendors are leaning into it, and this year, there was even a fashion show on Friday and Saturday. Hosted by Matthew Harr of Harr Craft Goods, quilters lined up to strut the stage in their quilty fits before cheering crowds.
Among them was Chelsea Porter, well-known in quilting circles for the quilt vest she made for Benson Boone—who accepted it on stage, wore it, and hugged her while wearing it.
It’s exciting to see quilted clothing gaining traction both within and beyond the quilting community. Here’s hoping it brings a few new folks into the fold.
A few years ago, Emily and I stepped onto the QuiltCon floor unsure of what to expect. We wondered if anyone would know Quiltfolk. If they’d want to talk to us. If we even knew what we were looking for.
Unsurprisingly, it was the same thing Quiltfolk is always looking for: the stories behind the stitches. The people. The community. The connections.
All our favorite cousins and cool aunts.
We can’t wait for next year.
Breanna Briggs joined the Quiltfolk team in 2016 and has worn many hats over the years. She is now the Editor in Chief of Quiltfolk magazine.
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