If the same comment was made on all the quilts, whats the point?? I'd also contact the "committee" and ask what the heck??

I agree with this! A quilt shouldn't have to be "quilted to death" just because the judge likes it that way.

Dina

Without seeing any of the quilts in question - it is hard to give an opinion on them.

One thing to remember is that some rules were not made just to be picky, but in fact are good rules to follow.

Quilting is meant to hold the 3 layers in position, and if you do not have enough quilting on your piece, the batting can bunch up.

A quilt does not need to be "quilted to death" to win, but the quilting should be adequate for the batting used, and compliment the top. Without seeing the quilts in question, it's impossible to say why the judge said what she did.


Janet

My 'masterpiece' quilt has a large swirly pantograph quilted on it done by check, and I absolutely love what she did. Would I probably get the same comments on it, since it is not closely quilted, but it is closer than the batting requires, so I think it is fantastic. Others opinions are just that, THEIR opinion, and they are entitled to it, but that don't make my quilt any less precious to me, and yours are just as amazing to you. You are the only opinion that counts on your artwork. If they all have the same comment, it sounds like the judge did not have very much imagination....

Audrey is my sister, and I was just at her house, so I took a few pictures so anyone interested could see the quilting. I took several pictures, but not sure how well the quilting actually shows up.

Dina

Hello, it's me again. Thank you all for reading my post and taking time to give me your thoughts.

I am not unhappy with my quilts. I think they are great and I wouldn't change anything. I know there are tighter pantographs available, but I am not a fan of the tightly quilted pieces. I like my quilts to be soft and not stiff. The quilting was within the requirements of the batting and the stitches were even (stitch regulated). I was surprised that in the category of "pantograph quilting" that the density was more important than the actual quilting.

I spoke with the quilt show committee, and I agree with myself (I was the quilt show chairperson). l have been quilting over 20 years, have entered numerous local quilt shows, and am a respected quilt teacher in my area. I even won several ribbons at the show. As the committee chair, I saw the evacuation sheets for all the quilts, and all the quilts in this category had the same comment.

I just found it offputting that the judge used criteria for a category other than the category the quilt was entered in. The judge did offer positive comments on the piecework and the binding, so all is not bad. The quilt show committee divided the categories by quilting methods to allow the quality of the quilting and the piecework to be the focus of the comparisons. The three main categories were: quilted by domestic machine, pantograph, and custom.

I realize the judge is only human and that personal opinions weigh a lot. I was concerned not only for myself but for the others who entered the pantograph category and received the same comments. This judge caused other problems and we will not be using her again.

I was looking for the opinions of others, and I got it. Many thanks.

I also judge fairs in my state for open class and 4-H. Sometimes a written explanation of why you did a certain thing can help the judge. A lot of the 4-H judging is done as interview judging with the person who made the article which can help the judge decide which way to go. I try very hard to keep my personal preferences out of judging. I have give best of show to articles I would not want in my house, but the workmanship was wonderful. I also try to give two positives for every negative given. It can sometimes be very difficult to pick the best. Just remember it is one judge's opinion on that particular day. Keep entering. I enjoy looking at them all.

Then there are judges that are very biased . I ran into that at our county fair. They let late entries in . Rules stated absolutely no late entries.
The lady that had the late entries took first place. She was a judge in another category.
Made me want to say to heck with the whole process.
What would you do in that case?

I entered a quilt in our county fair. The rules stated that there were no late entries for any reason. Then the day we took them in --we watched them allow 3 quilts to be entered that were not registered in time. The lady won 1st place--she was a judge for another category.(I wouldn,t have wanted her quilt in my home either.)
It is all political around here I guess. It makes me want to reevaluate whether or not to enter any more.
The worst part was when I called the fair president to talk to him about it--he completely Ignored my call and never even called me back(I had talked to his wife & explained what I wanted to talk to him about).
everyone who saw the quilts that were there said mine was the best one. (a lot of quilters That I know and others I spoke to at the fair.
What would you all do in this case?