countrystitcher Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 The county extension folks phoned me last week and asked me to be a judge in the quilt open class division. Since I don't have quilt to put int his year (nor does my Dad) - I told them yes and I drafted my other LA friend to help me. She agreed it would be fun for the two of us to do it together. We both do quilting for some of the local gals so I'm sure we'll see some of those quilts. I feel we can both be impartial judges and I'm looking forward to it. Has anyone done this before and have any suggestions or pointers to use??? Thanks Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtreusch Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Sharon. I think Dawn C. has done some judging at quilt shows and could give you some pointers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrystitcher Posted July 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Thanks Debbi - Dawn if you aren't busy can you e-mail me: thecountrystitcher@gmail.com Thank you soooooo much! Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Sharon--how fun and educational! You may find you enjoy judging and get a certification! I Googled "quilt judging" and found a file presented by the 4H for judging quilts. It had great pointers and guidelines. Also, most big shows will have a sheet on their site that outlines what the judges are looking for. Have fun and let us know how you enjoyed the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrystitcher Posted July 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Thank you Linda, I found several articles that I think will help us judge fairly. Appreciate your input. Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kageb1 Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Sharon: I was honored to be asked to judge a county fair quilt show with a fellow quilter a couple years ago as well. I learned that after you consider the actual quality of work on each quilt and the design or creativity, or colors or fabric choices...it can still come down to the personal taste of the Judge...that's YOU. Some of the categories had many great entries and therefore had some difficult choices to make, and others were much more obvious with only a few entries including perhaps one "stand-out" quilt, but we tried to take our time and carefully consider each one--because we knew there was great effort involved for each quilt. In my own county fair, our last year's judge offered to explain how she judged each quilt, and she shared her (gentle) criticisms so that everyone understood why she might rank one quilt above or below another. I was not able to attend this--but many of the quilters were very enthusiastic about the learning she offered, so I heard all about it from several clients. Good luck to you! And remember if it doesn't go well...there's always the "Federal Quilt Judge Relocation Program." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaA Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 My neighbor roped me into doing needlework judging for a nearby county fair. The fair booklet listed what the criteria were for each category. My friend and I just followed that criteria. We had a fun time and had to judge everything from crocheting, costumes, jewelry, in addition to sewing and quilting. Pamela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 I haven't been a judge at the fair, but in ours the judges have just the morning to do the judging. Depending on how many there are entered will make some difference in how much time you can spend on each. I do request that no matter how many there are entered, please don't write "too much competition" as the only comment on any entry. That doesn't tell the artist anything about the quality of work they have done. I have had that on two wallhangings (one each year) with no other indication of the work even being judged. How am I to do anything better if there is no evaluation of what I have already done. I felt like they just went around and wrote that on anything they didn't want to spend anytime on. I have also seen it written on my husbands photos entered in the same county fair. I would much rather see a paper sticker of workmanship level (white, red, blue) than too much comp. written on it. At least with the color indicator is says that I either need to work harder or it was good but some fine points helped the winner rank higher. I do hope you have a great time with this and others enjoy your comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Being a judge is not easy task, especially if there is a lot of entries. I have judged a lot of horse shows in the past. I have never seen or entered a quilt show. In the horse arena there is a lot of politics, sadly to say a lot of the judging is based on that. I always tried to judge as fairly as possible. You can't please everyone and not everyone will be happy on how you judge. The only advice I can give you is follow your gut and what you know; stand firm and hold your head high. Most of all have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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