Question on Judge's Comments
 

At our local quilt show last month the judge completed an evaluation sheet on each quilt. My quilts were entered in the "Pantograph Form of Quilting" so obviously I followed the pantograph. The judge commented on all of them that they should have had "more quilting."

Isn't the amount of quilting a personal choice? And isn't following the pantograph enough? Especially since the category was pantograph?

I think I was penalized unfairly and that they should have judged on the quality of the quilting.

Any thoughts?

I would contact the show committee. Ask what the class was judged on. Did the judge feel the pantograph should have more quilting per square inch? Were you being judged on just the pantograph work, or was the suitability of the pantograph for the quilt taken into consideration? Remember all judging is influenced by our own likes and dislikes, but there are usually written standards someplace. Just reread your post. If judge marked ALL the quilts with the same comment about needing more quilting sounds all exhibiters were in the same boat.

Quilt shows are a finicky thing. Something to keep in mind when entering your work - the judges have to find something "wrong" per say to determine a winner for each category. Does it mean your quilt was a flop? Absolutely not. It sounds kind of negative at first...but really...it's just the result of process elimination to determine the highest quality of work in that category based on what was entered. Does that mean your quilt was not high quality? NO! Absolutely not! When you have two fantastic quilts...how do you determine which one wins? You have to find the "flaw" or something that separates the two so that a winner can be determined.

That being said - you and I can look at two different works of art and see different things. Even certified judges who've gone through extensive training use some scope of personal opinion when judging. I mean, it just is what it is. You can be a good judge and be as objective as possible...but some judges look for good bindings and while others have bindings less on the radar than quilting...so no matter what show or who judges it, there is some element of "opinion" in there.

The best thing to do IMHO? Take it with a grain of salt. Listen to the comments with an open mind and decide for yourself if the comments will benefit your future work or not. Do not take it personally. Really. That is SO much easier said than done, but remember, the BEST quilters who've won tons of ribbons and awards have received less than glowing comments at one point. :)

Congrats to you for putting your work out there - that's the biggest hurdle!

Sorry you feel bad about your quilt. Don't let that stop you from entering. I had one quilt that got so many negative comments from four judges at a show that I probably should have burnt it. LOL. But that same quilt won Viewer's Choice! I knew everything the judges said was wrong with it before I entered it but wanted to enter something. I didn't enter to win.

Some judges really have built in quilt bias. I worked with a judge at our local fair where there were some outstanding quilts entered. If the quilt had a pieced back or the quilter had seamed the quilt back down the middle, she automatically set it aside and didn't even look any further. She also had a strong personal preference for pastel colours and almost shuddered at the lime green, purple, charcoal gray combo which was absolutely gorgeous and had been the Judge's choice at our quild quilt show. New show, new judge, entirely different results. Keep entering!

Judges are just human. I've judged sewing shows and county fairs. If a judge doesn't write enough, people are upset. They want to know how to improve their work. If a judge puts too much people think they are being picked on. And every judge has their own ideas about what and how something should look. It sounds like this judge thought a quilt should have more dense quilting and kept that standard the same for all the quilts. Another judge might think there was too much quilting. At least the judge was consistent.

Judging is not as easy as most think it would be. As someone else said, they have to find things wrong in order to decide which item should be marked as 'best'. Which 'wrong' thing is worse than another 'wrong' thing? The audience needs to feel that the one selected as 'best' is reasonable as well. Sometimes the reason one quilt ranked higher than another is because of something that isn't glaringly obvious.

Don't let this experience stop you from entering another judged event. Every experience is a learning one and your quilt is a loved one. Isn't that the reason we all quilt? We want a loved item that will give warmth and comfort. Every quilt is a winner when that criteria is remembered.

Shelbie ... Unfortunately many of our local Fair Judges are far from qualified to do such. Yes, they take the OAAS training. However, many know nothing else beyond that and I am not even sure they even remember what they were trained about at the schools. I know one "respected" OAAS Judge, who has never made a quilt!! And another one who admits her specialty and true interest is towards preserves, and yet she judges quilts. Interesting eh? :) I'm not saying these Judges are good ... or not so. Though, from some of the comments I have had on my entries, I sure wonder!!!!! I surely have a full jar of salt as a result!! ;) ...... I won't even get into the politics of the of it all.

Sometimes I think that the name of the Judge(s) should be posted for some accountability!!
So often, we never have a clue as to whom it was.
Sometimes I have asked and been told. Most times, I know they know, and just go cold and clam up! L)


AudreyB ... as already said, take what you wish from any Judges' comments. Despite their supposed neutralities, personal opinions definitely do come into play ... they can't help but! After all these Judges are human! :) Were there no other comments made, other than the need for more quilting? Unfortunately, we never get a chance to talk to the Judge ... or to ask the questions that are left unanswered ... or to defend our rationale or trainings on such. Don't let it defeat you, quilt on and keep showing!!!!!!!!!! :)



One comment that was said to me by oneoof the Judge's helpers at a show, was that unfortunately, we never get to see the backs of the quilts ... they often tell you why a quilt wins, or does not! Apparently some at that show were outright horrid on the back, yet the fronts were impeccable!

Judges have their own prejudices just as we do. Fortunately, the same judge does NOT judge all quilt shows. Look at your quilt and see if your spacing may have been a factor.

A different view that you might consider.... Personally, I would take the "needs more quilting" comment as a suggestion that perhaps a different panto would have been more appripriate for your quilt(s). Some pantos are extremely open and not suitable for all quilts from a design and/or construction standpoint. The pairing of quilting and piecing is an art in itself and a skill that takes practice.

I wouldn't dismiss the comment as mere opinion or bias on the part of the judge. Good judges select an area for constructive comment that will help the entrant improve and grow their skills. Whether you local judge followed that standard is only a guess, but the comment has value regardless.

The 'norm' for judge's comments is several good remarks and one 'room for improvement' remark, so without knowing what other comments you received, we can't tell at all why you feel you were 'penalized unfairly and not judged on the quality of the quilting'.