2026 IOWA QUILT FESTIVAL
RECAP OF THE IOWA QUILT FESTIVAL FUN!
from Director Melody Reels
The 2026 Iowa Quilt Festival was a wonderful celebration of quilting, creativity, and community. We are so grateful to everyone who helped make it such a success from the quilters, instructors, and attendees to the volunteers who gave their time and energy throughout the week.
We are deeply grateful to our generous sponsors, as well as to the homeowners, churches, and local businesses who helped make this year’s festival possible by welcoming quilt displays and supporting the event. Their generosity, along with the support of the entire Winterset community, helped create a truly special and memorable experience, and the festival continues to provide meaningful economic impact for the museum and downtown Winterset, strengthening our fundraising efforts and helping build a bright future for the museum.
Festival week was filled with highlights, including the bus trip to the International Quilt Museum, the retreat, classes, lectures, trivia night, gallery reception, and the Airing of the Quilts. With 24 quilt displays throughout Winterset, this year’s festival was our largest to date, and we are deeply appreciative of everyone who helped bring it to life.
The beautiful weather was the perfect finishing touch to an unforgettable week, and we are already looking forward to what’s ahead for the next Iowa Quilt Festival.
BUS TRIP
CLASSES & LECTURES
Retreat & QOVF Catch Up Day
AIRING OF THE QUILTS
A LOOK AT 2027 IOWA QUILT FESTIVAL
The Iowa Quilt Museum is excited to look ahead to next year’s Iowa Quilt Festival, happening June 9 through June 11, with the Airing of the Quilts on June 12. We are already making plans for another memorable week of quilting, learning, and community celebration.
We hope to offer a bus trip again and would like to begin collecting names of those who may be interested. Once we reach 30 or more participants, we will begin offering tickets for the Tuesday, June 8 trip.
Thank You Sujata Shah!
A heartfelt thank you to Sujata Shah for teaching her online class, Sujata Shah’s Raw Edge Kawandi Appliqué Online Class. Inspired by the hand-stitched Kawandi quilts of the Siddi community of India, this workshop offered participants the chance to explore an organic, improvisational appliqué process using raw-edge fabric scraps while focusing on texture, composition, and visible edges.
We were thrilled to have 9 people take advantage of this special opportunity, and we are especially grateful to Sujata for donating her time in support of our Capital Campaign. Her generosity helped raise just over $1000 for the museum, and we deeply appreciate her support of our mission.
Through The Looking Glass Kaleidoscope
Three Day Class with Jolene Green
Join quilt instructor Joleen Green at the Iowa Quilt Museum for a vibrant 3-day workshop where you’ll create your own stunning Kaleidoscope Quilt in our newly updated classroom space, the very first class to be held there! With more than 100 Kaleidoscope quilts to her credit, Joleen brings expert techniques, helpful tips, and years of experience to quilters of all skill levels.
Dates & Times:
Friday June 26 -12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday June 27 – 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday June 28 – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Iowa Quilt Museum, upstairs
Have you seen our new fabric?!
Swatchbook by Windham Fabrics
One of the highlights of celebrating the Iowa Quilt Museum’s 10th Anniversary has been seeing our first fabric collection, Swatchbook, arrive in quilt shops across the country. The collection began appearing in stores in May and early June, and we’ve loved watching quilt shop owners and makers share unboxing videos, photos, and their excitement online.
Inspired by an antique shirting fabric swatch book, the collection features classic blue-and-white prints with a timeless appeal. Perfect for traditional quilts, reproduction projects, and modern designs alike, these fabrics pay tribute to quilting’s rich heritage while offering endless creative possibilities.
It’s been a joy to see the collection make its way into the hands of quilters, and we’re excited to watch the projects and quilts that emerge from it in the months ahead.
If you haven’t seen the collection yet, be sure to ask your favorite quilt shop about Swatchbook by Windham Fabrics. And for those of you who love red and white quilts as much as we do, we’re thrilled to share that we’re already working on a companion red-and-white shirting collection, scheduled for release next year!
Thank you to everyone who has supported this exciting partnership with Windham Fabrics. We can’t wait to see what you create!
2026 Capital Campaign UPDATES
As we celebrate the Iowa Quilt Museum’s 10th Anniversary year, we’re excited to share incredible progress in our 2025-2026 Capital Campaign. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our supporters, we are now so close to raising two-thirds of our $100,000 goal, and we are even more thrilled to announce that we will be paying off our mortgage next month because of these efforts.
Our campaign focuses on strengthening the museum’s long-term sustainability by eliminating mortgage debt, and addressing pandemic-era expenses. The momentum we are seeing is truly inspiring.
We are especially grateful to Marianne Fons, who offered a challenge to her friends and family to match their donations up to $10,000 and ultimately raised just under $20,000 for our campaign. We also received a more than generous donation of $10,000 from the Des Moines Area Quilt Guild. These contributions, along with the many generous donations from quilt companies, quilt artists, and our local Winterset community, as well as supporters near and far, have brought us closer than ever to achieving our goal.
Every contribution, large or small, makes a meaningful difference. Thank you for helping us build a strong and sustainable future for the Iowa Quilt Museum. If you would like to further our campaign and help us reach our goal, no donation is too small, click on the button below
2026 Exhibits
Now – July 5, 2026 – In Flanders Fields The Poppies Grow: Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge & Quilts of Valor
This exhibit showcases all 225 quilts from the Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge. The challenge is an annual event inviting quilters from around the world to create 20-inch square quilts using a select palette of Cherrywood’s hand-dyed fabrics. The 2024 challenge theme was “POPPY,” and features a stunning collection of reds, greens, and grays inspired by the symbolic flower. The quilts honor U.S. veterans and their sacrifices, and will be displayed alongside several Quilts of Valor, whose motto is “Quilts = Healing.”
July 7, 2026 – October 18, 2026 – Iowa Quilt Museum Retrospective
Iowa Quilt Museum is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Since opening in 2016, the museum has presented 41 exhibitions showcasing the artistry, history, and innovation of quilting.
To mark this milestone, our 10-Year Retrospective Exhibit will feature quilts from 34 artists and collectors who have exhibited with us over the past decade. From traditional and antique quilts to modern and contemporary works, this special exhibition celebrates the creativity and community that have shaped the museum’s first ten years.
Visitors can also support the museum through a special online auction featuring quilts, artwork, books, patterns, and other items generously donated by participating artists and exhibitors.
2026 Iowa Quilt Museum Events
Look for continued updates on our website and social media about what we have to offer in the coming year:
- Jolene Green’s 3 Day Through The Looking Glass Kaleidoscope Class starting on Friday June 26 through Sunday June 28
- Stitch In at the Museum – every 2nd Thursday of the month.
- 4th Annual Share Your Stash Sale on November 7, 2026 – we are taking donations now.
- 2027 Iowa Quilt Festival – Wednesday, June 9 through Friday, June 11: Quilt retreat, classes, & lectures. Grand finale on Saturday, June 12: Airing of the Quilts. If you would like to sign up for a bus trip on Tuesday, June 8, to the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska please email giftshop@iowaquiltmuseum.org. Once we have 30 people signed up we will open it up for tickets.
Marianne’s Musings
Founding IQM Board Member Marianne Fons is a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative, a collection of over 70 professional writers and journalists. She writes a (mostly) weekly Substack column titled “Reporting from Quiltropolis.” (Quiltropolis = Winterset.) Check out Quiltropolis by clicking on the button below, and subscribe if you like.
