Quilt Show Countdown: What judges look for

Judging a quilt show is both more and less than people think!
It's a lot of work to look at a collection of quilts, comment about each one, and then select the winners. But the judge does not pour over each inch of every quilt and spend a lot of time finding the faults!

Most quilt shows have the entries divided by categories. You could have hundreds of categories to keep all the different techniques divided, but that just won't work. Each show committee has to decide on the categories for their own show. Most quilts do fall easily into some category, and others just have to be placed as best they can.

Some shows have a point system for judging, but that can get difficult to manage.
Most shows have a check list of items for the judge to look at, followed by a comment section. As each quilt is viewed, the judge will ask for the best to be held out. From those she selects the prize winners for each category. Some quilts are also held for any special awards, such as Best Hand Quilting.
The first place winners of all the categories are reviewed for choosing Best of Show.
(NOTE: I will use the pronoun "she", but there ARE several male judges in the quilt world!)

As an example of how this works, I will use the QuiltFest form and some pictures of my own quilts. QuiltFest is judged with the quilts stacked flat on tables, other shows may have the quilts hung.
The assistants "fan" the quilts, folding them back half-way so the judge can get a quick view of what's in the category. Then each item on the form is called out, and she gives her rating (Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Needs Improvemant, or N/A... does not apply). She makes a few comments for the scribes to write down, then holds or releases the quilt. The form is completed and given to the quilt's owner when the show is done.

Judging starts with the visual impact, then use of color and fabric, and the scale & composition.
This quilt definitely has an impact! Do you think the red and blue work well together? Does the whole thing look balanced? Was the border fabric a good choice?
(this quilt has never been judged, so have at it!)
Here's another quilt (made from the "La Chocolada" pattern by Janet Jones Worley).
How would you rate the color & design?

Next comes how well the top is constructed....how is the piecing? OK? What if you look really close?
Well this pinwheel does not match up perfectly. If they are all off, the judge will see it. But if it's the only place, she might miss it entirely. The main place a quilt gets viewed is the bottom end, unless the judge makes an effort to walk all the way around...that's a lot of miles when the show is all added up! In a show that is hung, I think the top and middle might get closer scrutiny.

Then the sashing & borders are checked...are they straight?

The quilting part has to do with even stitches, top & bottom. This may be the first time the judge sees the back of the quilt. Some like to look at the entire back...and some don't look at the back much at all!

Choose your backing carefully, and you can hide a lot of problems...something I did not do for one of my entries this year! The quilting design should add something to the quilt...generally that all-over wide meandering stitch holds a quilt togther, but does nothing to enhance the patterns or designs.

What's going on here? No quilting? It's all done "in the ditch", which stabilizes the quilt but does little else. In fact, it can be a drawback, as it is very hard to remain IN the ditch (seam)!
Actually, on this one I used fancy stitches and quilted on top of the seam, so it's a nice little effect. But those un-quited areas would be much nicer if they were filled with some designs.

This is the back, and there are no knots to speak of. Marks should be removed before you enter the quilt, or you'll hear about that.

The last issue is if the quilt is flat and has no distortions...you know, like when you have tightly stipple quilted around some flower pattern, and it will never lay flat & smooth again....it waves or puckers up. You have to keep an even or balanced amount of quilting over the whole top.

Last is the finishing. Edges straight? You need to measure through the middle and make all the borders the same length...you cannot just take a strip of fabric, sew it on, and cut off whatever is left!
Is the binding filled and well stitched?

Bindings do not have to be a problem. Just make sure the edge of the quilt is at the fold, and sew the back down with small close stitches.

This quilt has a binding 1/2" wide because I wanted to see more of the stripe.

Since these were never judged, there are no comments. But probably the judge would say "nice & bright" or "cheerful feeling", then mention "additional quilting would add better visual texture to this festive quilt". Sometimes a judge will remind you to "true up the edges before adding the binding" or some other tip.

Most judges are positive and helpful. They are not trying to hurt your feelings, or point out every little wobble...in fact, they usually don't look at the quilts for more than 2-3 minutes each, and most of that time is spent phrasing the comment.

The pickier the comments, the more likely your quilt is a fine one, and if you would just pay a bit more attention, it would be wonderful!

Judges are first and foremost quilt lovers...they love to see your work, and hope you will continue to make better and better quilts.

The quilt makers are not allowed to be in the room when the judge comes to their quilts, and since I played fair and left for awhile, I don't know what was said about mine. But when the show is done, I'll share pictures and everything the judge marked....

