Machine Quilter’s Expo – 2019 – Judging

I’m just back from a whirlwind week in Manchester, New Hampshire. I was attending the Machine Quilter’s Expo for the second time. I entered a quilt, worked as a volunteer, and took two classes. I’ll do more than one post for this, as I know no one wants to read 5,000 words at one go.

Machine Quilter’s Expo (MQX) is my favorite quilt show. So many of the classes are topics that excite me. Many of them are hands-on with high quality longarm machines. The quilts that are entered into the competition all involve machine quilting, which is my passion.

This year classes were not my only focus. Since I am still pursuing becoming a quilt show judge, I reached out to the organizers last year to see if I could volunteer in the judging room. I thought the judging experience would be different at a national show than at a local show. I was right.

*All of the photos in this post are of my own quilt being judged. The judges were not informed that it was my quilt, and I did my best not to show any emotion during the process. Thank you to Carolyn Tusinski for the photos.

MQX had 240 juried quilts this year, along with two special exhibits. The judging experience for me started on Sunday morning. The room had been set up the night before, so I showed up to a room with tables set up and all of the quilts sorted into piles. It is very clear that a lot of work went into preparing the room. Each quilt was labeled and set into its group for judging.

All of the quilts are stacked in the back of the room, folded so that only the backing shows. As the volunteers lay the quilt out, we get to peek at the piece before the judges get to it. All of the quilts are good, but every once in a while, you open something that is absolutely stunning. You have to be quiet, though, because the judges are working on the previous quilt. Also, my opinion counts for nothing in the judging room. For now.

Volunteers keep the quilts flowing and keep the judges working. (The lady on the right is carrying the previous quilt back to the “already judged” stack.) We hold up the quilts for a few moments, so the judges can get an overall impression of the quilt. Then we lay it on a table, and they do a close up inspection to look at quality of construction.

On Sunday we worked from 8:30 – 6, with an hour break for lunch. We did similar hours on Monday. It is a looooong two days. I was a little surprised on Tuesday night that I had trouble sleeping. My shoulders were so sore! I’m not used to lifting quilts above my head every few minutes for 8 hours.

The importance of maintaining confidentiality is impressed upon volunteers, so I can’t go blabbing about anything the judges say in the room. This is standard practice in judging rooms. So far I have worked with 5 different NACQJ certified judges, and I can say that nothing they have said in the room would hurt feelings. It is more along the lines of keeping quiet about who the winners are until they are announced, and I can’t tell you which quilts were on the final table. I can’t tell you that your quilt almost won a ribbon.

My quilt did not win a ribbon from the judges. I wasn’t surprised at all – my quilting is good, but it isn’t at the same level as the winners. You can see my score sheet here. My takeaway from the judges is that my eye for design is good, but I need to focus on my attention to details.

I ended up leaving before the end of the show – I was missing my husband after almost a week away. To my surprise, my quilt received a Faculty Ribbon from Kathie Beltz after I left. I was shocked and delighted. My first ribbon at a national show!

This was a great experience for me, even without the ribbon. If you have time to volunteer at a quilt show, do it. It is fascinating to see the judges in action, and there is no better way to learn what it takes to win those ribbons than to be in the room when they are judged. Plus, you get to get a close up inspection of ALL of the quilts, and there are some museum quality pieces in these shows.

Thank you to Janet-Lee Santeusanio and Mary Schilke for putting on a great show and allowing me to participate behind the scenes.