Original Sewing & Quilt Expo’s 2025 Quilt Contest is open!  Entry Form Here

 

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.

   
ENTRY FORM IS HERE

 

How It Works

1. Review the Contest Rules & Instructions
2. Entries for this year's contest are due August 11, 2025.
3. 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.
4. 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 this October

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 >>

 

2024 Winners

Best of Show

& Master Division Winner

Linda Roy | Tickled Pink

 

Master Division   203 Master Traditionally Pieced Quilt   1st Place Kathryn Zimmerman | Sanctuary   2nd Place Toni Oyler | On and On   204 Master Applique or Art Quilt    1st Place - Division Winner & Best of Show Linda Roy | Tickled Pink   2nd Place Barbara Clem | Lullaby in 3/4 Time   Expo's Choice Winner Sandy Curran | Age is Relative   Viewers' Choice Winner Toni Oyler | Vintage Rose   Finalists - Master Division   203 Master Traditionally Pieced Quilt   Black White     Samantha Barton   On and On Toni Oyler   Vintage Rose Toni Oyler Sanctuary      Kathryn Zimmerman   204 Master Applique or Art Quilt   Maple Leaves Samantha Barton   Flowers of War Sandy Curran   Age is Relative Sandy Curran   Shibori Buds and Blooms Felice Dahlhausen   Here Peacock Here!       Anne Marcellis   The Secret is to Surround Yourself with People Who Make You Smile     Paula Newquist Paradise of Birds Paula Newquist Paramecium Aurelia (Amoeba) Jackie Perry   Tickled Pink Linda Roy   Oh Say Can You Sew Connie Stowers   Lullaby In 3/4 Time Barbara Clem

Artisan Division   101 Artisan Small Traditionally Pieced Quilt   1st Place Ruth Anne Yax | Cat on a Limb   2nd Place Amy Chaney | Summer Sun   102 Artisan Small Applique' or Art Quilt   1st Place Clorinda Fresquez-Tria | Resilience: Hidden Power   2nd Place Victoria Seals | Girl Dad     103 Artisan Large Traditionally Pieced Quilt   1st Place Eva Binion | Common Bride     2nd Place Kathy Kittle | La Passacaglia     104 Artisan Large Applique' or Art Quilt   1st Place & Division Winner Daryl Leach | Midnight Secret Garden   2nd Place Renee Pearlman | Elegant Elements   Finalists - Artisan Division   101 Artisan Small Traditionally Pieced Quilt   Between the Lines No. 1 Thelma Bearden   Summer Sun Amy Chaney   Blue flowers Joanne Lazarz   Texas Star     Patricia McCartney   Henry  Ken Weaver    Cat on a Limb  Ruth Anne Yax   102 Artisan Small Applique' or Art Quilt   Reggie Pup Susan Cobbs Under the pier Kristin Driscoll Resilience: Hidden Power Clorinda Fresquez-Tria Spring's Abundant Beauty Julie Milne Stone Meets Shell Sherry Priest The Granddaughters Deb Rysavy Lien It's Cold !!!! Victoria Seals Girl Dad Victoria Seals Croton Barabara Whitt   103 Artisan Large Traditionally Pieced Quilt    Common Bride Eva Binion Curved Log Cabin Quilt Cathryn Clark Hope E. A. Cox Shadow Fassett Anna Dean-Mcdonald Oh My Scraps Nicole Frasier Out of the Blue Jenny Gallo Starry Sampler Betty Herzhauser Swimming Honus (Hawaiian Sea Turtles)   Gail Johnson Ma..Ma..Ma..MY SEDONA!   Patty King La Passacaglia Kathy Kittle Quilt-illeta Rita Wahl Posh Penelope Darby Watson Mama's Bookcase Lois Womack   104 Artisan Large Applique' or Art Quilt   Maui Memories Kim Anderson Poppa, You Got a Bellybutton? Donna Blalock Kimono     Saundra Bohl Amazing Grace Amy Chaney Midnight Secret Garden Daryl Leach Pride Across This Land Vanessa Moss Elegant Elements Renee Perlman