I think ribbons should be awarded for good work, not because they happen to have 3 ribbons to hang on quilts.

Personally, I like the point system better because it gives you better feedback on what was right and wrong about a quilt, but even then, it comes down to the judge's opinion.

I think all shows would be doing entrants a favor if they published the judging guidelines, if any. Sometimes it's hard to understand what the judge was thinking, but usually there is a reason why they rewarded one quilt and not another.

how many judges were there? there should never be only one judge. that would be entirely too prejudicial. three judges, with an agreement of two out of three is much fairer and more common. how was this judged? were the "rules" posted beforehand? or were they made up on the spot?

They should be judged by the overall expertise of the quilts. There should always be a first second and third. This didn't sound fun at all.

is there a committee that you can make a 'suggestion' to? for next time?

When entering a piece in a quilt show, you must consider your personal reasons for having your work on public display. 1. Do you want to show off your skills? 2. Do you want feed back for making decisions as to where to take your skills next? 3. Are you trying to establish a name to sell your work? 4. Just to make your family & friends excited to see the work? 5. Just want prize money or ribbon? If the exhibiting organization does not have established guidelines - be happy with the success of seeing your work out in the open and remember any judge is just one opinion. Moosegirl

It does make you wonder doesn't it?

It really irritated me because I had spent a couple of weeks searching for just the right fabric for that lamp chimney and finally found a cotton lame that had the right sheen and that you could still see the background through. Besides, how good of a lamp would it be if the chimney was solid?

For the most part quilt judging can be pretty "to the judges taste" at local shows and county fairs. I saw a quilt not even get a ribbon at a local quilt show and then get Grand Champion at the state fair.