Originally Posted by
JENNR8R
I won a Judge's Choice ribbon at a national show with pleats on the back of my quilt (not just little ticks like yours). I was really disappointed with the pleats, but they were impossible to remove without redoing the whole quilt. I entered the quiilt anyway and was shocked to get a ribbon. They must not have examined the back.
IMHO any ribbon at any quilt show is a high honor, heck it is a high honor to simply get juried into some of these shows the competition is so fierce. But to help clarify for the OP, usually (but not always) the judges choice ribbon is the one case where objective judging goes out the window. They are not judging the technical merits of the quilt but the subjective beauty and what truly appeals to them so a quilt that would not otherwise ribbon in a major show based on the criteria of its technical merit (ie, binding full, miters sewn shut, no chopped points, good tension in quilting, quilting stitches are even, etc) could indeed win a Judges Choice ribbon. It can most easily be compared to People Choice, Vendor's Choice or Faculty choice. They are choosing their favorite quilt, what appeals to them and don't care if it may have a structural flaw or it didn't earn enough points in each category of the judging criteria (which isn't universal, it can vary from show to show). From the FB page of a certified quilt judge:
https://www.facebook.com/ChristineBr...9254789008428/
So only you can decide if you want to rip those small pleats or let them go. I have entered shows where I was certain I would be cited on something I perceived as a flaw in my quilting (or binding, or piecing) and it was not even mentioned on my judging sheet. However I also didn't win a judged award, by judged I mean placed 1st 2nd, 3rd or Honorable mention in category I entered. I did take a Faculty choice ribbon though. The tucks you pictured appear to be pretty small and if quilting around them is dense it may just completely camouflage those small tucks.