September 24-26, 2026; 9 am – 5 pm daily
Iowa State Fairgrounds
Rastettler 4-H Building, free parking
Join DMAQG for a star-studded quilt show in 2026. The quilt show will feature member quilts and special exhibits, including star themed quilts, boro and sashiko, and the President’s Challenge, among others.
Shop for finished quilts and accessories in the Quiltmaker’s Market and fabric and supplies from the vendors. Be inspired by Friendship Quilts in the Quilt Turning and learn about new techniques and products in the Lecture and Demonstration room, all included with your admission. Hands-on classes will be offered daily. Topics, cost, and registration information will be available soon.
Extend your show experience by attending the Show Banquet on Friday, September 25, at the West Des Moines Christian Church, featuring a quilted fashion show. Ticket information is at the Quilt Show Banquet link below.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2026 Quilt Show!
This year’s Raffle quilt features a constellation of blue stars sure to please any recipient. Raffle tickets are just $5 for one or $10 for three and may be purchased at the show. The quilt will also be traveling this summer to be displayed in local quilt shops—keep an eye out!
Be sure to look for our Quilt Show ad in the All Iowa Shop Hop magazine! It’s a fantastic resource for discovering and supporting quilt shops across Iowa. You’ll also find us featured in the Country Register.
– Jill Reber and Martha Henrichs, Quilt Show Co-Chairs
This quilt is a Designer Mystery Block of the Month from the Fat Quarter Shop. The completed blocks and coordinating fabric were given to DMAQG by an anonymous donor. The quilt top was completed by members of the Guild and machine quilted by Stacy Harding, Iowa Swan Quilting.
Extend your show experience by attending the Show Banquet on Friday, September 25, at the West Des Moines Christian Church, featuring a quilted fashion show.
Ticket & Details coming soon.
Gold Sponsors – Woodside Quilting /Bernina
YLI
Riley Blake
Leo 9 Textiles
Off the Rails
The Woolen Needle
The Iowa Quilt Block
Creekside Quilting
We can’t do the quilt show without you, please consider volunteering to help set up and/or work the show. There are many different kinds of jobs, with details of what is necessary for each before you sign up.
This year as a special thank you we are adding a drawing where you could win a $20.00 gift certificate for YLI thread just for volunteering for 1 or more shifts. To have a chance to win, sign up for a shift, that gives you 2 chances to win. Want more chances? A name will be drawn once each day, as well as once per shift. We will also give out a gift certificate to the person with the most volunteer signups. Winners will be notified after the show through the mail. Contact Julie Hanel with questions.
Our guild has offered judging for our members’ quilts since 2006 and each year around 50% of the show entries are entered to be judged by a certified quilt judge– someone who has spent years studying all aspects of quilt making and the process of judging, completed a series of steps set out by the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges (https://www.nacqj.com), and then been certified as able to professionally judge. No matter how new or experienced, we can all learn a lot from these judges. We strongly encourage all members to have their entries judged.
The primary elements and standards used by judges are:
This is not an exhaustive list, these are just the most commonly remarked upon areas. Art quilts and modern quilts are more design focused, rather than workmanship focused. Each of the elements/standards has many more specific points, depending on quilt type.
The judge tries to recognize and comment on the positives of each quilt being judged and to identify one or more areas that could benefit from improvement. When the judge is ready to decide on ribbon winners in each category, there is some agreement that design is probably most important — the quilt with the greatest visual impact (the WOW factor). This is often determined by the complexity of design (COD) and degree of difficulty (DOD). But even the quilt with the greatest visual impact cannot rescue poor workmanship.
Please contact a member of the judging committee with any questions about the judging process, best category for a particular quilt, or other questions.
Judging Committee – Eva Marie Evans
Click to download list of 2025 winners and be sure see their quilts at the show, they are amazing!
Quilt entry information will be available here, closer to the show
Click to watch these informative videos on our YouTube channel, or scroll down to see them here.
How to put a sleeve on your quilt
The quilt show will close promptly at 5:00 PM on Saturday.
If you plan to arrive before 4:45 PM, please note that you will not be allowed inside the building until that time. You may wait in your car or outside.
At 4:45 PM, you may enter the building through the South entrance (near the food court), where volunteers will escort you to the designated waiting area. Please do not attempt to enter through the main (West) doors — entry will not be permitted there.
Volunteers will be stationed at entrances to help direct you to the correct door.
At 5:15 PM, we will begin escorting members from the waiting area to retrieve their quilts. Pick-up order will be random — not based on arrival time.
Here’s a better option:
Arrive at 5:30 PM and enter through either the South or East entrance. Your quilts will be folded and ready for checkout, and you can walk straight to the checkout table. This will be the easiest and most efficient way to pick up your quilts.
You must bring a signed note from the quilt owner to remove their quilts from the building.
Wagons, rolling suitcases, or large carrying cases are not allowed through the main doors at any time. You may bring them into the building after 4:45 PM through the South entrance only.
Thank you for your cooperation — and for making the quilt show a success!
