Last year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the European Patchwork Meeting, a world-renowned festival that warmly welcomes tens of thousands of textile art enthusiasts. The event that sparked its creation back in 1995 is beautifully recounted by Susanne Papawassiliu in this article.
At 30, when anything seems possible, what direction should the festival take in the years ahead? The answer soon became clear: it was time to look towards the younger generation. This led to the creation of a competition dedicated entirely to young artists.
From October 2024 onwards, the organisers began laying the foundations for the 5–25 Challenge, with a poster featuring Genesis Hall, an American artist who was just 14 at the time. She may still be in her teens, but she is already shining brightly as a rising star in the world of textile art!
And as luck would have it, Genny will be exhibiting her quilts at the European Patchwork Meeting this coming September 😊.
Bringing together young people aged 5 to 25 in the same competition prompted a few comments, but of course the entries were divided into age categories, and the system worked very well: ages 5–9, 10–13, 14–18 and 19–25.
In June 2025, the juries had 16 entries to assess. I had the honour of serving on one of them, and I cannot stress enough how important the photographs and written descriptions you submit are: they are the only material we have on which to base our decisions.
The magic truly happened. The finalists’ works were moving, joyful and inventive. The theme of Heroes and Heroines was interpreted thoughtfully throughout, and we had the pleasure of seeing the pieces in person at the Carrefour in Lièpvre in September 2025.
The awards ceremony was an emotional occasion—and a stressful one for the young artists—but that is all part of the experience! The jury was both supportive and rigorous, determined not only to select the strongest entries, but also to ensure that every participant went home with personalised feedback to help them grow, remain creative and stay motivated.
The young participants were then invited to join the Young Quilters Meetup. I gave them a brief introduction to colour—hues, values and saturation—in what I hope was a reasonably engaging way!
Then it was time for the workshops. Sandra Kaiser demonstrated the Cricut machine, which proved a great hit with the children, while I introduced them to the tool most quilters rely on: the rotary cutter. It is extremely sharp, so care is essential! A rotary cutter allows for great precision, but also plenty of creative freedom.
They were very careful with the rotary cutter!
The Cricut was a hit!
I had prepared rectangles of printed fabric in colours inspired by nature, evoking the earth and its plants and rocks, as well as air and water. Each participant chose a pair of fabrics, cut them freehand with the rotary cutter—yes, really, and thankfully without a single accident!—and then sewed the pieces together in pairs, alternating the prints.
I promised them that one day I would turn all their work into something…
By late May 2026, it was high time to showcase the fabric strips sewn by the young participants who had joined us on Saturday, 20 September.
With that wonderful day together in mind, I had made a pieced strip bearing the words Young Quilters, Forward! (En avant les jeunes !) which I wanted to incorporate into the piece.
I took everything along to a get-together with my friends from La Ruche des Quilteuses, and together we cut each strip into two squares. After trying out several different arrangements, we settled on one that felt just right. As a group accustomed to working together, we completed the quilt top in just a few hours!
All that remained was the quilting. We were in the middle of an unusually early heatwave for late May, so I was very glad to have a floor-standing quilting hoop!
And here is the finished piece! Every workshop participant can be proud to have contributed to this delightful quilt.
June 2026: I am delighted that the new 5–25 Challenge, with its theme of Forests, has once again inspired our young artists.
Paola, Eva and I will soon have the honour—and the excitement—of judging the shortlisted works!
Join us in Lièpvre at the 2026 European Patchwork Meeting, from 17 to 20 September, to discover the original creations of our young quilters aged 5 to 25 and the winner of each age group!
Behind this article :
Katell Renon
Katell Renon- Quilter, writer, teacher and curatorKatell Renon has been passionate about quilting since her teenage years. She first taught herself patchwork techniques before choosing to share her knowledge through workshops. She enjoys linking patchwork with general culture and women’s lives, which is why she regularly writes for specialized quilting magazines and on her blog La Ruche des Quilteuses .
She also curates collective exhibitions on original themes, such as the Weather Quilts (30 quilts exhibited at the 2021 Carrefour Quilt Show) or a textile interpretation of Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters saga (25 quilts and 9 textile books to be shown at the 2025 Carrefour Quilt Show).
She has authored two books on creativity and improvisation in modern patchwork. The second, Sacrés Tissus (2024), is still available.