North Texas Quilt Festival

July 30, 31, and August 1, 2026

 

This year's theme is "God Bless America"

The Contest deadline is May 31, 2026.

 

North Texas Quilt Festival 2026 Contest Entry Form

 

Junior Division (age 17 and younger) 2026 Contest Entry Form

 

Mini-Quilt Auction Fundraiser Entry Form

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Judged Quilt Contest & Show

Treat yourself to aisles and aisles of breathtaking quilts brimming with artistry and creativity, competing for thousands in cash prize awards from accredited judges. Supported in part by: Bear Creek Quilt Guild, Fort Worth Modern Quilt Guild, Fort Worth Quilt Guild, Irving Quilt Guild, MidCities Modern Quilters, Quilters' Guild of Arlington, Quilter's Guild of Dallas, and Trinity Valley Quilters' Guild.

 

Contest Rules & Instructions

 

Prizes

Top prizes include $1,000 for Best in Show, two $700 Merit Quilted awards, $300 awards: Judges' Choices and Viewer's Choice, cash awards and/or ribbons for first and second place in each category, honorable mention ribbons, and the Director's Choice ribbons.

 

Judges

 

Mary Wolter

Mary Wolter has been quilting since 1976, making her first quilt as a teenager from instructions given in a McCall's magazine during the Bicentennial. But it wasn't until the 1990's that her hobby/obsession really took off. She attended her first national quilt show in Paducah, KY with a friend in 1996 and has since taken numerous classes over the years to refine her skills. She's won many awards in local and regional quilt shows in southeastern Wisconsin and belongs to several quilt guilds. Quality feedback from quilt show judges on her own work went a long way to motivate continuous improvement and inspired her to pursue certification as a judge after retirement from WEC Energy Group in 2021. Mary is Treasurer of the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, WI, where she enjoys viewing each new exhibit and getting inspiration from each artist's work. She is also an avid collector of quilts from the 1930's-1960's and is a member of the American Quilt Study Group.

 

Lois Kindley

I am a veteran fiber artist and have a passion for quiltmaking. I have been sharing the love of quilting for over 40 years. I've been active in the quilting world, lecturing, designing patterns, and teaching children, adults, even inmates quilting. After a considerable amount of success, I have become a highly awarded quilter, having pieces exhibited in national shows and longarming for others who have competed at that level as well. My heart longs to positively encourage quilters! I desire to share my love of quilting and see others succeed. I know entrants have worked very hard to complete their tops and are willing to have them judged. I aim to inspire you to continue creating and entering quilts into competitions. After all, it's a great way to spark the creativity of others!

 

Sandy Gard

Sandy is a self-taught seamstress and quilter. At the age of six, she was cutting and sewing clothes for her dolls by hand. At the age of eight, she had her first experience at hand quilting. All the neighbors gathered at her grandmother’s farmhouse in Sulphur Springs, Texas, and they lowered the quilting frame from the living room ceiling. They all sat around the quilt, quilting and visiting. The love of quilting began. It has been a lifelong love affair.
Sandy has had a home-based sewing business for 21 years. In 2007, she purchased a Gammill longarm quilting machine and has been successfully quilting for customers. Since then, Sandy has quilted over 1,000 customer quilts and counting.
In 2014, Sandy entered the NQA Judging program. She has spent four years working with certified judges and judging quilt shows. She received her NACQJ certification in 2019. She holds positions on four local quilt guild boards and is the judging coordinator for one.

 

PLUS...

Hundreds of additional quilts on display in the traveling gallery, lectures and hands-on workshops, free presentations and trunk shows, super prize drawings and more!

 

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Quiltmakers, this is your chance to shine! Highlight your best works at this juried and judged contest is open to all levels of experience – Artisans and Masters. Entrants will compete for thousands in cash prizes and awards.

 

 

How It Works

1. Review the Contest Rules & Instructions
2. Entry photos will be juried by the Expo team, and up to 50 finalists will be chosen to compete for ribbons and prize money. Finalists will be announced on this page and notified via email on August 22, 2025.
3. Judge Mary Wolter, a NACQJ Certified Quilt Judge, will select the award-winning quilts at the Expo in Lebanon, TN. Winners will be announced at Noon CT on October 2, 2025, at the Expo and on this page.

Prizes

Best of Show is awarded a Ribbon and $1,500 (Grand Prize)

Expo's Choice is awarded a Ribbon and $500

Viewers' Choice is awarded a Ribbon and $500

First Place in each division (Artisan and Master) is awarded a Ribbon and $500 

All First Place winners in each category will be awarded a Ribbon

All Second Place winners in each category will be awarded a Ribbon

All Finalists receive an exclusive swag bag from Original Sewing & Quilt Expo

 

Judge

Mary Wolter

NACQJ Certified Quilt Judge

Mary Wolter has been quilting since 1976, making her first quilt as a teenager from instructions given in a McCall's magazine during the Bicentennial. But it wasn't until the 1990's that her hobby/obsession really took off. She attended her first national quilt show in Paducah, KY with a friend in 1996 and has since taken numerous classes over the years to refine her skills. She's won many awards in local and regional quilt shows in southeastern Wisconsin and belongs to several quilt guilds. Quality feedback from quilt show judges on her own work went a long way to motivate continuous improvement and inspired her to pursue certification as a judge after retirement from WEC Energy Group in 2021.

