Thursday 20 August 2009

No sour grapes

Today I have been to 'The Festival of Quilts' at the NEC. It's such a fabulous show, and I was realy looking forward to the quilts, the shopping, the demonstrations - and to see how our group quilt fared!
Here I am, standing in front of it, and blending in well with the landscape! It was looking very good, nicely hung in a well-lit position, but had received no accolades from the judges. We didn't really enter the show thinking we would win, but you never know. Well, in fact we did know, because the rules on the qualifications for a 'group quilt' have changed this year. To enter this category the quilt has to be made by at least two people. Yes, TWO! So the three prize-winning quilts (all absolutely lovely and very deserving of merit) had been made by just two people. Here is the winning quilt for you to see.

It's a lovely design and the machine quilting is absolutely stunning, but it's not a group quilt, in my book! While Stephanie and I were discussing this state of affairs, two ladies joined in to agree with us. They had entered a quilt in the traditional category, but because one had pieced and one quilted, they were moved into the group category, where they clearly felt they did not belong! Ruth and I have already commented to the organisers of the show about this situation, and would be grateful if group members could do so as well. If the situation remains the same next year, we will have to think hard and long about whether we enter this unfair competition again.