Syttende Mai Quilt Show

He Sews What?  You never know what will be under his needle next. Bill Hoernke is what many call a modern day Renaissance man. At a very young age, he spent many hours watching his mother sew. Later in life, Bill learned many quilting tips and tricks from his mother before she passed away in 2020. He inherited her passion for quilting and continues to learn new techniques all the time. Bill has been quilting for a little over ten years now.

Bill grew up in Monona and now resides in rural Stoughton. Some of his other hobbies include scuba diving and underwater photography, motorcycle riding and perennial gardening.

With a background in education and information technology, Bill has always been in search of more opportunities to learn, which led him to attend numerous quilting workshops and retreats. Now you’ll find him presenting at many of those same events, sharing his love of learning and his knack for simplifying complex instructions for beginners. He’s been an educator at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show for several years, where his Bargello quilt “Fiji Coral Reef” was displayed, designed with colors inspired by his underwater photography from scuba diving adventures. This quilt won the Syttende Mai quilt show Viewers Choice award in 2018.  

Bill has taught quilt piecing classes and given lectures to quilting groups across the region for the last several years. He excels at breaking down intimidating techniques into manageable steps, setting his students up for success on every project. 

With ten years of experience in quilting on various longarm machines, Bill now uses a Bernina Q 24 with Q-matic, which is by far his favorite! Beyond quilting, Bill travels to exotic locations for scuba diving and underwater photography, enjoys motorcycle riding, and tends to his garden of perennials. His fellow riders, friends, and quilting students all speak of Bill’s genuine Midwestern charm.