Preparing a Quilt for Presentation - FINISHING
   Before you present your quilt you must first 'finish' it.  Finishing a quilt that will be given to Uncle Bob and put on his bed, is a very different beast than preparing a quilt to be juried and hung in a show. A quilt which will be judged or exhibited must be able to survive the scrutiny of many eyes, including eyes which will be looking for flaws.
    It is in the interest of an exhibition committee that they hang the best selection they can accumulate. This implies they have more than one to choose from.  Unless this is a friendly show among a small group, where every quilt is hung, there is some competition involved.
    The idea of competition or rejection is enough to keep some people from trying to enter an exhibition.  I won’t sport with your intellect here. Rejection is hard to embrace, but it is part of nature of entering a competition.  A quilt that is rejected for one show may win a prize in another. So don’t take a rejection personally. 
     If you are considering putting a quilt forward, you want to give it the best possible chance to get past those judges and be hung. Take the time to look at your quilt critically. 
1.     Is it stain and odour free? (including perfumes) 
2.     Does the quilt hang well/lay flat?
3.     Are there hanging threads or pet hairs lingering on the quilt?
4.     Does the binding and look consistent?
5.     Are the corners tidy? 
6.     Have you kept the quilt otherwise clean?
7.     Does it meet every criteria for the exhibition you wish to enter?
      In the small print of most entry instructions there is usually a clause saying that accepting a quilt doesn't obligate the show to HANG the quilt.  If a quilt smells of food or animal or even perfume (or has been misrepresented in photographs), it will be returned without being exhibited. At the expense of the quilter.  Imagine a show with 40 perfume saturated quilts....ugh.
      Are there any marks that can be removed?  Perhaps pencil marks from marking where you wanted to quilt, or a drop of something you can carefully blot away??  Now is the time to take care of any removable marks.
    Really look at that binding. When judging I’ve found some gorgeous quilts with shocking bindings.  A careless binding can let an otherwise carefully-made quilt down.  Bindings should be flat, of a consistent width, have the batting in them, but not be bulging. Bindings can be removed and redone if necessary.
  Anything that can be done to make your quilt stand out as being more  professionally finished will move you closer to the potential of having a quilt accepted. 
    So once your quilt meets these specifications what next? Your quilt should now be ready to photograph.  
Next exhibition related -article, Photographing a quilt.  

 

 

 

 

 

Another talented bunch who sewed their hearts out! 

Four of this fun squad drove a long way and stayed overnight to do this two day class!   Must say they are a dedicated bunch.

For these last two days my ladies sewed and chatted and ate chocolate fish.  Then they sewed some more.  We laughed, we cried, we drank coffee.  The floor look like a weird confetti party had gone through leaving a trail of multicoloured streamers of fabric.  

These women outdid themselves with several finishing six blocks.  Yes, the class covers six blocks.  No, I don't expect anyone to FINISH all six, they just have to know the principles of how to finish all six before they leave.  WHEW.  We had some experienced ladies and some novices, but all accomplished a fair bit.  Great job!

If you have been considering entering a quilt into an exhibition, there are many aspects to think about.  Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the basics, and some of the 'hidden' issues that are easy to overlook.

First is the question of entering an exhibition.  Ideally you will have opportunities with a local quilt club or guild to enter quilts to be shown. This is good place to start as all shows have deadlines to meet and category placements to decide.   

Local guild or club shows often will attempt to hang all the quilts offered. (as space allows) If you have the opportunity to volunteer as a helper at a local exhibition, you will learn a great deal about quilt types.  

With larger shows such as mini symposiums,  full symposiums or particular challenges such as the Hoffman challenge, quilts may and often will be rejected. (I have entered competitions where more than half of the entries were refused!)  

Rejections are normal, and impersonal.  When seven hundred quilts are on offer and room for only  three hundred, someone has to make those hard choices. 

If your quilt, which represents a 'part of you' did not meet the standard in some way.  Take heart, for there are more than one venue where your creation might perform stronger. I have had quilts rejected in one show only to win a prize in the next.

All entry exhibitions have rules.  ALWAYS follow the rules.  Don't expect the organisers to smile at your decision to just guess at the quilt size or to send photos when it suits you.  Respect the guidelines established.  

Does the quilt you intend to enter meet the criteria? Can you meet the deadline? Is it within the specified sizes?  Is the entry fee for your entry or the return postage acceptable to you?  Read everything pertaining the entry rules.  Make sure you clearly understand them and putting an entry in will go much smoother.  

Okay, you have decide where you intend to enter a quilt, you are sure you meet the criteria described...you can comply with all the expectation of the organisers.  Now what?

Next blog on this topic will be "The presentation of the quilt".  

Getting ready for a class always takes a bit of time.  Teaching requires copying notes, rounding up or making samples, revamping things that didn't go smoothly last time and getting mentally prepared for all those questions never considered before.   

