European Quilt Association

EQA was founded in 1989 with the aim of promoting and encouraging patchwork and quilting at European level, and sharing knowledge across borders, cultures and language barriers.

The EQA comprises non-profit associations from 19 countries, each with its own constitution.  All individual members of a EQA member guild are automatically member of EQA.

The international representatives from each country meet annually for the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

During this meeting, agreements are reached in the interests of quilting and our associations in Europe, the annual Challenge is organized, and potential collaborations are discussed.

Trough annual challenges on a certain topic without jurying, EQA encourages broad participation and creative dialogue. These open and non-juried initiatives are regularly backed by selected exhibitions to showcase the diversity and the expertise of quilting in the different member countries.

Both kinds of exhibitions are means of presenting European quilters to a wide audience all over Europe as they travel across the continent and appear at numerous locations.

Although the prescribed size of the quilts, for the challenge without jury, is relatively small - 35x35cm – we can thus enjoy a wide range of creative imagination and innovation.

A call for entries is also being issued to all members of the national member guilds, for the juried challenge. The format for this challenge is H 120cm x  W 80cm

Together, these exhibitions travel throughout Europe, reaching a wide audience at major shows and specialized events. They provide European quilt artists with an international platform, fostering connection, recognition, and cross-cultural dialogue within the quilting community.

In both challenges, techniques, traditions and various cultural approaches offer an insight into deep connections with ancient national traditions as they continue in the individual European countries. And overall, we can see that European unity is the key factor!