Last week was Pacific International Quilt Festival week aka PIQF...which flew by way too fast! I took a few days off to recover and reflect upon this exciting week of quilting festivities. Here are some highlights from my perspective as quilt judge, teacher, and attendee...
Tuesday - Quilt Judging:
It was an honor to be invited back to serve as a quilt judge on Tuesday. The photo above was taken during our early morning judging orientation led by PIQF owner David Mancuso. Here we received our judging assignments along with information on entries and criteria for the major awards. I was delighted to partner with Christa Watson to judge both the 57 Mid-Century Modern quilts along with 72 Wall Quilts. Our colleagues Andrea Perejda and Julia McLeod were tasked with judging the Innovative and Traditional quilt competitions.
Most of my judging experiences involves having the judges stationed at tables and all the quilts are brought over for judging. With PIQF opening the next morning, the quilts were already hung for the quilt show. With this set up, the judges must walk around the quilt show to visit each quilt--sometimes multiple visits in order to determine the award winners.
Christa and I were fairly efficient in our approach to judging so many spectacular competition quilts. For each competition, we walked through the entire section to get an initial impression of the field. Then we walked through a second time spending more time with each quilt to better appreciate the designs, details, and workmanship involved. Quilts that made a strong impression were photographed along with taking notes on what stood out about each of these quilts. We then found a quiet table to review our photos and notes to determine the award winners. Some awards have specific criteria in terms of techniques/tools used (ie. best longarm machine workmanship and best hand workmanship), while others were more broadly defined (Best use of color and best interpretation of the Summertime theme.) There were many awe-inspiring quilts, which outnumbered the available awards. This required some difficult decisions to finalize the top award winners. Of course, there were several quilts that were strong contenders for multiple awards, but we did our best to ensure that the top quilts were recognized accordingly for their exceptional design and construction. Once we determined the award winners, we walked through the quilt displays a third time to confirm and/or finetune our selections. We repeated the same process for both the Wall and Mid-Century Modern competions.
The next step of the judging was providing thoughtful feedback for each competition quilt with a focus on design and construction. At this level of competition, it was easy to celebrate each quilt's successes. We strived to include constructive feedback, especially for those quilts that did not get an award.
The final step of the judging process was to choose one quilt to receive our Judge's Choice Ribbons. After doing another walk through, I chose the quilt below for my Judge's Choice Ribbon as there were so many wonderful details to admire, especially along the border!
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"The Peeker of Sainte Foy" by Laura Fogg |
For those interested in learning more about quilt judging, there is a Quilt Judge Training scheduled for February 25 & 26, 2025 in Vacaville, CA.
Wednesday - Teaching "Exploring Evolon in Your Fiber Art"
Thursday Morning - Teaching "Magnificent Mandalas - Doodles Only"
After each exercise, we did a bit of show and tell. It was so interesting to see how each person's doodles inspired others in the classroom for all new design possibilities. We even rolled the dice for all new mandala design possibilities. There were lots of ahhs and ooohs when each person revealed their mandala designs!
There was lots of wow factor in these mandala doodles!
Thursday Afternoon - Teaching Block Print & Play!
Thursday evening - Meet the Faculty
Friday & Saturday - View Quilts
This rainbow display certainly captured the attention of many attendees. Luckily there was a break in visitors so I could capture a short video tour of this spectacular showcase of art quilts made by our talented members.
After my shift, several of local SAQA members met up for a quilt show walk and talk, where we visited with each of our quilts included in the show to share more about our inspiration, materials, and process.
And soon after the walk & talk, Pacific International Quilt Festival closed its doors on another incredible show! Many thanks to all who helped make PIQF a success this year:
- All those who entered quilts into the quilting competition and/or special exhibits--what a visual feast of stunning quilts in all different styles and techniques!
- All my fabulous students who joined me for a boost of quilting fun & inspiration
- All those who visited the show. Special thanks to all those who said hello and/or gave me a big hug!
- And a big THANK YOU to the entire Mancuso Show team for hosting a fabulous celebrating of quilting!
Yes another great show. Loved the colorful pinball crowd on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the show as well! Yes--there was lots going on this year including pinball/video games, soccer matches, inventions, and lots of quilting!
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