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How do you have your quilt show judged? We have grown to a point that we need someone to do the judging. We have always had vewiers choices in the past, and some really great quilts are looked over. Need some input and ideals.

I don't know how you go about getting judges but I do agree with you. I have seen some wonderful work overlooked beause it wasn't eye catching.
I've also seen some viewers choices that I've questioned.
Mollie

If you know of another guild nearby who had a judged show, contact one of their officers to see who they used. Check online to see if your state has a quilt guild listing.
Or check with your local county fairgrounds Home Extension Club. If your county fair has quilts exhibited, someone should be able to give you info on judging.

Much to my surprise, last night at our guild we had Jane Hall(Author along with Dixie Haywood & both are Judges) speak on Judged Shows. Per her, it makes for a better quilter. Judges suggestions make you aware of the weak spots in your work but not as a critical remark. She said it makes better quilters of all who enter and take the suggestions from the judges as they are meant. She has been a Judge for 30 yrs and gave us a list of what they look for. As for me, from now on (even though our shows are not judged) I will use her hints as a guide line for everything I do.

Thanks for the input, we do have quilts at our Fair but we use quilters from the guild to do the judgeing. We had a lady from Texas to our guild last month and she gave a great talk on what judges look for, she could be a great choice for next year. We had 227 quilts in our show this year, never know how many will entry each year could be a big job to judge.

If you have a state quilter Assoc. then they could help you.

I will pass this on to the next show chairpreson for next year. Thanks

My thoughts on this:

Don't have someone from your guild be a judge, it can cause a lot of hard feelings.

Impartial judges from another guild that doesn't know many people in your guild would be better.

I know it can be an added expense, but county fairs should not have any one from the county as judges. Again it can cause a lot of hard feelings.

I've seen, thank goodness, not experienced just these things happen.

As an example, my dsl entered a table topper that I had done. It was an experiment in using the golden paper for handquilting. I used a quilt thread that was not meant to match but enabled me to see what I was doing. It was not some of my best work, but dsl wanted it so I gave it to her. It won a blue ribbon, and many complements from the judge. I knew the judge, she didn't know it was my work, and she loved anything handquilted.

Some beautiful quilts and table toppers were entered in the same show and got nasty remarks about colors and design. They were the machine quilted ones, all the handquilting won some kind of ribbon.

Could you arrange with another guild to judge each other's shows? If you get the guidelines, a group of you should be able to make informed choices and write thoughtful comments (always start with something positive). I would think that would be great experience for everyone to look with a judge's eye at others' work.

I judged history fair (and science fair, G*d help us all) at school for years. It was interesting as a kindergarten teacher to see the work of the upper grade students. They loved my judging because I actually took time to write comments to every kid who entered. It was time-consuming, but I loved every minute of it.

If you weren't so far away, I would volunteer, LOL!

I agree with you, no one from a guild should do the judgeing, and have voiced my opinion. The quilts that are entried in the fair have very few from the guild, and the names are not shown till after the judgeing. I think they are fair with thier judging. There is 6 of them doing the judgeing.

I'm laughing as I type b/c I hit one of those filtered words! I'm the pres-elect of our guild this year. So next year, as I'm planning our meetings, I'd like to invite a quilt judge to speak to our guild about the technical aspects as well as the visual. I think I'd learn alot. I'd even be willing to bring a quilt or two to be "judged" during the meeting. Since our guild is an educational focused group, I think this would be helpful.
Does anyone know how I could contact a (willing) judge?

Our guild is too new to have our own shows. We might try to combine efforts with the next city's every-other-year show if enough of our members feel ambitious. Even though I've never entered anything into a show (except here if the scraps-to-treasure counts), I think it's wise to get someone impartial from elsewhere to judge.

If you go to www.nqaquilts.org you will find a list of certified quilt judges listed by state. Our local guild has used a certified judge from a nearby state and we've also used a well known quilt teacher from another county. They both did a good job. I have had the privilege to assist them while they were judging and it was very informative. Both tried to be considerate and constructive in the comments that they made. I think that anyone who would follow their suggestions would be happy with the improvement in their quilts. Good luck with your search.

You can also contact AQS for lists of judges. They will also be able to help with any other questions that you might have. HTH

You can also contact AQS for a list of judges. They will also be able to answer any other questions that you might have. HTH

I don't have any great advice but thought I would mention our fair here. Lots of quilts, other sewn items, canning, etc. the judges are not quilters but local volunteers. I have seen a quilt of nothing but charm squares sewn together made in a cute fabric win a blue ribbon while something that was obviously filled with complicated blocks and elaborate hand stitching win nothing because the judges had no idea what is required for each one. They just see pretty colors or happy child fabric. We like to view all the quilts and enjoy each one, but when you see who won and who didn't, you realize the quilter's skills are not part of this. I never enter any quilts because of too many stories about quilts being stolen or end up missing! But I always enjoy looking at all kinds and styles of quilts.

It is sometimes cost prohibited for small guilds to get certified judges...but if you can, that is certainly the very best idea.

If you can't, try to get some folks that have judged in the past at other quilt shows.

My personal feeling, after being involved and judging at several quilt shows, is that most any really good quilter can judge...if they are not associated with the show...and if they are given a good set of standards to go by.

The standards are what the judge should be looking at. For example: Are the quilt stitches uniform in size? Are the applique stitches small and hidden within the edge of the design? Are the bindings plump and full? Are the corners neat and precise at a 45 degree angle for square corners?

The list would also contain areas that are "subjective"...such as: Is the quilt pleasing to view? Are the color choices harmonious to the design?

These "subjective" areas should be kept to a minimum...and the "technical" areas should comprise the majority of the judging criteria IMHO. As this would keep a lesser quality quilt that is quite "pretty" from winning over a more basic design that is executed flawlessly.

Guilds in your area that have hosted judged shows might provide you with a copy of their judging criteria as a guide. You can adjust as your guild wants.

Certified judges come with their own criteria. So if you get one...you will not have to construct your own.

Just my two-cents worth...good luck on your endeavor!

Mollie4, I'd love to know what was on Jane Hall's list of things the judges look for. Can you share any of them?

Thanks for all the input, there are some great ideals, just need to pass them on for next year.

The NQA judge that we used only charged $75 plus mileage for the day which we thought was very reasonable considering that she had to judge 150-200 quilts and it took all day to do. The committee took her out to lunch which wasn't required, but we wanted to do it. She also used our judging sheets, not her own. So it's worth checking out if you can find someone who's not too far away, but there are also good people around who are not certified.

Another option might be to use the neighboring county quilt shop people as judges. I know that has been used at our local county fair before.

I just checked that site for the list of judges by state, there is only one for MN and one for IA, and 4 for WI! I really expected to see a longer list. With those numbers it would be hard to get a "certified" judge for all the fairs and shows in an area.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: quilting wifey,