Thread: Question on Judge's Comments

At our local quilt show last month the judge completed an evaluation sheet on each quilt. My quilts were entered in the "Pantograph Form of Quilting" so obviously I followed the pantograph. The judge commented on all of them that they should have had "more quilting."

Isn't the amount of quilting a personal choice? And isn't following the pantograph enough? Especially since the category was pantograph?

I think I was penalized unfairly and that they should have judged on the quality of the quilting.

Any thoughts?

I would contact the show committee. Ask what the class was judged on. Did the judge feel the pantograph should have more quilting per square inch? Were you being judged on just the pantograph work, or was the suitability of the pantograph for the quilt taken into consideration? Remember all judging is influenced by our own likes and dislikes, but there are usually written standards someplace. Just reread your post. If judge marked ALL the quilts with the same comment about needing more quilting sounds all exhibiters were in the same boat.

Quilt shows are a finicky thing. Something to keep in mind when entering your work - the judges have to find something "wrong" per say to determine a winner for each category. Does it mean your quilt was a flop? Absolutely not. It sounds kind of negative at first...but really...it's just the result of process elimination to determine the highest quality of work in that category based on what was entered. Does that mean your quilt was not high quality? NO! Absolutely not! When you have two fantastic quilts...how do you determine which one wins? You have to find the "flaw" or something that separates the two so that a winner can be determined.

That being said - you and I can look at two different works of art and see different things. Even certified judges who've gone through extensive training use some scope of personal opinion when judging. I mean, it just is what it is. You can be a good judge and be as objective as possible...but some judges look for good bindings and while others have bindings less on the radar than quilting...so no matter what show or who judges it, there is some element of "opinion" in there.

The best thing to do IMHO? Take it with a grain of salt. Listen to the comments with an open mind and decide for yourself if the comments will benefit your future work or not. Do not take it personally. Really. That is SO much easier said than done, but remember, the BEST quilters who've won tons of ribbons and awards have received less than glowing comments at one point.

Congrats to you for putting your work out there - that's the biggest hurdle!

Originally Posted by pumpkinpatchquilter

Quilt shows are a finicky thing. Something to keep in mind when entering your work - the judges have to find something "wrong" per say to determine a winner for each category. Does it mean your quilt was a flop? Absolutely not. It sounds kind of negative at first...but really...it's just the result of process elimination to determine the highest quality of work in that category based on what was entered. Does that mean your quilt was not high quality? NO! Absolutely not! When you have two fantastic quilts...how do you determine which one wins? You have to find the "flaw" or something that separates the two so that a winner can be determined.

That being said - you and I can look at two different works of art and see different things. Even certified judges who've gone through extensive training use some scope of personal opinion when judging. I mean, it just is what it is. You can be a good judge and be as objective as possible...but some judges look for good bindings and while others have bindings less on the radar than quilting...so no matter what show or who judges it, there is some element of "opinion" in there.

The best thing to do IMHO? Take it with a grain of salt. Listen to the comments with an open mind and decide for yourself if the comments will benefit your future work or not. Do not take it personally. Really. That is SO much easier said than done, but remember, the BEST quilters who've won tons of ribbons and awards have received less than glowing comments at one point.

Congrats to you for putting your work out there - that's the biggest hurdle!

Question remains, why is the density of the quilting a factor in determining who's quilt is best? Only the judge's personal opinion, nothing more.

Sorry you feel bad about your quilt. Don't let that stop you from entering. I had one quilt that got so many negative comments from four judges at a show that I probably should have burnt it. LOL. But that same quilt won Viewer's Choice! I knew everything the judges said was wrong with it before I entered it but wanted to enter something. I didn't enter to win.

Originally Posted by Onebyone

Sorry you feel bad about your quilt. Don't let that stop you from entering. I had one quilt that got so many negative comments from four judges at a show that I probably should have burnt it. LOL. But that same quilt won Viewer's Choice! I knew everything the judges said was wrong with it before I entered it but wanted to enter something. I didn't enter to win.

One of us misread the original post. I do not see where the poster felt bad about her quilt! Only that she questions the judging.

My 'masterpiece' quilt has a large swirly pantograph quilted on it done by check, and I absolutely love what she did. Would I probably get the same comments on it, since it is not closely quilted, but it is closer than the batting requires, so I think it is fantastic. Others opinions are just that, THEIR opinion, and they are entitled to it, but that don't make my quilt any less precious to me, and yours are just as amazing to you. You are the only opinion that counts on your artwork. If they all have the same comment, it sounds like the judge did not have very much imagination....

Some judges really have built in quilt bias. I worked with a judge at our local fair where there were some outstanding quilts entered. If the quilt had a pieced back or the quilter had seamed the quilt back down the middle, she automatically set it aside and didn't even look any further. She also had a strong personal preference for pastel colours and almost shuddered at the lime green, purple, charcoal gray combo which was absolutely gorgeous and had been the Judge's choice at our quild quilt show. New show, new judge, entirely different results. Keep entering!