Tag: Entering Quilt Shows

When they say “no”

In the last two days, I have received two “no thank you” emails!!

One from the International Quilt Festival about my entry…..

….and the second from the Cherrywood Monarch challenge about this quilt…..

At first, I was REALLY bummed about neither one being accepted, especially the Monarch Challenge, and when I had time in my studio that day, I wasn’t super motivated to be there.

BUT, then I started thinking about how much fun I had making the quilts and about all of the new things that I tried with them….

…..and SLOWLY……ever so SLOWLY…….

I was able to let go of some of my sadness!!

This episode reminded me again of why I make quilts!!

Although I always desire for them to be accepted into a show, my quilts are made because I love the challenge and I love the creativity…..

….and I love sharing those things with my readers!!

Thanks for all of your encouragement……

This meme from Bonnie Hunter says it all…..

Here’s to more learning and hopefully a bit of winning too!!

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Lessons Learned at a Photography Day

Yesterday was spent photographing the quilts that have been turned in for the Cotton Patch Quilters biennial show which is being held on March 6, 7 and 8. If you are in the Athens, Georgia area, stop by for a look. Click here for more information.

We photographed 90 quilts on Thursday night and finished up the last 150 yesterday….it was a FULL day. As you can see from the photo, it was a hive of activity, with the larger quilts being hung on a frame and the smaller ones being photographed on a design wall with either a black or beige background. In this photo, Francyne W is the photographer, Denise S. is holding the number for documentation and Anita H. is getting the board set up for photographing small quilts needing a lighter background.

I was very pleased with how my queen size quilt hung….by the way, I have named it “Mother – Daughter Flower Garden”. It didn’t ruffle at the bottom and laid extremely straight. I think that part of this is due to the care that I took in squaring the quilt (something I normally dont do), but I also think that part of the reason is that it hasn’t been folded up on a shelf…..it basically came out of the washer and dryer and was put into the storage bag.

As I watched the various quilts during the day, I have come up with a few ideas of how to get your quilts ready to enter into a show.

First of all, get them off of the shelves and laid out flat for at least a week before submitting them. If necessary, give them a light pressing to get rid of the creases formed by folding for long periods of time.

Secondly, when you turn the quilt in, roll it over something so that it doesn’t get re-wrinkled. The best ideas that I saw were to use a cylinder mailing box or a “noodle” (the things that you float on in the pool) that has been cut to the approximate size of the quilt. Be sure to tie it with a small strip of fabric to keep it from falling off of the tube.

Several quilts arrived rolled, but without the tube, and I know that as they were handled several times during the day, they ended up being folded instead of rolled. If you have the rolling tube, then each person handling the quilt knows exactly how to re-package your quilt.

Also, Francyne gave us the advice to roll your quilt with the front side facing OUTWARD. This helps the quilt to lean backwards and will help it to hang better.

I now cant wait for the next show so that I can try out some of my new found ideas!!!

Have a great day!!!