Quilting for show - how perfect should the piecing be?
01-25-2014, 06:40 AM
#21
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Location: Pikesville, MD
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If you take out a seam, put a dot of Elmer's washable school glue on the seams you are trying to match, and press the pieces together with a hot iron to dry the glue. Then you can sew it together perfectly. I have come to rely on Elmer's glue for a lot of things that used to trouble me.
01-27-2014, 01:39 PM
#22
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I was taught to unsew using this method. My advice is take the "worse seam" and unsew it. Then see if you can improve this seam. By tackling the worse ones first, you will see improvement. And then it's up to you whether it is worth it to you to continue with the other "not so bad seams" or not.
I love your fabrics and you are going to have a beautiful quilt.
I love your fabrics and you are going to have a beautiful quilt.
Does a show quilt and just a beautiful quilt have to be mututally exclusive? The recovering perfectionist in me seems to think they're the same thing...
These are my thoughts about changing anything. If YOU feel it's not perfect, could change it but don't, because others aren't perfect, and you get your quilt back from the show and the judges have downgraded you for what you knew was off and didn't change, how would you feel? If you just can't get it right and need to move on, that's another story. Your stripes match on the miters, but the patterns don't, so I suspect you didn't make a template when you were cutting. Big deal? Not to me and if you have your quilt on the bed, so what?. But if you get a judge who thinks that's important, than yeah, it makes a difference. Of all the quilts I've entered in shows, I know what's not perfect, so I'm not surprised when a judge says such and such could be better. But the decision is, do you want to bother to change it? And different shows with different judges have different standards. Something that will squeak by in one show may not in another. Or something a judge marked you down for in one show, may not matter in another. My advise would be do the best you can and enter it. See what happens. I've had quilts I've really sweated over and got nothing; I had another quilt I really just entered so I could see it in th show and it got a blue ribbon - go figure! Just enjoy the process. It looks like it will be a gorgeous quilt!!
With no actual show in mind, the best thing I can do is make the very best quilt I'm capable of and enter it if I see a show I want to enter it into. Or not. Really for me, it's more likely to be part of a trunk show than a judged show. You're right, I didn't make a template or fussy cut the fabric for the mitered blocks. 1. I saw that the original pattern didn't have them matched (I would have liked to, the perfectionist in me wanted them to) 2. By the time I'd found the fabric, I had access to only what the pattern called for, not enough to sacrifice more fabric to a fussy cut. The more I look at it, the less it bothers me though.
Just be sure to acknowledge the designer of the quilt on your label and if someone else will be quilting it. I've had a few quilts judged in several quilts and I found that each judge might point out something different. Your fabric and colors are awesome and so is your piecing. Even if you should not win a ribbon, the comments from the judges will enable you to see if there was anything wrong with your piecing, quilting, etc., and I've found those comments to be very helpful in future quilts. Good luck with the show, I think you will win a ribbon.
If you take out a seam, put a dot of Elmer's washable school glue on the seams you are trying to match, and press the pieces together with a hot iron to dry the glue. Then you can sew it together perfectly. I have come to rely on Elmer's glue for a lot of things that used to trouble me.
01-28-2014, 06:46 AM
#23
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Pikesville, MD
Posts: 720
The thing that concerns me with the Elmer's glue is if I manage a little bit of slop. (Which I can excel at like you wouldn't believe) If this quilt does go for show, it's probably not going to be washed first (or else I really have to learn to block it well before it goes). A little glue seepage to me anyway would be worse than mismatched seams... perhaps I'll practice a little and see if I can do a better job than the first time I tried it. [/QUOTE]
I agree that the glue needs to be removed: it makes it stiff and sometimes shows. You could try to wash it out locally with a bit of water sprayed on it. I always have to launder my elmered :-) quilts before using.
[/QUOTE]I agree that the glue needs to be removed: it makes it stiff and sometimes shows. You could try to wash it out locally with a bit of water sprayed on it. I always have to launder my elmered :-) quilts before using.
01-28-2014, 08:35 AM
#24
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: SW Washington USA
Posts: 4,454
Beauty is only one small part of professional judging, it is a point system so each quilt is judged on equal ground.
From the Professional Quilter:
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
From the Professional Quilter:
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
01-28-2014, 10:59 AM
#25
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
Beauty is only one small part of professional judging, it is a point system so each quilt is judged on equal ground.
From the Professional Quilter:
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
From the Professional Quilter:
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
01-28-2014, 11:00 AM
#26
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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Posts: 3,817
Thanks! I will see if I can find some ways to spot remove it.
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