...because I want you to know it doesn't matter. Nobody will see those marks and comments except you, and you already know what's a problem with your quilt.

Chances are the judge has said something about your quilt that will make you smile, and then vow to improve next time!

Quilt Show Countdown: Judging the Quilts

It takes three days to judge the almost 500 quilts entered in QuiltFest, and that means a lot of people to help out.
When the day starts at 7:30 am, it's a good idea to get there early and have some coffee! (or tea...they do have hot water as well!)
It's great to get together with all the quilters you only see once a year.....when you're working at the show!

At one end of the large room (across the hall from that coffee..no food or drink allowed in here!) the quilts are sorted and piled according to their category. Paperwork is kept carefully along the way so each quilt is always accounted for.

As each category is prepared for judging, the quilts are taken from their bags, and stacked on a table. The bags are collected in a laundry basket and taken to the infamous Back Room, the last stop of the judging process.

The long table in the front of this picture acts as a divider between the judging area and the seats for those who are waiting their turn to work (and getting a few peeks at the quilts!). After each quilt is judged, it is either "released" and taken to be re-bagged, or it is "held" on the tables here to be considered for an award. It can get First, Second or Third place...or perhaps an Honoroable Mention or Judge's Recognition. Or it may just be released, having "done well in its category".
Look close and you can see the Larged Pieced category is laid out on two tables, waiting for the wokers and judge to arrive.
With three tables in the judging area, one category can be examined by the judge while the next one is being set out.
Each table has three assisiatnts on duty: one at each side to help show the quilts to the judge, and a runner, who removes each quilt after the judge has made her comments.

The table in the front of this picture is where the scribes sit. They take turns writing down what the judge says about each quilt. The judging papers are put in envelopes and returned to the quilt's owner at the end of the show...more on that in a future post!
Behind the scribes' table is the Back Room. Nobody is allowed there except the special workers!When a quilt is released, the runner brings it to the end of the scribes' table and waits for one of the Back Room Workers to take the quilt.
It is then carefully folded and placed back into its own bag, and carries a note if it has won an award.

So as each quilt moves through the whole judging process, from one end of the room to the other, it is constantly accounted for.

I wish I could show you more pictures of all this in action. The quilts are handled with so much care and consideration at every step! Many have embellishments and special touches, and all the workers do their best to care for each quilt as though it were their own.

Today was the second day of judging, so the pile of quilts at one end of the room has dwindled down, and the pile at the other has grown!

The quilts will be guarded over the next week (the quilts are in secure location) until the day arrives to move them to the Prime Osborn Convention Center and hang the show.

If you ever have an opportunity to assist with judging, you will receive the best free education possible! Listening to an NQA certified judge give positive and helpful comments on so many different quilts can help you understand how to improve your own work...and provide the inspiration to do so

Quilt Show Countdown: Take-In Day

The quilts have been collected!
At five locations around the area, groups of volunteers worked for 4 hours to check in all the quilts entered in the show. More than 480 were expected!

Besides ones that were delivered from local quilters, there was a huge number of quilts that were mailed in. Those all go to one address, and are then divided up and given to volunteers who take care of the quilts as though they were their own: they open the box, remove the quilt and examine it for any problems, then bring it to a Take -In location. When the show is over, they gather their charges and mail them back to the owners.

Every quilt, delivered personally or mailed in, have to go through the same take-in procedure. One by one, the quilts are carefully opened up and spread out on a sheet-covered table.
Measurements are taken to be sure the quilt is entered in the correct category (and sometimes they're moved!) and to see that it is clean (lint rollers are part of the Take-In supply kits) and make note of any stains or damage.
Critical is having the top of the hanging sleeve at 90" from the bottom of the quilt. That means on very large ones the top edge is folded back over the hanging rod, but it allows the bottom edge of the quilt to NOT TOUCH THE FLOOR.
Can you guess that is really important? It is, because if the quilt touches the floor it can be soiled or damaged. In past years we would pin the bottom up...but that was a terrible job, and no one felt right putting that many pins into somebody's quilt.
This year some quilts had to be returned because the sleeve was not 90" from the bottom. If the owner could move the sleeve before Take-In was over, then it was accepted. Other wise...I guess they have a start for next year's entry!
(and for those wondering, this is clearly stated on the entry form, complete with a diagram!).

Plenty of hands make handling the quilt a smooth process as the front and back are examined, then carefully re-folded and put back in the cloth bag it came in.
The owner gets a receipt for proper pick-up at the show's end, and the quilt's bag has a big tag attached so it can quicly be identified by it's number.

