The Quilt Alliance’s mission is to document, preserve, and share the stories of all quilts and all quiltmakers. We encourage everyone who makes quilts to become a member and enter our annual challenge regardless of their style (traditional, modern, art …), experience level, or technique (longarm, hand quilting, appliqué, pieced …). All are welcome and valued!

The Quilt Alliance is dedicated to the stories behind the quilts, so we’re challenging you to tell your story… with a quilt! We are thrilled to relaunch this annual tradition as a fun and educational membership benefit.  We are also challenging you to sharpen your documentation skills by including a label, short artist statement, and optional video and audio documentation. Don’t worry, we’ll help!

QA members will be offered a free Quilt Photography Workshop on Oct. 20, taught by Kitty Wilkin, including tips on taking photos of your quilt for the challenge. Video and audio documentation tutorials will also be provided. This is your chance to create a quilt that tells your story, and learn more about how to preserve that story through photographs, audio, and video.

The 2026 Challenge is free to Quilt Alliance members*, and $40 for non-members.

Design and make a quilt of any size or shape that tells your story. All entries will be submitted and judged online. No need to mail us your entry.

Required for each entry:

• • Creativity is encouraged, but your quilt should have 3 layers: top, middle, and back connected by stitches.
  • Must have a label attached with a minimum of: maker name, location made, date finished.
  • Submission should include 2-3 photographs: full quilt photo, a detail photo, and an optional label photo
  • Written artist statement
    

Additional materials strongly encouraged with each entry:

• • An audio recording of your artist statement (QA Voice Recording Line: ‪828-338-9651‬.
  • Go Tell It video recording (DIY info)

Quilt Alliance members will vote online to select First, Second, and Third-place finishers. We’ll also have a prize for Best Label and other categories to be announced. Prizes are provided by our generous sponsors.

*One entry per member included with membership; additional entries are $10/ea; max of 5 entries per member.