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Great Wisconsin Quilt Show: 2026 Modern Mini Challenge Results
The 2026 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge results offer a starting point for thinking about scale, photographs and future quilt entries.
- Author
- Sewing Local
- Published
- May 30, 2026
- Reading time
- 2 min read
Archive note: This article covers announcements available on 2026-05-30. It was added to the Sewing Local archive on 2026-10-27; event schedules and availability may have changed.
Nancy Zieman Productions announced the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show's 2026 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge winners on May 29. Its report described 156 entries in the tenth annual challenge, with more than $2,700 in sponsor prizes. This was an announcement of results, not an open call for entries.
A small format with room for different approaches
The challenge allowed quilts measuring no more than 24 inches square. Piecing, appliqué and mixed techniques were among the permitted approaches, within a modern palette and design brief. The organizer's announcement identifies the winning quilts and their makers, and provides the original entry requirements:
For a reader exploring competition work, the interesting question is what to do with that limited space. Consider using a future small-format project to explore one design choice: a contrast between two fabrics, an unusual arrangement of familiar shapes, or the relationship between stitching and the pieced surface. You need not reproduce a winning design to learn from looking at it.
Looking ahead to your own entry
Before committing to a future challenge, read that edition's rules rather than assuming these requirements carry over. Check the size limit, eligibility, completion window, image requirements and deadline. Ask whether judging uses photographs or the physical quilt, and whether an entry may later need to travel.
When studying the published entries, make notes about what draws your attention first and what becomes apparent on closer inspection. Then return to your own sketch: which effect do you want to explore, and how will you photograph it clearly?
If you are choosing small fabric cuts, our guide to fat quarters and other precuts can help you compare formats before buying. Confirm the yardage required by your own design; a small finished quilt does not automatically mean every precut bundle will suit it.