The number tells the quilt's category, and they are all stacked in order until it's time to be loaded in vans and delivered to the judging location.

This picture was snapped early in the day! By the time all the quilts came in, this entire area was covered.

Pictures I didn't take:
1) the entire pile of quilts!
2) my van and one other crammed full of quilts
3) the quilts piled up on rolling carts at the hotel ...
4) and the quilts being sorted by category in the large room where judging will start tomorrow!

All the quilts assigned to our location came in except one.

And there is always somebody (for once, not me!) who needs every single minute up to The Bitter End to get her quilt binding finished!

No names, please! This could be any of us...one finishing the binding, one moving the sleeve.

I salute you valiant quilters, stitching on until the job is done so your beautiful creation can be part of the show!

Judging starts tomorrow at 7:30 am.
I'll be there...all 3 days. But I am not allowed to report anything about what is said, or what quilts get prizes, or basically anything.
I will try to get a picture or two, but it won't be easy to take a photo that "doesn't show anything". And I'll tell you about the process, even if I can't reveal any info about the quilts themselves...
you will have to make it to QuiltFest Sept. 24--6 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, Jacksonville, FL!
Or keep visiting this blog (and here's a big "shout out" to my fabulous readers around the world! Hope you enjoy this peek behind the scenes!)

Quilt Show Countdown: Take-In Eve

It's time for the 2009 Quilt Show Countdown!
Only 13 days until QuiltFest in Jacksonville, FL, and there are many things to do (not counting all the months of work the Board members have put in since the show last year!).
Tomorrow is Take-In, when local quilters bring their creations to one of several locations around the area. Mail-in quilts have already been received and assigned to volunteers who will care for them through the show.

There's no minute like the Last Minute! It's been tha Last Minute for a couple days around here, but I am happy to say I am ready to go for tomorrow morning!
I did have time to do a mediocre job of quilting down the pink border on Roxanne's Honeymoon.
The border is 2" wide, so I marked every 2 " with my handy chalk marker. Using 3 marks, I started at one side mark , curved up to the next mark on the other side, then aimed backed down to the third mark to stitch an arc shape.
(note use of the term "aimned"...I was in a hurry and doing this by eyeball...'nuff said!).
The arc continued from one end of the border to the other. Then I went back and started on the opposite side, but making the same arcs using 3 marks. This ultimatley creates a design called "Egg & Dart", an oval and a diamond alternating along the border.
I will say this: it does improve on the un-quilted look the border had, and since the thread matches the fabric perfectly, the quilting design is not too noticable.


That was it for Roxanne's...I already had the binding, sleeve and label on!
So on to The Black T-Shirt Quilt.
I kept hoping I could just leave it alone, yet it still wanted more quilting.
Today I did free-motion quilting all through the various sized sashings, and they are improved by having some stitching in them.
This quilt may have the perfect backing fabric:
It didn't matter if I used red or black, top or bottom, it all desappeared into this busy print!

That was fine until I had to go look for the thread ends to snip.
You can see here a clip-on reading light, which I needed to find the thread, and a great pair of little scissors. They have curved handlesso I can keep my hand above the quilt, and then the ends curve back up, too, so they are not as likely to poke through the fabric.

At last, two quilts bagged and ready to go!

The one on the right is going in a pillowcase I have especially for show entries. I took a big Sharpie pen and wrote my name, address and phone number really big on each side. The fabric is red & white striped, so it's easy to pick out of a pile.
The one on the left is going in a humongous bag I sewed for toting quilts...first, it is rather ugly, so nobody would want to take it. Secondly, and most important, it is HUGE.

Friends, do not send your quilts to a show stuffed into a bag like a sausage!
I know tomorrow at Take-In we will see some that are so tight inside their bag that it's a struggle to get them out. The after we check the measurements, paperwork, and show requirements (such as the sleeve being 90" from the bottom of the quilt), it is extremely hard to get that quilt back into the bag! It really puts un-needed stress on the quilt.
And consider this: by the time a quilt is checked in, judged, hung at the show and then taken down so you can have it back, it has been in and out of that bag 4--5 times!
Be kind to your quilt AND the show volunteers....use a bag that holds the quilt comfortably!

We have 4 hours to check 71 quilts at the Take-In where I'll be working. It will be busy, hard work, and lots of fun!
I'll try to get some pictures for you to take a peek behind the scenes.
After we're done, the quilts will be loaded into 2 vehicles (yes, the QuiltMobile is one!) and delivered to the hotel where the judging will be done over the following 3 days.
Stay tuned for more Quilt Show Countdown!

