Hinterland

I used to get negative comments about my binding all the time, so I learned how to do it right. If no one told me I'd still be doing a lousy job!

Janet

hobo2000

Consider yourself fortunate. I entered three quilts in the Williamsburg show, back when they had it there. I won the vendors award on my "Shakespeare in the Park". Had wonderful critiques on it. The other two I entered, were much better design, color, etc. I got a full page of critiques on each. After I stopped crying and really read them, I had to agree and it has helped me tremendously to make better and more winning quilts. It was the little nitty gritty things, that I had to admit, if fixed would make a better quilt. Like when you have an intersection of 8 fabrics, (Pinwheel)does it stand out a little after the quilting, and is a hard little knot. Well, one judge drew out how to do it plus after you do, you spray, hit it with a rubber mallot, then press. It works. But I now will never enter a design with intersections like that.LOL

susie-susie-susie

I think the judges sometimes get too full of themselves. I wouldn't enter anything to be judged by someone else. I would never think my quilts were good enough. I think you have to grow a thick skin and decide not to let anyone make you feel bad. Maybe you are just too sensitive still--I know I am-and take every comment to heart. Judging from the round quilt you have posted, you are a very good quilter, and shouldn't take the comments too seriously. Better luck next time.
Sue

grammatjr

Well, when I read your post, I took a peek at your other posts, and saw a bunch of beautiful quilts.

Sometimes I think judges intend to offer constructive criticisms to help us grow, but don't know how to say it, so it comes across only as finding fault, and not helpful suggestions.

I think I agree with one poster, if they quilts themselves were bad - you would have heard that too.

3incollege

I have sat in judging day for our shows, we have NQA certified judges. Every year they emphasize on the binding, no kidding !
Binding- can not be to wide, or to narrow. filled with the batting,the corners secured down and mitered. stitching can not show. you want to machine it to the front of quilt and hand sew to the back. They really like bias binding. Make sure your boarders are straight so your binding doesn't look woobely.

mandyk

All of the above. I've seen quilts do well at one show and bomb out at another. Sometimes the venue is wrong for the quilt. A gorgeous Balto ore Album quilt was wrong for an machine quilters expo. So if you put art or more modern quilts is a small town show, I would suspect wrong place for them. Fix the binding and reenter at another place and then see what happens. If you made it thru one round, keep going. Tell yourself you have talent and keep going forward.

KS quilter

Did they say exactly what was wrong with your binding?
I had this happen to me about 12 years ago...my binding was
too flat. I found they want 'fat' bindings...full of fabric
or batting inside the binding. I had been trimming off excess batting before I machine stitched the binding on top.. Now, I sew the binding on by machine...then trim but
leave a 1/4 to 1/2 inch batting there to stay inside the
binding. The variance comes from how thick my batting is.
I do like it a little bit better with the full binding,
but I didn't realize until then that anybody cared.

EIQuilter

While it would have been nice if the judge had mentioned the strong points of your quilts as well as the weaknesses, if the only thing that she was critical of was the binding, I'd say you did pretty good.

What did she say about the binding? Was she right? Could her criticism help you do better next time? If so, then try again! Part of entering a show and having your quilts judged is being able to accept the comments and improve your work going forward.

Lindsey

they judges want you binding to be filled and not lumpy or wavey. IF after its finished and needs to be filled you can take a needle with yard to help fil the spots you think need it.

GreatStarter

First off congratulations on entering three art quilts in any show! I never have the nerve to even enter. Second bindings are a huge item with judging. Last week I took a class from a judge and we happened to talk about the subject of judges and how they judge. In her opinion far too many only write up negative items. They don't explain what is wrong with the item, such as your binding. Instead in her opinion they need to explain what is wrong with your binding. She said the best judges explain what is wrong and often give very detailed explanations of how to fix the problem. She said that is how she learned. Also she tries to be sure and comment on the good points of any quilts she judges, not just the negatives.
Another point is lots of small shows are judged by just anyone. Not always by trained judges. She also commented on judges who judge by if "they" like the colors you used. Which has nothing to do with how someone should judge an item. Color use in it's relation to value, etc, but not if it's the judges favorite color.
So just go learn about bindings and see if you can improve yours in the future. Good luck and don't be afraid to enter quilts in future shows. I would probably skip the show you entered. Find other shows to enter.

Kat