Quilt Market is always inspiring: new quilts to see, the latest fabric releases, new designers, new products. Here are some of my impressions. I’ll add more next week.

In the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter, NQA certified judge Scott Murkin shared his thoughts on judging garments. Here’s an excerpt from that article:

Many quilters either started out as garment sewers who later developed an interest in quiltmaking or conversely, after mastering many quilting techniques, decided to apply them to garment making. Whichever came first, a significant number of quilters participate in garment making to various degrees.

In response to this trend and to showcase the creativity and talent of these skilled sewists, a significant majority of quilt shows have either an associated garment show or categories for garments within the judged show. This means that the active quilt show judge is going to be called upon at some point to judge garments. For the judge who has experience in garment making, this may pose no great challenge, but the judge who does not have this experience will need to seek out continuing education experiences to prepare for this eventuality.

A good starting place for assessing the completed garment is to consider the quiltmaking techniques that were used in the construction. Techniques such as piecing, appliqué and quilting are judged by the same criteria of design and workmanship as they are in quilts. Surface design techniques are also held to the same standards as they are in quilting. Embellishments are seen quite commonly in garment making, and they should be well secured and integrated into the overall design and construction of the garment.

In addition to the traditional quiltmaking skills, a number of specialized skills are required to turn this constructed fabric into a three-dimensional object that can be worn on the body. The garment field has its own specialized terminology, such as French seams, a Hong Kong finish and frog closures. Specific resources will allow the judge to become fluent in the language of garment making. Being able to use these terms properly when providing feedback to entrants will enhance the judge’s credibility inestimably.

The final, and arguably most important, element of judging garments is the aspect that makes them most unique from quilts. Because garments are designed and constructed to be worn, the drape, wearability and appearance on the human form become paramount in the evaluation. The fact that quilted clothing is meant to be presented in three dimensions affects both construction and design decisions.

The amazing inventiveness and creativity in today’s quilted clothing world, along with expert sewing skills and cross-fertilization between garment and quiltmaking, provide an exciting opportunity for quilt show judges to be involved in assessing this art form. If this is not your area of expertise, find a mentor from the garment field (in addition to one or more of the listed resources) so that you can carry out your responsibilities with aplomb. A working knowledge of the language and skills of garment making will serve you well throughout your career.

Please share your thoughts on judging garments as a judge or garment maker in the comments below.

If you would like to read more of Scott’s article, including details on the terminology of garment making and resources to build your knowledge, it’s included in our Summer 2011 issue of The Professional Quilter and available to IAPQ members. The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Guide to Judged Quilt Shows
Andi Perejda, editor
National Quilting Association $20

Ever wonder what’s involved in putting on a judged quilt show? This guide written by eight NQA Certified Judges, including Scott Murkin, Professional Quilter columnist, gives you a behind-the-scene look at the process. The intent of the authors is to offer a guide for those guilds or organizations interested in holding a judged show. The book covers everything from finding your venue to hiring judges to handling the quilts’ acquisition and return and more. This will be a handy reference for those guilds ready to make the move from an exhibition to a judged show. It will also be useful as guilds expand and find the need for a more professional approach to judging. The Appendix includes an 18-month timeline to follow for judged shows, a sample contract for judging and sample judging forms.

The book is available from Amazon or directly from the National Quilting Association.

You’ve just finished your latest quilt, are proud of your accomplishment and want to show it off. You first share it with your family, then with your small quilting “bee” and finally take it to show and tell at your next guild meeting. For some quilters, this is enough. For others, it is not. Many quilters want to see how their quilts stack local, non-judged show or entering it in a major juried and judged competition. In addition to gaining recognition for your quilts, you also educate other quilters and the general public about quilting and its standards. For local guild shows, this is often a primary reason for holding a show. Additionally, if your quilt is entered in a judged show, you can set goals for improvement based on feedback from the judges or your own comparison with winning quilts. And, of course, you might just win a prize, either a ribbon, cash, or merchandise.

Impartiality in judging is important and one way this is done is through use of a panel of independent judges, usually three. Judges can be trained and certified by the National Quilting Association, or they can be trained through experience. They all adhere to similar standards of judging, although final results will be varied based on the individuals.

Judging can take place either before or after the quilts are hung, and each method has advantages. Judging quilts after they are hung allows the visual impact of the quilt to be better appreciated. Judging quilts before they are hung is usually faster, but visual impact takes second place to the ability to view the workmanship.

Judges often use scorecards or evaluation forms and either a point system, an elimination system or a combination of the two to evaluate the individual entries. The point system uses a predetermined maximum number of! points to judge specific areas, for example, up to 20 points for the color and design, up to 20 points for construction, up to 15 points for finishing, etc., with the total equaling 100 points. Each quilt is judged on its own merits, and the quilt with the highest total number of points is awarded the first place.

The elimination system, on the other hand, allows each judge to evaluate a quilt, make comments on its technique and offer feedback for improvement. If the judge feels the quilt should be held for ribbon/award consideration, it is put aside. If not, it is released from the competition portion. After the quilts are judged in this preliminary fashion, the held quilts are compared to others in its category and the winners are determined.

Neither system is perfect. Regardless, judges evaluate quilts against the same standards. Here are just a few of the commonly held standards that judges use:

General Appearance

· The quilt makes an overall positive statement upon viewing
· The quilt is clean and “ready to show,” i.e., no visible marks, no loose threads, no pet hair, no bearding, no offensive odors.
· The quilt’s edges are not distorted. This is easier to gauge when the quilt is hung.

Design and Composition
· All the individual design elements of the quilt – top, quilting, choice of fabric, sashes, borders, embellishments, finishing – are unified.
· The design is in proportion and balanced.
· Borders or other edge treatments enhance the quilt appearance.

Workmanship
· Piecing is precise, corners match and points are sharp.
· Seams, including those of sashing and borders, are secure, straight and flat.
· Quilting stitches are straight where intended and curved where intended.

As noted, judges consider certain “standards” when evaluating quilts – and the list is really quite extensive – but how do they decide which quilts are the prizewinners? And what is more important, design or workmanship? In the end I think it comes down to design, the quilt with the greater visual impact. But even the quilt with the greatest visual impact cannot rescue poor workmanship.

The Professional Quilter has an ongoing column geared just for judges, but it’s useful for those who are entering shows. Scott Murkin, NQA Certified Judge, writes those columns. We also offer three resources recommended for those in judging programs. You can learn more about The Challenge of Judging by Jeannie Spears, Judging Quilts by Katy Christopherson, and a audio recording of a conversation on “The Judge’s Perspective” between Morna McEver Golletz and judges Jane Hall and Scott Murkin on our resources page.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Attending the Friendship Star Quilters show over the weekend reminded me of the variety of reasons quilters have for entering shows. For many,  it’s a chance to share what they’ve accomplished with others.  It’s a chance to support your guild’s efforts, and for many guilds this is what pays for lectures and workshops.  For teachers, it’s a wonderful opportunity to share what their students have accomplished. If you are a professional, it’s a chance to get your work seen by a larger and potential buying audience or to increase your exposure in the quilt or art world at large. For some entering a local show is a stepping stone to a larger show.

Do you remember the first time you entered a quilt in a quilt show? I do.

I was a member of the Charlotte Quilters Guild in 1977, and several of us decided to enter our work in the annual NQA show, which was held at Georgetown Visitation Prep in Washington, D.C. Of course, it wasn’t enough to just enter, we had to go to the show. It was very exciting stepping into this larger venue. I remember that my grandmother met me at the show. I was thrilled she could see my work, and she was quite impressed with all the variety of quilts. (Of course, she did cast her viewer’s choice for one of my quilts!)

Of all the reasons to enter a show, though, I think the best is the opportunity to grow as a quilter and an artist. Why do you enter shows and how does this stretch you?

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership here.

Scott Murkin says that a good contract lets you focus on the job at hand, and that’s true whether you are judging or teaching. Here’s an excerpt from Scott’s On Judging column in the Winter issue of The Professional Quilter.

The quilting world is by and large a friendly place, where most of us know each other, at least by reputation. Traditionally, much business was conducted with a simple handshake agreement, and that still sometimes works to this day, even if the handshake is done over the Internet (an e-shake?).

As the quilting world has grown exponentially the last few years, a contract or letter of agreement laying out the terms that were discussed in that handshake agreement becomes more and more important to protect both parties. A contract can range from a formal document to a simple letter of agreement that lays out the terms that were discussed. At the very least, the contract should be reviewed, signed and dated by both parties. It is a good idea to have a boilerplate template ready on your computer to fill in the blanks and send out. [See Scott's sample judging contract in PQ and feel free to adapt to your specific needs.]

The basic components of the contract are: the details of what, where and when; the responsibilities of the hiring organization; the responsibilities of the judge; contact information for all parties; and terms of cancellation. The contract begins with the defining of the parties and the basics of what is being agreed to between them. This should include the date, time and location of the judging, the judging system being used (for example elimination vs. point system), any other judges with whom you will be working, the approximate number of entries to be judged and any expectations for feedback or evaluation to the entrants. It also covers handling of fees and expenses. Once the terms are acceptable to all, identical copies of the contract should be signed and dated and kept on file by both parties. With the peace of mind provided by a written agreement, you will be better able to focus on the task at hand – judging the quilts.

You can read all of Scott’s column including his discussion of judging fees in the Winter issue of The Professional Quilter. This is a benefit of membership in the International Association of Professional Quilter. Read about all our benefits here and join today.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership here.

In the current issue of The Professional Quilter, Scott Murkin discussed the need for quilt judges to maintain currency as quilters add new surface techniques to their work. Here is an excerpt from that article:

An increasing number of formally trained artists have moved into quilting and textiles as their primary medium. At the same time a large number of quilters who started in a more traditional vein are exploring new techniques in their work. Because of these trends, quilt show judges are faced with a wide and varied selection of surface design techniques that they must evaluate on the judging floor. Learning the fundamentals of these techniques and how they are assessed has become one of the ever-expanding tools in the quilt show judge’s toolbox.

Surface design refers to anything the artist does to change the fabric either before or after the quilt is constructed, but is also sometimes expanded to include things added onto the surface, such as threadwork, couched fibers and sewn-on objects. Each of these will be addressed in turn.

A variety of paints can be applied to fabric with nearly infinite techniques and widely differing results, depending on decisions made by the artist. There are paints made specifically for textiles, but many traditional artists’ paints, such as acrylics and oil paint sticks, can be successfully adapted for use on fabric. While not technically paints, even the pigments from crayons can be transferred to fabric and made permanent. Paint can be brushed on, splashed on, applied through a stencil, stamped on with commercial or home-made stamps or found objects, or applied by screen-printing, among other techniques. Many artists are also using inks and thickened dyes in many of the same ways that paints are used. Paint can be applied to fabric before any sewing begins; it can be applied to a pieced or appliquéd quilt top; or it can be applied to the finished quilt, often exaggerating the effect of the texture of the quilting stitches.

When judging the painted quilt surface, the judge is primarily considering issues of design, deciding if the artist has used the paint as an effective accent or the primary design element. The formal principles of design, such as unity, variety, balance, contrast, proportion, scale and rhythm are evaluated, as well as the emotional impact of the image.

You can read Scott’s complete article in Issue 108 of The Professional Quilter. If your subscription is not current and you need to renew, or you want to start a new subscription, here’s a link to our order page

• First and foremost, read the rules. Read them more than once and contact the show coordinator if you have questions.
• Determine if your quilt is eligible for the show. Some shows may require membership in an organization; some may require completion of the quilt within a certain time period.
• Determine the correct category for your quilt. Read the rules for definitions of categories. Some shows disqualify you if your quilt is in the wrong category.
• Meet the deadlines!

Digital Essentials
Gloria Hansen
Electric Quilt; $29.95

If you’d like to add this book to our library, here’s a link to purchase it through Amazon.

If you missed it, we had a teleclass with Gloria where she discussed many aspects of working with digital files. Here are the details on the audio from the class.

Quilt Festival is always so inspiring to me. I’m floored every year by the quality and creativity of today’s quilters. I always return with my creative juices flowing. Just wish that came with unlimited time!

Tuesday evening before the show opened was the IQA Winner Circle’s Celebration. Best of Show, sponsored by HandiQuilter, went to Sharon Schamber for her “Spirit of Mother Earth.” Here are some details:

I particularly liked Trellis of Red Flowers by Deborah Kemball, the quilt that won the Founders Award, sponsored by International Quilt Festival. Here’s a full shot and a detail:

One of the newer awards is the Future of Quilting Award, sponsored by C&T Publishing. It went to Gina Perkes for Silken Defiance. Here’s a full shot of the quilt:

I always love Quilt Festival, not just for the outstanding quilts, but for the energy of other quilters and for the chance to catch up with quilters I haven’t seen for a year and to make new friends. If you’ve never been to the show in Houston, the scale is hard to appreciate. It takes up all five halls of the convention center.

Here are some overhead shots:

Thursday was the final premiere of the Bernina Fashion Show. Here are the two winning garments. The one on the left is the viewers choice, High Tea at the Broadmoor by Jenny Raymond, and the one on the right is the creme de la creme, Midnight Waltz by Ludmila Aristova:

Here is a shot of me with Alex Anderson, who received the Silver Star Award on Saturday, Ricky Tims and Eleanor Burns. Alex’s and Ricky’s booth was close to mine, so I saw them in passing a lot:

I also took a turn in the Priority Alzheimer’s Booth on Saturday. I don’t know the final numbers, but I do know they raised more than last year and went home with less than 100 of the 1000 quilts they brought.

Susan Ennis is the artist who created the second quilt I had in my booth. It’s titled Oasis.

And, finally, here’s a shot of Karen Bresenhan, the force behind Quilts Inc.