QuiltCon 2027 Judges

Heidi Parkes is a Milwaukee, WI artist known for her love of handwork, story, abstraction, repurposed textiles, and sewing on airplanes. She’s received eleven QuiltCon awards and has taught and exhibited worldwide, including at Quilts=Art=Quilts, the European Patchwork Meeting, and Quilt National. Heidi was recently a judge for the Milwaukee Art Museum’s annual Lakefront Festival of the Arts. Soft Magic, her 2025 midcareer retrospective at The Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, highlighted her interests in diary, embodiment, healing, material meaning, her work as an educator, and her time studying at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Calista Ngai is the Marketing Director at WonderFil Specialty Threads and has worked in the quilting industry since 2014. Her experience spans international events, education, and product development, giving her a broad perspective on how quilters approach technique, materials, and design. With a strong focus on thread and its application in quilting, she brings a detailed understanding of how material choices influence both construction and finished work. Calista teaches regularly for shops, guilds, and events, and has contributed to quilting publications, with an emphasis on practical, application-based knowledge.

Ginny Robinson is a seventh-generation quiltmaker whose work combines traditional craft with elements of modern art. Her work has been featured in Quiltfolk, Quilting Arts, and Curated Quilts and acquired by the International Quilt Museum. Her quilt “What We Will Use as Weapons: A List of School Supplies” won Best in Show at QuiltCon 2024. Ginny explores generational memory, natural beauty, joy, and social conscience through color, texture, and storytelling, a nod to her years as a published writer and poet. She particularly loves appliqué because she finds it forgiving, a trait she seeks more and more in everything.