I meant to post these results last week after picking up my quilts from the fair. But the night before my 2.5 year old fell off a chair and busted out a tooth.
The good news is the adult tooth was undamaged and should grow in normally in 2.5-5 years. Also, she's recovered really well and is undaunted by the new gap in her mouth.
So, well here I am, a week behind, but oh well. I entered 4 quilts to the New Mexico state fair this year and here they are with the judges sheets and my comments.
My first TARDIS quilt won first in it's category! Hurray!
TARDIS quilt hanging next to the second and third place quilts in the category. |
I'm really glad the TARDIS quilt placed so well despite the areas it needs improvement. I didn't make the quilt for shows, so I took a few shortcuts--like the starts and stops on the straight lines and the machine binding. Regardless, I had two people ask if it was for sale during it's visit at the fair.
My Fuck Cancer quilt got second place in it's category, which I was very surprised at! I thought they'd just hide it away due to the profanity. But actually it generated a lot of discussion about free speech and art. I was called by the assistant superintendent of the fair about it, she told me they wanted to display it since it was a ribbon winner, but her boss didn't think it was appropriate for a family event, and could they cover part of the word. I said sure, but was a little disappointed to see the entire word covered.
The censored version of my Fuck Cancer quilt. |
Judge's Comment Sheet--Best feature reads: bold message, exquisite quilting. Improvements: none. |
So here's what I don't get--I used the same binding method for all four of the quilts I entered, but only on two of them did she mention it needed improvement (I think maybe I just did a better job on the smaller ones?). I also find it interesting that she said my quilting was exquisite, which I am honored by, but I feel like it could have been better, especially on the back.
My Orange Peel Snowflake quilt got third place in it's category, which I was also surprised at! The applique is so simple, and honestly I just tried to get through it as quickly as possible.
Orange Peel Snowflake |
With the type of applique I did I frequently have issues with it catching on my FMQ foot, and then the quilting stitches go all crazy for a beat, so I wasn't surprised at the needs improvement note. Also, for the applique I just back stitched at the beginning and end of each petal, which was really noticeable on the back--but I didn't (still don't) care because this quilt is for me and will hang on my sewing room wall and no one else will ever see (or care about) the back again.
So all those quilts had minor issues which I knew about in advance, and the notes about them didn't bother me. But my Starry Night quilt didn't place at all, so it was folded up in a cabinet:
These are the winners for the category:
Pretty sure the one on the right got first. Womp womp. |
Judge's Comment Sheet--Best feature reads: fabulous original design, overall quilting design well executed. Needs improvement reads: quilting stitch need attention to binding detail. |
Okay, first--overall appearance only got a "good" followed by a note saying "fabulous design"? I can assure you when I dropped off my quilt it was very neat and clean, so I don't know what they're talking about there! And why did this quilt backing only get a "good" when the F.C. backing got an excellent?? I don't get that at all. My applique only got a "good"--it was one thing on a mountain of a quilt! One really detailed TARDIS that was hand stitched down. Many grumblings.
I'm just a bit put out about the issues they found with my quilt and how they graded it. I suppose the winning quilts may have been more technically "excellent" but I think I should get more credit for a novel design and dense overall quilting.
Oh well, overall I'm happy with how well my quilts did. And the fact remains that I made the Starry Night quilt for my friend Andrea, and she loves it.
All those notes in mind, I am planning to enter quilts again in future shows.