Great Wisconsin Quilt Show

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courtesy PBS Wisconsin

A child learns about quilts.

Attendees at a past Great Wisconsin Quilt Show.

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show celebrates 20 years in 2024, and will honor the late Nancy Zieman, the event founder and host of the long-running PBS Wisconsin series Sewing With Nancy. The gallery feature is landscape quilts (Zieman’s favorite form), and the weekend includes 11 more exhibits, more than 100 lectures and workshops, vendors, a community quilting project, raffle and more. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 5-6 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sept. 7; find tickets and class registration at quiltshow.com.

media release: The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show is a three-day event that celebrates all things quilting. Co-presented by PBS Wisconsin and Nancy Zieman Productions, it brings quilters of all skill levels together to learn more about and share their craft.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, which began largely in thanks to the late Nancy Zieman.

Zieman hosted Sewing With Nancy on PBS Wisconsin for 35 years and inspired hobbyists across the country to sew, quilt and embroider. What started as an instructional program filmed in her home in 1982 became the longest-running sewing and quilting education show on public television.

In the early 2000s, Zieman approached PBS Wisconsin with the idea for the partnering organizations to co-present an event for quilters. Her idea for The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show became her legacy gift to the quilting community.

“People who knew Nancy saw how important this event and the community it has built was to her,” said Deanna Springer, vice president of marketing at Nancy Zieman Productions. They were colleagues and friends from 1989 until Zieman’s passing in 2017. “And the fact that it is still one of the nation’s top gatherings of quilters in its 20th year would make her so proud.”

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show’s central attraction is the 10-category juried and judged Quilt Contest exhibit, showcasing the incredible talents of quilters from across the country. Featured styles range from masterful, traditional quilts to bold, modern quilts and everything in between.

This year’s featured gallery, the “20th Anniversary Nancy Zieman Landscape Quilt Exhibit” will showcase Nancy Zieman’s favorite style of quilts to make. These quilts celebrate the curiosity and never-ending quest for learning that Zieman championed throughout her life.

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show also includes more than 100 educational lectures and workshops led by expert quilters; shopping opportunities from trusted vendors featuring the latest fabrics and notions; and a community service project — Quilt to Give — in which attendees donate their materials and skills to create quilts for those in need.

Ticket sales and class registration are now open at quiltshow.com  

For more information:

Visit: quiltshow.com | Email: quiltshow@pbswisconsin.org | Phone: 866-297-6545

Proceeds from The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show support PBS Wisconsin programs and community outreach projects.

Thank you to our Premier Event Sponsors: HUSQVARNA VIKING Sewing Machines, PFAFF Sewing Machines and Thimbles For You. Additional thanks to our Associate Event Sponsors: Ana’s Sewing Studio, BERNINA of America, Brother International Sewing Corporation, Janome, JUKI America, Inc., LindaZ’s Sewing Center, Sew Much More and Wildflower Quilt Co.

 PBS Wisconsin is a service of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

PBS Wisconsin is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV, Madison; WPNE-TV, Green Bay; WHRM-TV, Wausau; WLEF-TV, Park Falls; WHLA-TV, La Crosse; and WHWC-TV, Menomonie-Eau Claire.