More than 400 colorful quilts, along with other quilt-related items, will fill the Orr Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on March 20 and 21. The 2026 “Seam to Shining Seam” show features quilts made by Springfield-area quilters who are part of Q.U.I.L.T.S – Quilters United in Learning, Teaching and Self-Improvement. Now held every two years, this is the 24th Quilt Show. This one will celebrate both America 250 and the 100th anniversary of Route 66.
There are 87 members of this local quilt guild, which was formed in 1984. Guild members can enter as many quilts as they wish. Quilts will be grouped into several categories and themes – Americana; Route 66; Red, White and Blue; In Memoriam, featuring quilts made in memory of past quilt guild members; and Challenge Quilts. The challenge this year was to create a quilt based on one word that describes the quilter, with the word visible on the quilt.
Multiple Quilts of Valor will be presented to veterans on both days, based on a nomination process. A charity booth will feature handmade items for sale with all of the proceeds going to Springfield Cares-Soldier Mailing, which mails packages to U.S. soldiers serving overseas.
Approximately 30 vendors will also be on hand, selling both quilt-related and non-quilt items. Fabrics, baskets, crochet and knitted items, a variety of crafts, illustrations of local landmarks and jewelry made from old silverware are examples. Some of the vendors will also provide demonstrations. There will be bed turning demonstrations where a stack of antique quilts will be interpreted one-by-one as they are folded back, then revealing the next quilt underneath.
Guests can purchase raffle tickets to win a colorful queen-sized quilt called Dancing Dresdens based on a pattern by Candyce Grisham, made by Q.U.I.L.T.S. members and quilted by 2 Guyz Quilting. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. The drawing will be held March 21, and the winner need not be present to win. Turasky will have lunch items available for purchase.
Karen Lindley is cochair of this year’s show with Teresa Kirk. Lindley believes quilters and non-quilters will enjoy the diversity of the quilts, which range from simple to intricate. She hopes people will see the variety in the art and have an appreciation of the craft of quilting.
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Featured quilter – Karen Barr
Karen Barr is this year’s featured quilter and winner of the Marian Brockschmidt Award. The award is given to a guild member who is not only an accomplished quilter, but who has made contributions to the local guild. Guild members nominate quilters for the award, and a committee of board members selects the winner. Marian Brockschmidt co-founded Q.U.I.L.T.S. She entered items in the Illinois State Fair for 70 years and was well-known and well-loved by the quilting community.
About a dozen of Barr’s spectacular quilts will be featured in a special display, and additional quilts will be included in the Americana area of the show. “Karen is a longtime member and amazing quilter,” said Lindley, who has known Barr for more than 20 years. “She is always available if anyone has a question or needs help.” Barr ran the consignment booth for guild members for several shows and organizes the hospitality area.
Barr always sewed, but took her first quilting class in 1978. She started slowly marking on fabric with cardboard templates, hand-stitching fabric pieces together and hand quilting. She started making each of her four sisters a quilt and entered the “On My Own Time” art show in 1993 at Memorial Medical Center where she was working at the time. She’s come a long way since then. Barr made a quilt for every baby born into her family and extended family and to date has made 58. In total, she estimates she’s made more than 200 quilts.
Some of her quilts are intricate reproductions of antique quilts. Others are more modern and unique. She’s exhibited her quilts regionally and had quilts accepted into the prestigious juried American Quilters Society shows in Des Moines, Iowa, and Paducah, Kentucky. As a wedding gift for her daughter, Barr made an intricate quilt with a wedding ring pattern and log cabin block design, consisting of 7,600 pieces of fabric, machine-pieced and hand-quilted. One of her spectacular quilts which will be on display is “Florrie’s Garden Extraordinaire!” consisting of 192 appliquéd posey blocks and 221 nine-patch blocks.
Barr says it has been very rewarding to be accepted into AQS shows and to make special quilts for family and friends. “I was very surprised and honored to receive this special Marian Brockschmidt Award,” Barr said. “She was an amazing quilter, and I’m so pleased to have known her.”
Want to go?
24th Quilt Show – “Seam to Shining Seam”
Friday, March 20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Orr Building, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield (enter at Gate 9)
Admission – $10 at the door, second day admission $5 with Friday attendance
Free parking
This article appears in March 12-18, 2026.
