QuiltCon 2024 Highlights: Part 1

man and woman standing in front of colorful trade show booth with quilts

Hey there, fellow quilters!

I’m still basking in the afterglow of an amazing experience Jason and I had at QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh, NC. It was a whirlwind of joy, inspiration, and  connections! If you were part of the crowd and stopped by our booth, shared a quilt, or made a purchase (or couldn’t be there but cheered us on from social media), I want to THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Your support keeps me going — designing beautiful and useful patterns, kits, and products — and I’m so grateful.

woman and man with hands up in front of greenhouse quilt

QuiltCon 2024 was extraordinary, with rumors buzzing about record-breaking attendance. The four days were a non-stop celebration of creativity, and my face is still recovering from the constant smiling and chatting. Your stories, your quilts, your enthusiasm – it’s what fuels my inspiration, and I really can’t thank you enough.

I want to share a bit behind the scenes and highlights from QuiltCon 2024 with you:

Behind the Scenes: Crafting the Booth

floor plan for trade show booth wall plan of colorful quilts on display 3d plan of quilt trade show plan
Last fall, the planning began with the design of our booth. We dove into floorplans, wall elevations, and even a 3-D rendering – all to ensure we were creating an inviting and accessible space. Every detail was planned to ensure our booth reflected the values of Whole Circle Studio.

If only loading the truck were as quick as sketching out plans! Picture this: two freezing days in Connecticut (12 degrees, to be precise), as we loaded up the truck with booth furnishings, quilts, flooring, patterns, kits, and more.

empty vending / exhibit space at QuiltCon 2024
sign in trade show with company name
forklift on a loading dock
palette of boxes in a convention center
We arrived at the Convention Center in Raleigh to our blank space, ready to be filled with our truck load of “stuff”.

After nine hours of load-in and installation, we saw our booth come to life. From the first piece of flooring laid to the final product hung, the transformation was a labor of love. Check out the action in this quick video:

colorful trade show booth with quilts colorful trade show booth with quilts colorful trade show booth with quilts  colorful trade show booth with quiltscolorful trade show booth with quiltsdisplay of colorful zipper pouch kits travel quilt graphics with globe  colorful trade show booth with quilts display of quilt patterns

Before the general public came in…

In the video below, take a stroll with me (before the show floor was open to the general public), to Whole Circle Studio’s booth. Get a bird’s eye view of the vendor/exhibit hall along with a peek of the quilt show. You’ll also see some of other vendor’s booths before getting a tour of Booth 527 — Whole Circle Studio’s booth offering modern quilt patterns, embroidery kits, stitching projects and more!

Check out the full booth tour here:

The booth was hopping with quilters for FOUR full days!

Jason and I had so much fun chatting non-stop with quilters. We knew it would be busy, but I will be totally honest that we didn’t expect just how many people would stop by the booth. Thank you to all my friends who stopped by and those who snapped some photos of us in action! It is so much fun to go back and see all of the action.

crowded trade show booth at a quilt show crowded trade show booth at a quilt show

Why we do what we do…

As soon as I committed to having a booth at QuiltCon, I knew I wanted to highlight and celebrate projects that quilters from around the world have been making with Whole Circle Studio patterns. I wish I could bring and show all their actual quilts. The next best thing is a display with all the photos I’ve been collecting for years. Front and center, at the corner of the booth, was a Community Quilt Display. I was honored that a number of quilters who had their quilts featured in the display were able to be in Raleigh and came by the booth to sign their quilt. Stay tuned for another blog post in the next couple of weeks featuring these amazing makers. 

photos of quilts sign with quilt that looks like knots

Visits from Colleagues & Friends

After not seeing that many colleagues and friends since before the pandemic, it was really good to have SO many friends stop by the booth. If you’re not familiar with these talented designers and makers, be sure to check out their work in the links.

