I entered three of my art quilts in a local small town show. There were 200 quilts and I did not expect to win, but the judge's comments were very critical of my binding. Very little was even said about the quilts themselves. I know it is a small town and maybe more traditional but it has really hurt my self confidence in my quilting. Anyone else had this experience.

I've never entered anything before but if all they could find to complain about was your binding then I'd say you did a great job with the quilting or they surely would have complained about that too! Don't let them make you feel bad. BTW, how about showing us pictures???

Suzy

no, i've never entered anything. part of the entering process is accepting the judges comments as feedback. work on the binding and your quilts will do better the next time. and it is true about the locale as you mentioned. maybe find a different venue and try again.

Well if that is one of your quilts that is your avitar then they probably wanted to run you off because your ARE SO TALENTED!
I don't know about quilt shows but I was going to show a dog once years ago, I didn't fit in because I did not travel in their circle so I kind was bummed out.
However hang in there!
Blessings!

Don't let it upset you. You said yourself that it's a small town. Maybe small town politics had some say in who won. Happens here ALL the time.
Mimi Dietrich has a great book on bindings called "Happy Endings". It really helped me improve.

I have just started to quilt, so can't say it has happened to me.
I have no plans to enter any quilting contests, due to the fact I would feel very badly too if someone criticized my work. (give me suggestions to make it better? sure, but don't criticize it)

My son and I both had a similar experience at our local county fair a number of years ago. His art work (which had been considered of high enough quality to be put on display at the art institute) did not even get an honorable mention. And a cross-stitch piece I had designed as well as stitched was put in with all the miscellaneous stitchery and also got only a participant ribbon. Needless to say we decided to not enter anything after that.

You mentioned that what you entered were art quilts. It may be that the judges didn't quite know how to 'take' them. That seemed to be the problem with my son's art work...it wasn't a vase of flowers or an old barn with a windmill.

I'm always nervous when entering a show because I know the possibility of the critical words that might come my way. Going in I just put my big girl britches on and take the comments as "constructive" and try to learn as much as possible from the experience. For me, its just part of the process of being "judged", it comes with the territory. Thats just how it is for me and how I've learned to deal with it.

I have heard from several sources that for some reason judges always look at binding. They look at the stitching, how even the width is, how the miters are done, if the miters are stitched and if the batting fills the entire binding with no voids. I was told that often the piecing, quilting and appliqué on a quilt are all outstanding, but the binding is what separates the winners from the others. I would take the info as constructive criticism and go from there. If you do a search on this board about quilt judging, they all mention binding as being very important.

I have never entered one but hte local guild talks all the time about the judges marking off points if their binding does not have batting in it. Sounds like the judges loved your quilts but maybe wanted batting in the binding. We all like recognition for those we deem experts. I'm not but I still thin k you probably did an amazing job.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

they always complain about the binding. in our small town our quilt show is the county fair. only 70 quilts this year and 15 were pannels for baby quilts. binding every time. so, I think it is like everyone said, they had to have something to say.

Was the judge from this town? Because if s/he is from somewhere else, then that would reflect the values of the somewhere else.

Also, how long did the judge have to judge the entire show? At two minutes per quilt, that would be 6 hours and 40 minutes. That's not a whole lot of time to get an overall view, evaluate design, colour choices, execution, etc, and then make a critique. Since nothing was said about anything but binding, I'd guess that was the only weak point.

In any case, binding is pretty easy to fix. It's easy enough to cut out a bunch of mug rug or potholder sized practise pieces and bind them to perfect your skill.

First congratulations for having courage to enter quilts in a show! If you are entering to have quilt judged then you should expect to have criticism. A local quilt show has a non-judging/exibition only catagory to enter quilts that you want to show off but do not want "judged". Perhaps next year you could suggest such a catagory for those of us who are too nervous to enter for real. Good luck next time.

sometimes Judges can be too judgemental!!

Bear in mind that quite possibly the judge was a buddy of the quilt show chair and not in the least qualified. One year at a local 4-H fair the Home Ec clubs hired a "friend" to judge. She gave a cheater cloth quilted pillow a purple ribbon and something less to a carefully pieced and quilted pillow that was not quite as "pretty at first glance"

batting in the binding? Do you mean just that the binding needs to be OVER the quilt bat? Surely you don't mean batting added to the binding?

