Judging day for the Lake Norman Quilters’ show

Today was judging day for the Lake Norman Quilters’ show, which is this Friday and Saturday in Mooresville, NC. It is going to be a beautiful show, with more than 230 quilts. If you are in the area, I do hope you’ll come!



Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
East Mooresville Intermediate School
1711 Landis Highway, Mooresville NC 28115

If you’ve never participated in the judging process, here’s a little peek at what goes on. First, all the quilts are grouped together by category (with all the large pieced bed-size quilts in one pile, the appliquéd wall hangings in another pile, etc.). They all have little tags on them with their numbers:


Each pile is placed on a large table in front of the judge, with each quilt opened out flat. Each is held up for the judge (here’s my friend DeLane holding one up) so he or she can get an overall look at the design:


The quilts, sorted by category, were stacked on tables at the edge of the room:


They ranged in style from contemporary to traditional:


The judges carefully consider the overall design, use of color and fabrics, techniques, quilting, finishing and binding, and give each a score, which typically ranges from a check minus (meaning it needs work) to a plus-plus (exceptional). Here, certified quilt judge Carol Larimer examines the back of a pieced quilt:




A scribe (someone from the quilting group) records the scores on a special form, and also writes down the judge’s comments. Here, certified quilt judge Scott Murkin (left) judges a quilt while Jean Newman scribes. It looks like Scott’s just said something funny (which he does a lot):


Scott pinches the binding to see that it is filled with batting, neatly stitched, and firmly attached to the quilt:


The judge then either releases a quilt (meaning that it is not in the running for a ribbon) or asks that the quilt be held. After judging all the quilts in the category, the held quilts are examined one more time, and the judge names the first, second, third places and honorable mention. He or she may also ask that a quilt be set aside for one of the special ribbons (Best of Show, Best Use of Color, Best Hand Quilting, Judge’s Choice, etc.) that the quilt group has decided to issue.

At the very end, the judges work together to assess quilts set aside for consideration for special ribbons and decide the winners:


It was a fun day. Here are some of the people left at the very end of the judging (from left:) Grace Howes, DeLane Rosenau, Joyce Mullis, Susan Dunne-Lederhaas, Cindy Magee, Cheryl Campbell, Barbara Barrier, Michele Sheets. There were a lot more people who volunteered for the day, but I only got photos of this group. It takes a lot of people to produce a quilt show!


If you need directions to the show or want more information, please go to the webpage for our group. It contains a down-loadable PDF with a map and general information.