QuiltCon is always full of inspiring work, but this year’s 2026 juried show felt especially rich with bold concepts, thoughtful details, and quilts that truly made me stop in my tracks. I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to explore the show, but I made a point to stop and check out some of the quilts that really pulled me in.
In this post, I’m sharing a very small collection of modern quilts from the 2026 QuiltCon juried show that stood out to me, whether it was the use of color, composition, texture, or perspective. If you’re looking for modern quilt inspiration or want to see what’s happening in the world of contemporary quilting, I think you’ll find something here. You can see all of the quilts that won ribbons over on the Modern Quilt Guild website.
I’m also including the two quilts I had juried into the show, which was such an honor. If you’re curious about my full QuiltCon experience (including what it’s like to vend), I’ve shared more about that in last week’s blog post.
First up… the two modern quilts I had juried into the QuiltCon 2026 show:
Fractured Hexies Quilt
by Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill
Handwork Category
Quilter Statement: “This quilt is part of a series where I explore the shapes that appear when I cut apart hexagons. Hand-pieced using English Paper Piecing over 18 months and lots of road trips, it was made entirely from fabric scraps. The process became a way to slow down and find calm through repetition. What started as a study in geometry turned into a meditation on imperfection and finding beauty in the familiar.”
Wildflower Remix Quilt
by Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill
Piecing Category
Quilter Statement: “Wildflower Remix is part of my ongoing exploration of the natural world and is the 2026 Block of the Month that I am hosting. The abstract field of wildflowers achieves its organic look through many foundation paper pieced (fpp) stitched straight lines, rotated at different angles to form curved petals. This quilt is a playful study of twelve floral blocks exploring color, scale, and shape, which together create a cohesive composition.”
A handful of the quilts from QuiltCon 2026 that stopped me in my tracks:
Sharp Quilt
by Catherine Sparacino
Modern Traditionalism Category
Quilter Statement: “Using a single shapes and working improvisational with color and value, I am intrigued to how proportions, symmetry, angles, and lines can create both order and chaos in the same work.”
On the Back of Her Chair Quilt
by Sara Brown
Use of Negative Space Category, 3rd place winner
Quilter Statement: “A memory once faded made vivid by grief. The comfort of her space, tracing my fingers around the doily resting on the back of her chair. This quilt is 636 hand appliqued pieces. I wanted the doily to morph out the void of the background from nothing into something beautiful and delicate. I turned my seam allowances under using starch and card stock templates, prior to hand sewing.”
Cocksure and Featherheaded Quilt
by Timna Tarr
Applique Category
Quilter Statement: “This is the first of at least four quilts in my Big Cock series. He was constructed using my Stitched Mosaics technique where I machine applique within each 2″ square. The squares are then pieced together in rows. There is no fusing and everything is done with fabric and thread except for the catchlight in the eye, which is a dot of fabric paint.”
A republic, if you can keep it… Quilt
by MaraBeth Soneson
Applique Category
Quilter Statement: “After adding his signature to the U.S. Constitution, Benjamin Franklin was asked, ‘What kind of country do we have?’ “A republic, if you can keep it,’ came his considered reply. This quilt captures the dynamic in American government that Franklin foretold. Our 250-year pursuit of the American idea, the broadening of individual rights and liberties, is under challenge. Drip by drip our governmental traditions and institutions are melting away — our democratic freedoms underminded and endangered.”
More Adventurous Quilt
by Sarah Campbell
Applique Category
Quilter Statement: “After a workshop on bias tape applique with Emily Watts, I was curious about how I could merge my love of traditional quilt blocks with my new bias tape applique skills. I chose a double wedding ring block as my inspiration, because curves. I played around with the colors and values, and as the design evolved, I could imagine the quilt telling a secret story—a little sad, but still hopeful.”
Stitching What’s Been Silenced Quilt
by Sandra Hoyt
Use of Negative Space Category
Quilter’s Statement: “This quilt was conceived after the federal government released a banned-word list used to erase funding for important research and diversity programs. The main quote by author Lauren Morrill invites reflection on empathy, while the negative space contains sixty-five banned words centered on identity issues designed to draw the viewer in to examine the silencing of the people and topics on the banned list. Additional statements stitched in the margins reflect further on this theme.”
Moms Jeans Quilt
by Carolyn McKibbin
Best in Show Award
Quilter Statement: “Upcycled denim was the inspiration for this quilt. I cut up 9 old pairs of jeans I wore in early motherhood, ones that were sitting in a box taking up space waiting to be donated. Being aware that much of the clothing we donate ends up in the landfills and waterways of third-world countries, I opted to use this fabric to make a quilt that can provide warmth, comfort and artistic expression.”
The end is a new beginning Quilt
by Ekaterina Bessarabova
Modern Traditionalism Category
Quilter Statement: “It’s about how fragile our world has become—once beautiful, familiar, and full of hope, now shattered like a favorite plate dropped on the floor. There are so many conflicts and suffering in the world these days. Yet in every ending lies in a beginning and even broken pieces can start to form something new, better and stronger”
A few final thoughts…
Even with limited time that I had to see the show, QuiltCon reminded me how powerful it is to see quilts in person. The scale and details of the quilts are hard to fully capture in photos.
I’d love to know if any of these quilts (or other quilts you may have seen from QuiltCon) stand out to you too?
