In just two months time the quilt show will be in full swing. All of the planning and hard work of countless members will come to fruition. Quilts will hang, vendors will set up their wares for purchase, raffle tickets will be sold and guests will come to view our quilts.
As I reflect on the last year and a half of preparation many things come to mind . . . endless hours on the phone with Susan, ideas brought to our meetings, discussed and decided on in hopes of this show being successful. As this reflection deepens, I remember bits and pieces of conversations with committee members, guild members, specifically with Mary Anne and Anne about our quilts and why we may or may not enter into local, regional or national shows.
As I prepared this article for publication I had several people review for corrections and their thoughts regarding the subject and any input that would have the article be well-rounded. My husband pointed out to me that a paragraph or two on guilds would be helpful for a clearer understanding of guilds, how they worked and the master/apprentice relationship. Guilds (a precursor to our modern day labor unions) began forming as early as the 11th century to foster knowledge of a particular trade or craft; most were located in large cities and towns and were part of the local government. Guild members paid dues and memberships in certain trades could be passed on to the wives of deceased guild members. Guilds ranged from blacksmiths to dyers to wood workers and the arts having dues and educational and personal requirements including the length of apprenticeship. Women’s guilds were prevalent and included textile arts and brewing of all things! A child as young as 7 might be apprenticed to a master craftsman, work for so many years learning a particular trade and either go out on his own looking for work or join the town guild and work in that town depending on the circumstances including availability of membership. The apprentice would provide labor and earn room and board and money and the master craftsman would teach the chosen trade and provide room and board etc.
The relationship between master and apprentice was one of learning. The master would train and teach offering direction and critiquing the work of the apprentice giving him the guidance and direction necessary to become a master craftsman.
While guilds of old were based on a mutually financially beneficial relationship our guilds today still have some of those same characteristics. Guild members pay dues, participate in learning activities and members will often, though not always offer advice to other members. Guilds today are often more social then economical.
Each of us quilts for one shared reason: we love to quilt. For each of us, the process from design to the final stitches of the binding brings a sense of joy and accomplishment that will wrap someone we love, or perhaps someone we don’t even know in person who has been struck with some tremendous tragedy in life, in a warm hug that no other form of art can accomplish. Other forms of art bring joy and beauty in our lives, but not like a quilt. A quilt is different.
Our guild has one of the most eclectic ranges of quilting styles I’ve ever been exposed to. We run the gamut from traditional, down to the hand piecing and hand quilting to radically contemporary no hand work type of quilt. We have room for each style of quilter and in the process learn how to appreciate those styles of quilts. We can appreciate the inherent beauty of the Gee’s Bend Quilts and the “make do with what I have and make a living for my family” style as well as the style of quilts that come from the “Salon Seven”, many of whom are members of the Village Squares.
A number of members have shared with me that they or friends and fellow guild members won’t enter their quilts into a show because (imagine a list of reasons a hundred miles long, two columns, single spaced with hand written notes on the side.) I understand the reluctance. It is part fear, part anxiety of what other people will think of or say about our work. Hearing others’ comments about our quilts can be disconcerting, particularly because we invest so much of ourselves into a particular piece.
Anne is a new quilter. Over the years she has participated in other hobbies including needlepoint, counted cross stitch and drawing. Recently Anne chose to make a quilt and enter the Hoffman Challenge, her desire is to get feedback from the judges and grow as a quilter. I’ve seen the quilt, it’s beautiful and I hope she does well.
Several years ago I entered two quilts into the NSQG show with the sole desire of having the opportunity to have the judges give me feedback. This feedback allowed me to re-evaluate where I was as a quilter, where I wanted to go and how to make those changes. Prior to that show I was mainly a hand quilter and since then I’m primarily a machine quilter, though I still have some hand quilting project at the ready for when I’m sitting in doctors’ offices and the like.
Most of you know I entered my NY Beauty at the NSQG Show in May, again solely for the judge’s comments to know where and how to grow technically as a quilter. Those feelings of anxiety that I had entering my first quilt was still there but not nearly as intense as I knew what to expect. The judges rate the quilt on its merits: use of color, quality of piecing and quality of quilting, overall impact. They then will give a positive comment on something they like about the piece and a comment to help the quilter grow. One of the comments was need for consistent amount of quilting across the surface of the quilt. I took these comments, along with some members of the Pelham Quilters and did some more machine quilting over the surface, entered the quilt in the Maine Quilts Show and won a second place ribbon. What I learned from both experiences helped me to see those areas where I can grow as a quilter. The judges from both shows were particularly helpful in helping me grow.
Mary Anne enters for many of the same reasons. (note: I'm waiting for some feedback from her and this will be edited later)
Then there are the comments that other quilters make about the quilts as they meander through the rows of quilts. Usually the comments we hear seem snarky and shrewish and sometimes downright mean. When we hear them we resist the urge to put that person in their place and tell them to go find another quilt show to attend that would be more suited to their own tastes and style. I want to offer a slightly different take on this – perhaps the quilter is learning in a technical sense what’s working, what’s not working (for them) what would make this quilt work for them.
(A note as I begin this section: I’ve been quilting for about 15 years and was with three other quilters’ at a quilt show; one fairly new and the other 8+ years with a background in layout and design. As we talked we discussed the technical side of the quilts i.e. use of color, design, overall quilting etc.) I recently attended a quilt show where, if just snippets of the conversation with one of the quilters were overheard we would have sounded awful! Mean, horrible sounding comments, so much so that you’d want to find a member of the quilt police or deputize yourself and kick me out on my bum and tell me to turn in my thimble and not call myself a quilter anymore. If the entire conversation was heard my friend and I were going through a learning process that was invaluable to both of us. There were many quilts that day that received many compliments from all of us. This doesn’t include all of the love and hard work the quilter put in. Nope that’s a whole different area where I would never want to go.
After posting this article in its infancy to a group of quilters one of the responses was the following:
“I’ve entered a couple of times in a local show. One time it was judged by a single woman, who is regarded "professional." She left lengthy critiques that were quite interesting and helpful. The other shows were simply "view judged;" People could vote for their favorite quilt in each category. There were lots of entries, probably because it was far less threatening! Our area does not have a guild, and my sewing group is relatively unexposed to constructive criticism. I think you have to have a relatively "thick skin" and realize there is always room for improvement. Well-judged shows are a tremendous growth opportunity. However, there is the matter of personal taste, and sometimes you might decide to totally disregard someone else's opinion! For the most part, entering our small shows has been rewarding for me. I once overheard someone actually making COMPLIMENTARY remarks, and I was on Cloud 9!! I've only gotten 2nd or 3rd place ribbons, but felt validified, never-the-less. I thank you.” Linda M.
As Linda mentions personal taste is just that, it’s personal. Each of us has our likes and dislikes with regard to fabric choices, techniques that make the most sense to us. Another friend says, "Your quilt, your rules"...if you like what you're doing then by all means go with it. So much about quilting can be subjected to personal taste and style, there is so much that can be and is objective.
In the end, quilting is about love…and love can never be quantified or criticized.
Teri Lucas