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE teaching quilting.  The time spent with other quilters is always instructive, and if I've not said it on a blog before, my students always teach me something.  Every. Class.  

Friday and Saturday are a second weekend of TOT class, so In the middle of my organisation, photocopying, getting my supplies in one place (so that there are not last minute scrambles), I received a phone call.  My focus shifted suddenly sideways.  

A friend has just found out that she has breast cancer.

You know those moments when your priorities and work suddenly take on a special level of insignificance?   My friend Br----- had told me about her sister's cancer just recently. Now she gets the C word from the medical specialists who have been prodding and picturing her so minutely. At this moment her prognosis is optimistic.

Will I remember her in prayer she wonders?  Of course.  Because we live so far apart, this is the single help I can provide at present.  Br----- is a quilter, it's how we met, it's why we got to know each other, it's the thing that made us 'fabric sisters'.  

Yes, I'm still looking forward to my class, and will give them 100%.  This phone call was just a reminder of what a supportive network can mean.  

After my brain settles down from this news I think again of my class.  It's more than just some people getting together and cutting bits of fabric.  It's a group putting our lives together to come up with something connected in the future.  

These ladies put together some pretty amazing blocks. Two days of vigorous sewing, drinking coffee, and general fun produced great results! (New photos under Candids)

The rooms available for classes are spacious, well lit, and above a shop full of all the incidentals that might have been forgotten at home.   Did I mention the coffee cafe across the road?  

It was great to get to meet these talented ladies! A couple of them were absolute quilting novices, yet making a terrific job of the various patterns. Well done!!!!  

Tricks of the Trade weekend 2 starts next Friday...same place, same time!

Are you a quilter with a sweet tooth? These are pretty yummy!

Today was spent cutting and shrink-wrapping door prizes for Palmerston North Symposium. 

(ANY excuse to play with fabric!)

If you are a quilter and haven't registered...can you be tempted with such goodies as these?  

Well yes, my wrist is improving and NOT BROKEN!  Thank you for asking. It's healed enough to do more work, just in time to get some pretty important jobs done.  

Whew, the class I'll teach on Friday should be easier now! But this post isn't about my wrist, it's about a new quilt. 

My darling youngest- Beth  has attacked the recently acquired stack of fabrics from Mr. Wright with gusto. 

After playing with them all and deciding on specific colour placements, all that was needed was a list of strips sizes to cut and some time to put it all together. Tonight the cutting began. Drum roll please.

Her obligatory quilt-before-leaving-home project must be completed in the next five weeks.  The mean ole home school principal (mom) says so. We'll have some great girl-bonding time while Beth learns what endless seams mean.

The range of colours are delightful and I am enjoying watching her develop a genuine pride and interest in cutting her strips 'just so.'  She is a precise young lady, so my expectations of a well-done job are unlikely to be disappointed.  Unless of course she hurts her wrist or something...

Beth wants to do a 'wave' style Bargello, instead of the mountain/valley style I usually teach.  I'm really keen to see how she does.  

A 'Sew Easy' brand ruler from Australia with a built-in blade is just the ticket to simplify her cutting job.  Beth has used the separate rotary cutter and ruler before, so she knows she has an 'easy ride' cutting with this new ruler. 

One of her rejected crooked strips has been tied around her waist and from across the room I can see her re-arranging the strips she has already cut.  (I suspect we have a quilt convert here!)

A short burst of cutting tonight has started her off, but time has already been set aside for tomorrow's continuation.  The Williams' family quilting factory is expanding!

Might be time to pull out the old stand-by machine so I can keep working on my projects as well???

One good thing about having hurt my left wrist is that all right-handed indulgences are still available, while dishes and laundry stay perilously out of reach!  (This condition will probably end on Thursday, so I am trying to make the most of it.)

Sketching is on the can-do list so all of my hasty half-formed sketches are currently being refined.  The half 'finished' sketch of this leaf is an example.  

It has been converted from a free- source pattern to this form.  Tidying up the lines and smoothing out the bumps take time, which usually means such sketches stay 'rough' until needed. 

I keep a sketch folio of all kinds of things that seem irresistible.  Many ideas end up scribbled on bits of paper which would otherwise filter out of my sight and eventually into a bin.  On these odd bits are treasures just waiting to be rediscovered.

Keeping them thus for a 'rainy day' (or as in this case, an injured arm day),  a look through renews the creative reason that their form was captured in the first place.  Nothing inspires like inspiration. 

Many of my sketches have no specific purpose yet, but are floating free...waiting to be used in some future project. Having them ready-to-go makes designing projects easier.

This particular leaf is pre determined for a large kiwi-themed quilt pattern, which rough sketches are coming into shape.  My floor is currently covered with sketches.  I probably should pick them up so someone else can vacuum.  ;)