 

Mary is Treasurer of the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, WI, where she enjoys viewing each new exhibit and getting inspiration from each artist's work. She is also an avid collector of quilts from the 1930's-1960's and is a member of the American Quilt Study Group.

In between Board meetings and guild meetings Mary attends about six quilt retreats each year with a group of like-minded quilty friends, leaving behind her long-suffering but supportive husband of 43 years, Jim. Together they raised four children and now have two grandsons. She has lost all hope of ever finishing all of her UFO's (unfinished objects) or using up her extensive fabric stash, but as a certified judge she hopes to encourage and motivate quilters of all ages and skill levels for many years to come.

 

Previous Quilt Contests

Click here for 2024 Quilt Contest Winners and Finalists

Click here for 2023 Quilt Contest Winners and Finalists

Click here for 2022 Quilt Contest Winners and Finalists

 

Join us at the Expo in Lebanon, TN

October 2, 3 & 4 at the Farm Bureau Expo Center

Join us for workshops and classes with some of the best teachers in the industry, fabulous shopping in the exhibit hall, hundreds of quilts on display, free presentations and trunk shows, prize drawings and more!
 

Expo Event Calendar >>

 

2025 Winners

 

Daryl Leach's winning quilt Expansion of the Universe pictured above with NACQJ Certified Judge, Mary Wolter, OSQE Event Manager Extraordinaire, Darcy Nicholson, and their official scribe, Judy. 

 

101 Artisan Small Traditionally Pieced Quilt

 

102 Artisan Small Applique' or Art Quilt

 

 

103 Artisan Large Traditionally Pieced Quilt

 

 

104 Artisan Large Applique' or Art Quilt

 

 

201 Master Traditionally Pieced Quilt

 

 

202 Master Small Applique' or Art Quilt

 

 

203 Master Large Applique' or Art Quilt

 

 

NACQJ Award of Merit | Viewers' Choice | Expo's Choice

 

 

2025 Original Sewing & Quilt Expo Quilt Contest Finalists

 

101 Artisan Small Traditionally Pieced Quilts

 

Midnight In The Jungle

Ellen Koenig

Quilted by John C. Crane

Christmas Glow

Shelley Jungen

102 Artisan Small Applique' or Art Quilt

Galileo

Amanda Manno

Say Ah

Susie Cobbs

Exploring The Cosmos: Space Junk

Nancy Powell

Can You Hear Me Now?

Kristin Driscoll

My Hardest Goodbye

Paula Paradis

Princess Feather

Shirley Kasprzyk

Quilted by Andrew Schwarz

Anything But Broken

Jennifer Carr

Thread Ready

Susie Cobbs

103 Artisan Large Traditionally Pieced Quilt

Burst Of Blue

Stacy DeWolf

Jewelled Dimensions

Kathy Mott

Gather ‘Round

Ann Pederson

Quilted by Connie Rodman

American Pinwheels

Tylee Tidmore

To Calm The Mind

Joy Brown

Quilted by Lebanon Vacuum & Sewing Center

Butterfly Flight

Joseph Feike

Tarnished Windmill

Lisa Storm

Quilted by Dewey Godwin

Rhon

Rhonda Ritchie

Sunset On The Gulf

Karla Hromyak

Only At The Fair

Kathleen Peel

Creating Memories

Glynda Hylton

104 Artisan Large Applique' or Art Quilt

Mola Inspiration

Lauren Bosse

Quilted by Stitches Quilt Shop

Common Bride

Sharon Berger

Off To The Quilt Show

Joanne Lazarz

“From Sea To Shining Sea”

Linda Stover

Quilted by Amanda Randolph

 

201 Master Traditionally Pieced Quilt

Southern Spin

Denniele Bohannon

Quilted by Becky Collis

Direction Unknown

Toni Oyler

Quilted by Bonnie Sloan

202 Master Small Applique' or Art Quilt

Passion Flower

Tonya Littmann

Quilted by Julia Quiltoff

OZ

Sandra Gard

Whispering Willow Bayou

Cindy Baker

203 Master Large Applique' or Art Quilt

Sofie’s August Morning

Lynne S. Hartman

Storm The Unyielding Bovine

Sandra Gard

Crab Cakes

Dorene Joyce

Quilted by Jackie Lehto

Susan’s Flower

Sandy Curran

2024 Nipped In The Bud

Robyn Gragg