Quilt shows
 

Have you ever gone to a quilt show and seen a very simple traditional quilt like most of us can do, or are all show quilts over the top?

I've seen just about everything at quilt shows. Antique, traditional, modern, artsy. It's all there depending on the requirements for entering the show.

I have only been to one, but it's the big one in Paducah. I found myself paying attention to those quilts that I thought that I had the skill to make - there definitely were some. The difference, however, is their use of color - that is what makes the quilt spectacular and a real work of art in my opinion.

In a national show the quilts are juried in. You send photos, the judges look at the photos and as I understand it on the first go through each quilt gets about 30 seconds because they have so very many to look at.
From that first keep discard the photos go again and they spend time looking at close ups etc.
From there they narrow it down to the best of the best and let the quilter know when to ship.
Once the show is hung the judges come through with the check list and give credit and critiques for each quilt.
the points = 100 and cover over all impression, technical skill etc. Cat hairs and smells and loose threads really hurt the points :)

For local guilds, they are generally looking for all they can get from the local area.
Many are not judged at all other than Viewers Favorites.
A simple well made quilt is a thing of beauty, just keep working on your skills!

Sometimes guilds don't accept quilts except from members of the guild in highly populated areas.

Quilts like any other item are a matter of personal taste. I can admire the workmanship on a quilt and not care at all for the choice of color or pattern. I have seen quilts that I thought were beautiful that were poorly constructed and quilted. I learned a long time ago to make what pleases me and forget about the rest of the world. I have done a few commissions, usually T-shirt quilts and I do hand quilting for those who are willing to pay me. Very often I don't care for the finished product because of the fabrics or designs. It is just a way to make a little money to finance my own projects. It is OK to try and perfect your technical skills but respect your efforts. Rome wasn't built in a day. Even less than perfect quilts can keep you warm. You will learn something everytime you start a new project.

Having been to the big quilt show in Paducah the past 3 years, I can say that I probably could not make at least 95% of the quilts on display. If that is the kind of quilt that you want to look at, then go to a big quilt show. I found a little quilt show at a church a few years ago that the people of the church brought in old quilts made by their ancestors and I was absolutely amazed at how intricate that some of them were - and they were all hand made - not a machine quilted quilt in the bunch. I am "on Pinterest" and I have a board called "Quilts that I could never make" - which means that I admire such quilts but could never make them - way beyond my abilities. I also have another board called simply "Quilts" and those are simpler quilts that I might be able to make.

I go to a lot of the big quilt shows. I have never seen a nine patch or a scrap quilt win a ribbon.

It really depends on the show. The local "big" quilt show is put on by the 3 local guilds and spans a huge range of skill and type. They have a "historical" area for older quilts too, where they hang and display antique quilts that were made by the guild member's family members and I love that area even though some of the oldest quilts are pretty damaged. So far the biggest quilt show I have been to is the PQIF in Santa Clara and those were more on the 'professional' side, I think, although there were quilts there that were "easy" enough I could probably make them. And some I will probably never, ever be skilled enough to make.

Personally, I have never yet met a quilt I did not like in some fashion or another. Easy, hard, simple, complicated, modern, antique...I love them all.

I also have seen some beautiful quilts and some I was surprised that made it to be shown.

Every show I have been to has a wide variety of talent shown.

This weekend there is a show in Somerset NJ. I have gone three years in a row and never been disappointed. From simple Irish chains and 4Ps to the over the top professional and award winning stunners. There is something for everyone.

Does everyone know of Kaffe Fasset I saw his quilts in a show and if you didn't know it was a kaffe quilt, you might think it was one of mine:D . His work focuses on the color and pattern and texture and not so much on the skill of piecing and quilting.

A lot of his work has a very open and spaced big stitch, random quilting. Enough to hold it together which is proof to me, the visual feel of his work is more important than the quilting. Put his work next to a few top quilters in the field today and they look very, very different. He has a very free feel to his work, and others are very controlled and precise. All are masters.

Go to any show you can and enjoy all the creativity.
peace