Well my first visit to QuiltCon is in the books and wow was it fantastic. In 2024 it was held in Raleigh, NC and as soon as I saw where it was going to be when it was announced I knew that I was going to go. I went to North Carolina State University and graduated in the 1980s. It has been a very long time since I’ve been back and combining a visit to school with a quilt show was the best of both worlds for me. With my bags packed and gas in the car I headed down the road to see some gorgeous quilts.

During my visit I was able to see an old college buddy and some friends who had retired in Raleigh. I checked out campus which has changed so much I barely recognized parts of it. I was glad to see that my old dorms were still there. Ah the memories!

However it was the quilts that I was there to see and the show did not disappoint.

Here’s the Recap & Haul from My First Visit to QuiltCon

About the Show

The quilt show is massive. It’s probably the largest one that I have been to. It was also unbelievably crowded. That being said, I was able to find corners of the big convention hall that were not quite as busy.

On one side of the conference hall were the quilts. I can’t begin to tell you how awed and inspired I was by the entries. Each one was stunning. In my video recap I show you a few of my favorites. There were many different categories so there was a little something for everyone. I’m not sure how many quilts were in the show, but I am pretty sure I missed some of them and I was there for three days.

On the other side of the hall were the vendors. One after another, they were lined up with beautiful and enticing booths. I’ll be honest, I did not buy as much as I thought I would. I bought two fat quarter bundles and I won a fat quarter too. Along with the fabric, I bought a box of thread. It was filled with 12 spools of 50wt Aurifil threads in all sorts of jewel tones. Sew pretty!

The Most Exciting Thing For Me

Hands down the most exciting thing for me was having Hobbs Batting ask if they could hang one of my quilts called “Lattice Workings” in their booth. I was so honored and it hung in their booth on Thursday and Friday of the show.

I made up a sign with a QR code to my information and there it was! That was THE highlight of my first visit to QuiltCon!

If you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it. I met quilting friends that I have only ever known online and I was inspired by the incredible artistry of it all.

Happy Quilting!

• Claudia

Learn more about my first trip to AQS Paducah a few years ago!