The lovely Tiffany Baxter (@tiffanybaxter). I first met Tiffany at QuiltCon 2017 in Savannah when we both volunteered hanging quilts for the juried show.
two women in front of a quilt
I was so excited that my good friend, Abigail McMurray of YEIOU Paper Objects, and talented paper artist was able to attend her first QuiltCon. Abigail was so supportive leading up to QuiltCon, lending me her expertise and Square credit card readers as well as making sure Jason and I were hydrated while we were in our booth!
woman and man with colorful clothing
Ben Millett (@benmillett) and I had to snap a photo with our colorful garments. His quilt coats are DROOL worthy!
two women in front of a quilt
I was so excited to hear that my friend, Tara Faughnan (@tarafaughnan), will be next year’s featured speaker and exhibit at QuiltCon 2025 in Phoenix!
two women in front of a quilt
I had to stop Sarah Watts (@wattsalot) at the very end of Day 3 to say hello in person. I participated in her Sketchbook Squad when it first launched in early 2022. I loved participating and the prompts encouraged me to sketch everyday for months. (I really want to get back into that practice!)
two women in front of a quilt
The lovely Sarah Goer (@sarahgoerquilts) stopped by the booth.
three women in front of a quilt
Talented quilt pattern designer, Nicole Daksiewicz (@modernhandcraft) and Alissa Haight Carlton, co-founder of The Modern Quilt Guild (@alissahaightcarlton) happened to stop by the booth at the same time. I haven’t seen either in so long and it was so good to say hello in-person!
three women smiling
Misty and Natalie Doan of Missour Star Quilt Co. stopped by the booth. I hadn’t seen Misty since I filmed my online class in Hamilton, Missouri, before the pandemic, and it was my first time meeting Natalie!
five people standing in front of a quilt smiling
Fellow New Englanders Michele Muska of @olisohome and Timna Tarr @timnatarr (and her husband Rich) stopped by to say hello to Jason and me. They are such supportive friends and we appreciate all of their moral support and help leading up to QuiltCon!
two women wearing colorful sweaters and smiling
Speaking of my friend Michele (in the photo earlier), she connected me with the lovely Minki Kim (@zeriano). I’ve followed Minki for years and was thrilled to finally meet her in person!
three women smiling in front of a quilt
It’s always so much fun when quilty friend stop in your booth at the same time! I hadn’t seen Michelle Bartholomew (@michellebartholomew) or Karlee Porter (@karleeporderdesign) in YEARS since I took a quilt photography class with Michelle and chatted with Karlee at Quilt Market. Time flies!
man and woman smiling while holding a photo of a pillow
It was so good to give Mathew Boudreaux (@mx.domestic) a HUGE hug. While we collaborated on a number of projects since then, we hadn’t seen each other in person since spring 2017 when we were both at Spring Market in St. Louis. Here we are holding a photo of pillow he made years ago with my Typecast EPP pattern. (and yes… I got him to sign it for us!)
four women smiling in front of quilts
Friends Kait Witte of Windham Fabrics, Denyse Schmidt (@dsquilts), and Blair Stocker (@blairs) stopped by to say hello!
two women smiling holding a quilt top
I was so excited to show Karen Lewis (@karenlewistextiles) a sample of my Double Friendship Knots mini quilt that I made with her fabric collection. I took a printmaking workshop with Karen many QuiltCon’s ago. If you ever have a chance to take a class with her, do it! Speaking of workshops — stay tuned for an online/on-demand workshop for the Double Friendship Knots coming soon on my website!
two women in front of a quilt
Heather Kinion (@fire4hairlady), past President of the MQG Board of Directors and talented modern quilter, stopped by to say hello.
three women smiling and holding a giant spool of thread in front of a quilt
Erin Sampson of Aurifil, Suzanne Paquette (@the_miliner), and I enjoyed catching up while admiring this giant, squishy, Aurifil thread spool (more on that in a moment!)
two women holding giant, oversized sewing and quilting supplies
I was thrilled to finally meet in person “neighbor” (across Long Island Sound) Deborah Fisher of @fishmuseum — she created a whole photo opportunity full of oversized sewing and quilting supplies.
two woman in a convention center pointing in opposite directions
One of the best booth neighbors ever! Pattern designer, Sew Mariana was across the aisle from me.

Stay tuned for MUCH more from QuiltCon 2024!

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing much more from QuiltCon 2024, including highlights of some of my favorite quilts from the juried show along with friends of Whole Circle Studio that stopped by to show off their quilts. We had so many show and tells happening in the booth— seeing your quilts in person was SO much fun! I’m also working on figuring out a way to share all of the quilts online that were in the Community Display. There’s so much more coming. Be sure you’re subscribed to the newsletter to be alerted when new posts go live.

Thank you for being part of this incredible journey.

Your support, stories, and shared passion allows us to keep doing what we do.
xo,
Sheri

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4 Comments

  1. It was lovely to meet you and Jason in your booth! I did so enjoy seeing all your designs in one place, live and in the fabric.

    🙂 Linda

    1. Hi Linda, Thanks so much for stopping by the booth and your lovely words. Jason and I truly enjoyed chatting and seeing everyone. I hope our paths cross again soon!
      Sheri

  2. Great post and recap of QuiltCon 2024! I was lucky enough to be just 2 hours away in Wilmington, NC this year = no flying! Yaayyyyy! 🙂 Your booth was fantastic, so much to take in over the 2 days I was there. Our guild here hosted you virtually for a workshop, 2021? 2022? cannot remember! So many familiar faces in your photos, people who have been instrumental in keeping the quilting machine going! Yeah!!

    1. Hi Ann, Thanks so much for your kind words. And yes… there is SO much to take in and do at QuiltCon even if you don’t take a single workshop! I do fondly remember working with you and your Guild members. I hope our paths cross again soon! –Sheri

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