Meanwhile....
several people have been asking about Shayla O'Puss and her adjustment from living in a shelter to living in a house.
I am happy to report, she has settled in quite well,and is friendly to my husband and other people, if they are sitting down (she's still suspicious of anyone on their feet!).
She's pretty well taken over the whole house, and enjoys her roles as Office Cat and Studio Cat.
But first and foremost, she is....
A QUILT CAT!

The Black T-Shirt Quilt returns!

When we last checked in with The Black T-Shirt Quilt, it was barely getting to be a top. See it by looking back here in June.

Meanwhile, good friends Rita and Cherry-Cherry helped me baste it....and a nasty job it was, with a "vintage" polyester so-called black batt. That means it was hiding in my closet for many years, and it's really a charcoal color.But what's going on here? Yes, once again I got the backing too short, and have to add on a section.
In my can't-wait fashion, I went ahead and did all the in-the-ditch stabilizing quilting, working my way up and down from the center out to the sides. Then I had to peel everything apart along one end and add the extra strip of fabric.

No, I was not smart enough to trim the selvedge off first. It's just going to be part of this quilt forever!
The worst thing, though, was having to touch that batting constantly. Yech!
Or maybe the worst part was having to press open a seam 63" long, trying not to hit the batting with the hot iron!
This is the price I pay for being me. Yet somehow, it seems to work.


Next came quilting inside the blocks to keep the whole thing from looking like a giant puffy naan (that's a bread from India...if you've eaten one, you know what I mean!).
Mostly I did a wavy sort of line, generally following the shape of the words or pictures.
A wavy line is never expected to look straight, so it saves you from a lot of heartbreak and irritation!


It was really miserable quilting on the knit fabric, even though all the shirts had been stabilized with a woven interfacing. Very hard to avoid pleats & puckers.
And that poly bat!!!
It's been years since I quilted with one, and honestly I am glad I did this one.
It reminded me why cottons and blends are a thousand times better!
Poly is slippery and stretchy...and springs back to where it stretched from. Not fun at all. (though it doesn't need to be washed to be puffy...it does have it's place in the world....just not MY world!).

Finally time to quilt the border!
It's my design called "Cheating at Checkers", so I continued with the "cheating" theme and did the corner-to-corner curves in each black square, free-motion by eye.
Then I went back with red thread and did one long diagonal line through the red parts, as though it would be going through red squares, if they were there.
I bet when I really look at it, it will seem like I only did half of Xs through those red areas.


My goal this year is to get two "Needs More Quilting" remarks from the judge, and I believe I am right on track with both entries!

One of my favorites shirts! It got some nice spirally sort of lines to show off Our Home Galaxy.

The binding is sewn to the front now, and it needs stitching down on the back. Then a sleeve and label. Oh, I hope to get some random quilting done in the red sashing, too.
And there's still a pink border on the other quilt that I'd like to stitch down.
Even if I have time for those two things, I will still be able to reach my goal for the judge's remarks!
Only four days until Turn-In!

Meanwhile, here is attempt #3 at having a phone in my studio:

And do note that you can actually see a space on my floor!!!
The last phone made a continuous sound like a squirrel. It had to go!
So if you call me, and I'm sewing, now I don't have to run out the door, down the hall and into my office, hoping to grab the phone before the answering machine comes on!

Quilting Black-on-Black, Part II

After trying several ways of marking...or not marking...on black fabric, I bought White Marking Pen from Clover (is there a fat one???). It is like a ballpoint pen.
There are many warnings to read the instructions before using, but not much new...four statements: one a sales pitch, one CAUTION (try it first, of course), one about how it works, and one about how to get it out.
The strange thing with this product is the "ink" goes on clear and then turns a fairly visible white. So if you were drawing free-hand, that could be a problem.....the same problem I was having with free-motion stitching black thread on black fabric!
Here's a sample of how it looks as a line, and then I scribbled a LOT on, to see if it would come out:


This is about as in-focus as I can make my own eyes right now!
The way to get the mark off is by washing or ironing, and I am pleased to say both worked on my sample scrap. So I marked right on my quilt:

When you need a template, there's no place like the kitchen! My dinner plates are immortalized in many quilts. This is a melemine plate from the dollar store!
I decided to stay with the process of marking out large areas/ shapes, and then filling those in by eye.

