I entered a quilt in the County Fair and got a best of show in the category in entered. A friend entered a wonderful quilt and according to an 'insider' all judges except one (who was un-named) thought her's was the best. However, the one judge gave her a ZERO for color because she said green and purple don't 'go together' so it bumped her down to third place. Hello??? Has she ever seen grapes, pansies or a color wheel?
I entered the State Fair and got a Blue Ribbon in the first time quilter's category. However, at that time (1990's) EVERY MACHINE QUILTED quilt got put in the same lump sum category (except first time quilter). I think I counted about 15 different categories for hand quilted quilts. Talk about prejudice! And, once I won a Blue Ribbon I was no longer considered an amateur and could no longer enter. Hello, it was my first quilt! How could I NOT be an amateur after only one quilt?