What would you do?
 

I entered a quilt in our county fair which is coming up next week, I'm not sure I want to put it in now that it is all done... I was very careful piecing the quilt and that went well, but I am not the greatest with FMQ, I got my sweet sixteen a little while ago and have been practicing but now that I have the FMQ all done I'm not sure it's good enough to enter it.
What would you do enter or no,t even tho it's not the best FMQ
Thanks

Living where I do in the UK I’m not familiar with entering quilts in county fairs but as you’ve put so much time and effort into your quilt it would be a shame not to enter yours.

Good luck!

Enter it. County Fair's are the perfect place to enter quilts. Our local fair usually only has 12-15 quilts, so more would be great.

Enter it! So what if you don't win? Always be proud of your own work. And if people don't enter the classes... eventually the fair will have nothing to display and they won't run the classes … and/or there won't be a fair.
Besides … we are our own worst critic.

Please enter it! The only people who will be picking your quilt apart are the 2-3 judges. Hundreds of other people will enjoy it, take inspiration from it and get encouragement to enter their own.

By all means, enter the fair. Yours may not be perfect, but, I can guarantee you that no one else will enter a perfect one. You get to show your enthusiasm for your hobby, and, if it is judged, you will gain some insight into how to grow in your skill. But, I think you should show it to us first!

Yes, please enter it. If you do get constructive criticism, think of it as a learning experience, and next year your entry will be even better!!

Oh yes I so agree do enter it, and learn from the whole expirience. It will be great fun!!!

Enter it! The vast majority of the people there will be in awe of your mad FMQ skills.
It's always fun to see your quilt displayed somewhere and it helps support the fair.

Do it and get started on next years!

Watson

Enter it. You will be glad you did. It will build your confidence.

Go ahead and enter. There is someone out there who, when she sees it will say "My that's pretty. I want to make one".

I think you should enter it. In my small town there are so few quilts that get entered into the fair and it would be nice to see a lot more. I entered a quilt once and I didn't get a ribbon but the judges gave very positive comments. I think you will pleased that you put your quilt in and good luck to you.

enter it! We all see imperfections when we are making a quilt, but when the quilt is viewed as a whole they are all good!

I think you should enter it. I am also thinking of entering a wall quilt into my local fair and have decided go ahead and enter. I have never entered any of my quilting projects to be judged in a show/fair. I would love to win a ribbon but really want to see comments I get from judges and we all want to be able to show what we have made to others (that's why we post pictures of our completed projects here). The last time I entered in a fair I was 12 and it was my sewing project for 4-H (top and wrap skirt), I won grand prize in my division/age group at county fair and took 2nd at the state fair. I still have the ribbons in my keepsakes and I wore that outfit until it was almost worn out. So yes, enter your quilt and go for it.

Absolutely enter it! When I attend our state fair I spend 99% of my time in the creative arts building. I spend hours looking at all the creations, especially the quilts. I love looking at them up close. I marvel at what people do. I see quilts with ribbons on them and see that they are not "perfect". There are dozens of categories they are entered in. As others have said, use it as a learning experience!

That is what has happened to our county fair. It seems to be 4-H only, no open class. I'm really disappointed. I've always wanted to enter a quilt in a county fair, even though I probably wouldn't win a ribbon.

To Quiltlady1941, please enter it!

Please enter it and let us know the outcome.

I would enter my quilt because every judge looks for specific things in each quilt, however, they also look for unique and/or different things that make one quilt rise above the other. Give it a go as you had planned.

And, here is the story behind my reply..... years back I was taking ceramic classes and made a southwestern style vase to enter in the Dallas, TX ceramic show. I had never worked so hard on a piece or been so disappointed when it came out of the last firing. I cried as I dropped it in the trash as I was leaving the studio. However, one of the instructors saw something that really caught her eye, took my piece out of the trash and entered it in the show without me knowing. You can't imagine my excitement when I went to the show and saw my vase with a big blue 1st place ribbon hanging on it

Please enter your quilt and good luck!
.

Can I just say, Betty, that your story choked me up? How kind of that instructor to find something praiseworthy that you could not see, rescue it, and watch it take a blue ribbon. I kind of feel like my husband did that when we met. I didn't see anything of value in myself, but he did, and he asked me to marry him.Of all the women in the world he chose ME! Here we are almost 32 years later.

