As a new quilter, why would I bother to enter a show. Seems a little "rigged" to me. Is it really a "winner" if it has been to every show around for multiple years?? Thanks but no thanks.

Of course judging is very subjective. And I think it goes way beyond that, too. There are some folks' work I can pretty much recognize immediately (Patsy Thompson, Edyta Sitar, Sharon Schamber, etc) even without a name being on them. Now, I'm no judge by any stretch, but I think in those cases you would HOPE that a judge is just as objective as they can be, but I doubt they are often successful. I think there's a lot of politics that go into the major shows, too. And personal opinion has to enter it to some degree too. Quilts can ribbon at one show, and receive no recognition at the next. I don't know that I'd ever enter a quilt in a juried show (but, I'd never say never...), but I so far have only entered some in nonjuried shows and really liked it. If you hang around you can generally hear comments and know what people think about it. That's probably enough for me. :)

lady elizabeth--you have the right idea- i enjoy my quilting the one thing that spoils it is the politics that abounds in the community--i belive it is my quilt if i design it -sew it+quilt it-yes and bind it--unless i do all of it -i am ethically bound to credit any other paticipant--yes i amaware i cant spell!!!

Interesting. I know absolutely nothing about the ins and outs of showing anything, but surely if the quilt has won awards before or been "shown" via shows or electronic/print media before; it should be excluded from competition. Maybe well-knowns or professionals with known quilts could exhibit (therefore "advertise" themselves, their patterns and their previously awarded works) but be excluded from the judging. They get their kudos, but amateurs and professionals who have previously unawarded works get a fair chance of an award.

As some others have mentioned, I think it perfectly reasonable to mention the name/company of anyone who contributes to the work in question. There's many a quilter who can turn an average quilt top into a stunner, purely by picking the right design and thread to bring out it's best.

Just my opinion.

1. as somebody else pointed out, the quilting can change the character and appearance of a quilt completely.

the same goes for the binding. it's a tedious task and can be difficult to execute. in some cases the binding can improve or ruin the overall look of a quilt.

i would apply this principle to the design, too. if it wasn't my own design my conscience would demand that i acknowledge the designer and pattern by name.

If somebody else contributed to the finished quilt, whether paid or not, that somebody else should be given by-name credit. Since they were already paid, then I would not feel obligated to share the prize ... but i would feel obligated to share the credit.

2. it's up to the coordinators of each event to decide which quilts are and are not eligible for entry. if a quilt is eligible, the quilter should feel free to enter it - be it in 1 show or 100 shows.

3. fairness and objectivity are issues of character. if a person can be swayed by her/his knowledge/assumption of who made the quilt, that person should not be a judge. at a minimum they should recuse themselves from judging the particular quilt(s) in question.

a judge should also not feel obligated to discount any eligible quilt based on any criteria beyond eligibility requirements and technical merit. their job is hard enough to do without having to complicate things with "social expectations".

when i enter my quilts locally one of the first rules is....the entry can not have been entered in the past---even at the fair-
i do show off my quilts here on the board and a couple other places sometimes as they are coming together---never really thought about that having any bearing on them being entered in the local venues- i do not believe that has any effect on the outcome of the show---every one i've ever entered was judged and critiqued according to all of the (guidelines) the judges use- such as workmanship, appeal, balance, ect...not by the fact i made it- or have shown pictures of it on my facebook page. i think as long as rules are followed anyone should be able to show their work- regardless whether or not they have a book out or are well known...the show rules just need to be followed...if a quilt can not be entered that has been entered in the past then...that should be the case...

If someone is a famous designer/quilter and has a website and publishing patterns and books, making money from it,etc., why do they need the extra adulation of winning a prize? To me it reminds me of when they let professionals in the Olympics. The pros get paid millions of dollars, let the amateurs have the glory of winning the Olympics.

As far as more than one person working on the quilt, I used to hand quilt for a published designer/quiltmaker and I noticed when the books came out some of the captions would be, "pieced by Jane Smith" (not the author), "hand quilted by Barb" - so all the author did was design it. Not sure how I would feel about that if a quilt like that was entered in a show (as far as I know they weren't).

Wow. I hadn't even thought that much about judging quilts. I don't check blogs unless for a particular reason, though I do check websites if I want to know more4e about a designer/teacher.

I do absolutely know what you mean by those whose quilts are nationally/internationally known. ands ... that is a difficult subject. This how these quilters make their living. I think professional quilters, those who do commision work, etc maybe should have their own category, but have no idea how that would happen.

Then from there do we consider those who do the LA or whatever work as professional after they win so many shows for their work? Again, that is how they make their living.

Thanks PatriceJ for your input too.

This is a very interesting topic and would make a great roundtable type discussion program for a guild, maybe more so for those statewide associations with multiple guilds. Would be interesting to see all the vaariances of though and possible guidelines for categories and entry requirements.

Thanks for this discussion Jacquie.
ali

Having seen great quilts made by locals get trumped by professionals who have already won many or much recognitions. It is sad that they feel the need to play their quilt like a trump card. I think well written rules regarding the entry or classification can go far in if not eliminating or reducing this from happening. I find the comparision of the olympics amataur vs pro to be spot on. In my day we all called it bringing in a "ringer". Such "ringers" often defeat the intent of the show, and leave a lasting "bad taste" for those who wanted to have a high ethical standard. But unless there is a statement in the rules of submitting works that encompass what is the exeptable submission , then those "trump" cards can hold there head up and say " I have done nothing wrong".
I have seen many shows that do not allow kit quilts, or at least put them in a seperate category so that in viewing and judging , the value for pattern and fabrics selected are not valued in the judgment.
I love going to Quilt National , all works must be original , never been shown , or published either via book, magazine , or any media.
There have been some shows in my area that ,previously judged and shown quilts are allowed in for viewing after a certain number of years , but can not be in the compitition. That way a wide number of quilts can be shown to the public but keeps the judging portion of the show to only new works.

Oh my word, I never knew so much went into quilt judging. If I ever enter one of my quilts in a quilt show it would be just for fun and not for judging. I am thinking of entering one of my quilts in the Sister's quilt festival. I would be so proud to have it hung on one of the buildings and the Oooo and Awes would be prize enough for me.