A very nice cresent Moon, though my eyesight for making even lines is laughable.
Still, at this point, it is 10 days until the quilt show Turn-In, and I still have another basted quilt waiting!

It seems counter-intuitive to IRON on your quilt, but I did it just to see how the lines would come out.
They came out...it flattened the area. But I usually give the quilt a ride in the drier for a bit to freshen & fluff before it goes anywhere.

When I am pushing & shoving & rearranging a big quilt through my machine, I remind myself that it's that process making the quilt soft. It is very much softer and nice after the quilting is done (unless you have stippled it within an inch of its life and stiffened up the whole thing).
Washing has the same effect, and I have been doing that more often, but this one I don't want to wash before the show...mainly a time constraint.
I might change my mind, though, as the washing and drying gives it the puffiness we like to see (and fills in the little odd spots we hope the judge will miss!)

Why do we also like the flatness when a quilt is just done? We think we are able to appriciate all that quilting we just finished! But 9 times out of 10, the puffiness is more pleasing.

I did continue on and quilt all the flower blocks with a totally free-stitched bumpy flower petal effect.
At least, I hope that's the effect! It's definitely bumpy.
It was nice to just be quilting pink thread top & bottom, knowing there would be no odd color thread showing on each side.
I stopped worrying about on the back...I am sure the judge will mention it. She will be correct to do so, but I would be highly suprized to read a comment that says anything I don't already know about this quilt!

Except for a black thread glob here and there, the back looks pretty good.

So, here I am down to the wire, and the thing is that the quilt still needs more quilting!
Some quilts are demanding that way. This one has been like that from the beginning, which is how it got as much as it has now! But it doesn't really have any quilting in the black background around the blocks, and it should.
I determined that I can add the sleeve without any trouble, so that's going on next. Maybe (ha, ha) if I have time, I'll go back and try to do some more quilting (who AM I kidding???).
But for now, this will have to do.

My belief is that quilters, once they are beyond beginner level, do about the best they can at any given time. Anything that is not quite right is because they decided not to do it originally, or didn't go back and fix it.
I know the right way to do almost everything, but I seriously lack the patience to perform like a champion quilter. And that, of course, IS the difference.
Those Big Award Winners don't necessarily know more than others, but they buckle down and don't let anything get get past them but their 100% best work...and so they deserve all the awards they get.
Meanwhile, as always, I am off to my next project!

Seaside Piecemakers Mystery is solved!

I had a wonderful time in Satellite Beach with the Seaside Piecemakers!
This guild is 300 members strong. Visit them at their website http://www.seasidepiecemakers.com/ to learn all about their many charity and other activities.
They have a quilt show next year on March 12 & 13...and don't miss their fabulous opportunity quilt!

The day started with "Taming the Scrap Basket", and I am happy to say nobody passed out when I revealed the quilt top I have to keep hidden in a bag during the lecture. Not all scrap quilts are pretty!
After lunch, we started into the Mystery Quilt I designed with a seaside theme and named "Shining Sea".

Here it is at home on my design wall...a block for the sky, a block for the sea and another for the beach. The sun is paper-pieced with strips.
But wait!
There's more!
This is the most unusual quilt I have ever designed for a Mystery Quilt class, because it has TWO SIDES!
Here is the other side....

These are planned to be opposite sides of the quilt and with careful basting are quilted together (these photos are the unquilted tops, though).

Originally this was designed as a huge quilt with the Sun on one end and the Moon on the other, then dropped down to a baby quilt size, then ended up 2-sided. WHEW!
The class included very brave quilters from beginners to experienced, and they worked hard to make the blocks without having any idea at all what they were making!
In the end, all came out fine, and I am looking forward to seeing some completed quilts.

I especially liked all the ideas they had for making their own creative choices...one will be made a bit smaller and done as two separate pieces, others were planning some wonderful applique additions.

This one definitely wants to be a pattern, which will also have the large one-side quilt design directions.

I should have had more pictures, but instead of being in my purse, the camera was riding around in my husband's car! It was hiding in the glove compartment, where I had to stash it before going into the Crosby, Stills & Nash concert last week.
Darn...no concert pics and no class pics, either!
I suppose this is why there are cameras in cell phones. Except mine.

But don't worry....the camera is back by my side, and ready to take you through the Big Quilt Show (QuiltFest) again this year. Things will be starting up on Sept. 12 with Take-In Day. If I'm careful, I may be able to take some photos at judging, and of course you'll get to see set up, the show & take down!
Meanwhile....I still have two quilts to finish!