Anyway, QuiltLady, please do enter your quilt. Remember, even if you don't feel good about your FMQ, it's a skill that the vast majority of the world cannot do and have never tried or even heard of. Besides, when I go to county fairs, the last thing I look for as a viewer are the mistakes. I see beauty and hard work and sometimes the quilts evoke special memories, but they always, always inspire me. I'm often not in agreement with the judges over their choices, and wish I could slap a contruction paper blue ribbon on one and attach a note" "winner in my book!"

Enter it! You might be surprised how well it is received even though you don’t think it’s great.

I agree with the others. Enter your quilt & be proud of yourself. Take a picture of it on display so you can frame it for your sewing space. Think of it as your blue ribbon everytime you look at it.

I so agree. Let others enjoy your talents. I never enter to win, I always enter to share.

Enter it! Personally, I am so needlessly critical of my quilt right after it's done. When I go to a show or fair, the more quilts to see, the better.

I think you should enter it and just what might happen. FMQ is not an exact art, mostly how I quilt and I love doing it.

Enter it and see what happens. You worked hard on it, let yourself have the chance to shine.

Rob

I am another that does not always agree with the judges. I enjoy when there is a peoples choice award and we get to vote. Please enter so that you can inspire others.

Enter it. You'll be happy you did.

Enter it. Quilt shows are not life and death situations; they're meant to be fun. So put your quilt in the show and have fun!

Please enter it. I enter mine with not a care on how it is judged or how it compares. My quilts are not perfect. I am still working on FMQ skills. I enter just for me and to have the pleasure of it hanging.

Yes, go ahead. For one thing, you have filled out the forms and paid the fees. You might be surprised and win a ribbon.

What have you got to lose? You're already entered. Enter your quilt and see what happens. Even if you don't win, you'll learn something that will help you improve your quilting and do better at next year's fair.

ENTER YOUR QUILT! We are our own worst critics most of the time. What you think is not good, someone else will see as a work of art.

I, too, have difficulty accepting that the work(s) I have done are worthy of being taken seriously. I've never entered anything in a county fair or a quilt show, but I've heard people say that they are awesome, or wonderful, or perfect. I can't convince myself of that. My wife says that I should quit being so hard on myself. Maybe you should take her advice, too.

Quiltlady1941-I am entering for the first time next month. I am a little nervous, but please enter yours and let me know how it goes!

What do you have to loose? It can be a very good learning experience. Different judges look at quilts differently. It will also give you a chance to look at other quilts and possibly obtain some important pointers and ideas.

Yes definitely enter. I am entering a large quilt and 3 small works. I do my own FMQ on my domestic and am by no means real good at it. That is only one aspect of the quilt judged and except by the judges and any quilt police out there, others won't even notice so go for it. Good luck!

Enter it. Not only will your entry inspire others to quilt, it will give you immense satisfaction to have brought so much joy to others regardless if you win a ribbon or not. The more quilts there are on display the more visitors the exhibit will get. So go for it and enjoy the experience.

Enter it, you are your worst judge. You will receive constructive information from the judges to help if you need it so you can do better for your nest one. You may be amazrd at how well you have done. You will never know until you try. GO FOR IT!!

On behalf of all newbies out there, Please enter it. sometimes I go to a quilt show and think...I will Never be at that level and it gets a little disappointing. I mean, some of those quilts look like professionals spent years on them they are so ornate and detailed. Sometimes seeing something that is "good" but not quite "perfect" is JUST what we need to see, so others can realize there are all Kinds of skillsets out there that are still really very perfect. To us :)

Good luck and please let us know how it goes.

My personal contest entry story is I made a jacket to enter in the Sulky Challenge back in the day. I works SO hard on it. I had it done a week or so before it had to be sent off and was very disappointed. After all that work, I didn't think it was good enough to enter. I hung it up and just left my sewing room for a few days. I went in one evening after work and flipped on the light. There was my jacket hanging right where the light shone on it. It looked so pretty! I decided then and there to enter it. I sent it off a few days later and out of all the entries from all over the country, I got 3rd place! I was so excited!

Sometimes I think we work so hard on things and have such high expectations that we are disappointed and don't see our work objectively. Enter it and see how it goes. You'll probably be surprised at how nice it looks on display.

Enter it and be proud it is finished. You will love seeing it hanging. Most people will never notice any mistakes anyway.