Wow - I SO did not know the binding being a big deal when being judged. I haven't ever entered any though. And that might explain some of the quilt shows I've been to, when I see a quilt with the blue ribbon and I feel another in that category was way more qualified for the ribbon.

And just a thought - perhaps there was another quilt that was equally done and they had to come up with something to set the two apart? Maybe it came down to the binding.

I'm sure the quilt is a winner!

Binding can make or break a quilt in competition, no matter where it is. Learn to take Judge's Comments as critique, not criticism, and learn from it. You will only grow if you can do that.

Bindings is what all seem to go for. What else can they judge in an art quilt? Impossible to judge someones art. It is just too subjective. Traditional piecing is another thing. They can really pick those apart bit by bit.

I agree about Happy Endings. Its my edgings bible. I dont think it is being published any longer. Not sure. Its a keeper!

I used to show livestock and I had champion stock. But at this one show I kept getting put at the end of the line- last! Months later I was visiting with the judge of that show and he made the comment "I didn't know who you were" Thats why he put my animal down- He didn't know who I was!!!!! That should not have made any difference.
I don't know how quilt shows go but I do know there is a lot of politics involved it most types of shows.
Sorry for your experience. Smile and keep trying! You're good.

Art quilts are judged on the same criteria as traditional quilts...quality of workmanship in binding, stitching, piecing; overall use of color and materials; that kind of thing.

Art quilts are not judged on choice of pattern any more than traditional quilts are. It's all about execution and the choices the quilter made during construction.

I have entered shows before. Won some and lost some. All were learning experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything. Take the judges' words to heart -- it is meant as constructive criticism. Learn from it and improve from it. Although the critique may be harsh, we all ask for it by entering our quilts in shows, and shouldn't complain too loudly when we get what we ask for.

Yes, it is hard to accept criticism. Especially shen we have put a lot of time and love into a project. However, we do get over it, look back, and learn from that experience. I very sorry that you are going through this, but in looking at your avatar, you do beautiful work. So hang in there and continue doing what you love.

The quilt judges uses for the area fair always checks the binding on the quilt first thing. If the binding is good then they look at the rest of the quilt. Bad binding, it is automatically out of the blue ribbon category.

Don't let a judges comments upset you. Just remember that it is only one persons opinion and the opinion that really counts is yours. If you are happy with your quilts, that is all that matters.

Let me share with you an experience I had years ago, not with quilts but with dogs. I showed dogs for 20 years and always entered AKC shows. At this one show I was so embarrassed because this judge pulled me out of line and put me out front and proceeded to tell the other exhibitors to look at how great my dog was. That THAT was what this breed should look like, blah blah blah...welllllll...she had me go back and join the line and proceeded to give the wins to the OTHER dogs in the ring...WHAT? WHAT? NOW that was humiliation. lol..Actually after we exited the others came up to me and were saying how crazy that was. lol...needless to say I never ever entered under that judge again...go figure

ROFLMAO!

At one show, my breed was first in the ring that day. My male lost to another dog that he'd beaten several times already. Fair enough, everyone has good days and bad days, no one in dogs ever agrees on everything, etc. I've never complained about a loss and I wasn't about to start then.

But as I hung out ringside, I noticed that the judge had each class go in catalog order and he placed in catalog order, too. Out of the six or seven breeds I watched, not once did he deviate from catalog order: first dog in the ring always got first, etc. Just seemed really strange.

Later, a friend of mine who belonged to the club putting on the show called me. She'd been talking to the woman who drove that judge to the show and the woman had thanked her profusely for the club's courtesy to her friend, the judge. It turns out that the judge was losing his eyesight to diabetes and this was probably his last assignment because he wasn't getting any offers (imagine that).

I roared with laughter! My dog really *WAS* judged by a (legally) blind judge!

My boy finished the next day but I think the day before was a lot more memorable. I still giggle out loud when I think of that day.

I don't mind constructive criticism but any criticism should be tempered with some kind of praise. You can always find something nice to say no matter what the project. Did they have a suggestion box? Might be worth a try to submit your own construction criticism of their judging comments.

A friend of mine entered a quilt at the County Fair. She didn't win a ribbon but wasn't disappointed for that reason; she was disappointed that there was no comment nor critique to let her know what she needed to improve on in the future. I thought that very unprofessional on the judges part :thumbdown: