Three Quilts

ME told me that I should post photos of the quilts I put in the show so I bow to her judgement.  In my own defense, I didn't do so earlier because I think you've seen all of them at one time or another.  However, there may be something to seeing them together.  

So the third place quilt is the only story quilt I entered, "Music of the Night".  This is the quilt I made as my final entry for the McCall's competition five years ago.  It had never been judged before so I was curious as to how it would stand up to the scrutiny of a judge.  Neither well nor surprising.  There were still many finishing details to learn about.  It scored a 79 and an 85 yielding an 82.  How that equalled a third place I don't know.  I would have thought it was out of the running.

Next is the second place "Improvisation in White" finished only a day or two before the deadline for the show.  It was scored at an 88 and a 93 averaging 90.5.  However, it was also the one that earned a special award from one of the judges.  She expressed admiration (creativity, balance, flow, materials used, and workmanship all made more challenging because of the almost all white palette) during the judging which really lifted my spirits and made me glad I took this plunge.

And the third one is the "Pinebush Dreamscape" which you've also seen which was finished last June.   The judges were closer together in their assessment at a 94 and a 96 averaging a 95 the lowest score to still earn a first place ribbon which this one did. It is really only an imaginary landscape as there are no waterfalls in the Pinebush, but the rest is reasonably accurate.

As I've said before, having quilts judged is an eye opening experience.  The importance of "picky" details is put in perspective at only 5 points per, but it is also important to realize that little points lost in those categories add up and are losses easy to prevent.  The more major elements are more difficult to categorize - 40 points for design and 45 for workmanship.  The subcategories in the design category include things like pattern design and quilting design (I did better in that last one than I deserved on the two I quilted myself).   The 45 point category deals with precision and is, I think, worth too much.  Yes, precision is important, but it is worth 20 points while creativity, originality, and degree of difficulty which together is worth only 5 points.  It strikes me as odd.

Ah well, if one reads the score sheet carefully it provides information for the next quilt show.  I plan to take what I learned this year and work on improving.  

But creativity, originality included with degree of difficulty?  And worth only 5 points?  By the way, I earned a 5 from only one judge on only the Pinebush quilt.