Houston 2009

Hope you saw the Brits, Sally!! Liz Jones,2) just 20 miles from me! - and Phillippa Naylor. I've taken a lesson from Phillippa and Sandy Foster was having one at Houston with her. She won one of the quilting prizes.

I'll have to look again to see if there were any more mentioned. Some amazing work on that site - quite stunning collection. . In message , Sally Swindells writes

Am I the only one who sort of wonders why the "giants" of the quilting world are still competing, still sort of soaking up the top spots in the big competitions? I mean, I'm seeing names on the winners' list (and truly amazing art that just knocks my socks off) who I consider in a league of their own; they'll be written up in art history books in later years. I'm probably just a bit grumpy today, LOL>

Sunny

Part of me is thinking that they should "retire" at least for awhile after so many wins or at least take a break. But then I realize that this is how they make their name and their $.

Since it is not as though any of them are in the way of my winning anything, I guess I'm not going to worry about it.

Mary

I notice that too, Sunny. Reckon we ought to go knock them off their pedestals with some really fine stitching of our own? They won't even see us coming. LOL Polly

"Sunny" Am I the only one who sort of wonders why the "giants" of the quilting

ROFL Polly, yeah I figure I'll just whip up some Houston winning kind of quilt. Maybe I'll work on it later this week.... finish up in a week or two so I have plenty of time to look at it before sending it off to Houston. hehehehe

Sunny

Howdy!

Do we then decide that award-winning singers, actors, artists can no longer win awards because they have their trophies? "You've already won Olympic medals so no more contests for you!" "Fire the race car drivers because they've already had their moments in the winner's circle." "Sorry, rodeo stars, you've had your ride, take your ribbons and go home." "All you Winners: beat it! No repeats!!"

Perhaps the same quilters keep winning the awards because they keep entering their finest work. And they do work at it, don't they? ;-)

R/Sandy- I think I remember saying, "sometimes 'adequate'...isn't"

I take your point, Sunny; but try looking at it this way: someone (at the level you mention) thinks of a great new idea, works on it and finds it works well and produces a wonderful quilt. What does he/she want to do - show the world. I really think that some of them don't look on it, primarily, as a competition as such, but as a place to aspire to and then, when they have won, of course, it might then become a challenge?

If they didn't show their wonderful work, boundaries wouldn't be pushed (not that I'm a great one for pushing boundaries, as you know, but I suppose it has to be done!), and their work would be secreted in some dark room somewhere that no-one could visit.

Interestingly, one of the ladies who won prizes several years running at the Quilts UK show hasn't been in evidence for a couple of years now? I wonder if she thought as you did and stopped entering? . In message , Sunny writes

This is a very good point Sandy. I hadn't thought of it, but you cite precise parallels.

We have probably all said in some context 'one day I want to be ... ...'. If the great quilt makers didn't 'show' we would never have those 'hills to climb'; and, horrors, mediocrity might rule? . In message , Sandy E writes

Of course I saw them - and cheered!!

Phillippa Naylor is coming to Quilters Haven in 2011 so am saving pennies hard and practising what little mc I know!

Its Chilford at the beginning of November and I've already got my ticket (to avoid the queues. Not quite on the Houston level, but definitely above mine! Now have to convince DH that I really can occupy myself there for longer than 3 hours while he takes himself off birdwatching or into Cambridge and bookshops and museums! Its ages since I had a quilty shop for anything other than basics and I want really long look at everything - or should I say at least three looks at everything! And then of course there are quilts to see....... Three hours - fiddle!!

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk

Patti wrote:

Good analogies, Sandy. When I saw the pictures of the Houston winners, I had a reaction similar to Sunny's. I started debating with myself: Should there be a category for "professional" quilters and another for "the rest of us"? But how would we determine who fell into the category of "professional"? That would open a whole 'nother can of worms!

After reading your post, though, it hit me that it becomes a matter of finding the venue that is best for your own skill level. I'll never win an Academy Award for my acting talent, because I don't have any, but I can take part in local productions if that's what I want to do. I'll never win an Olympic medal or even be considered for an Olympic slot, because my athletic abilities are somewhat lacking, but I could join a local softball team and maybe win a championship. My niece's husband would probably never make it in NASCAR, but this year he won the local championship for his class of racing.

The same thing goes for quilting - if we have an desire to compete or show our work, we need to find a venue where we can do that. No, I'll probably never have a quilt accepted into a major show like Houston or Paducah (or Des Moines, since the AQS show is there next week!), because I'll probably never create a work of art like the winners in that type of show. But I can enter my best work into our local shows - might win an award at one someday, but maybe not.

In spite of knowing my own limitations, I'll probably never stop dreaming that the next fabrics I pick out for my own masterpiece will somehow turn into the most glorious quilt ever seen and the quilting world will be clamoring at my door just to have the opportunity to see it, touch it, take a picture of it! Hey, it's not going to happen, but I can still dream. :-)

That's interesting Louise. Here, the largest quilt show, the one at the NEC in August, does have the professional/amateur division. The criteria are very clearly set out. They would force me to enter as a professional (quite rightly I suppose), because I teach occasional workshops, write articles and have published the book. But, I don't enter there, because none of my writing work improves my abilities as a quilt-maker. The quilts I make sometimes get a judges choice note at a show; and just once a category winner; but not usually. So, I am happier at that level - and stick to those shows - still national, but not with the pro/am division.

Mind you, I haven't done any show quilts for a couple of years! . In message , Louise in Iowa writes

It seems to me that there are two reasons for getting tired of seeing the same names winning every year: being tired of losing to them or sheer spectator's boredom.

In the first case, though, when you think about it, asking them to step down is saying "You need to quit because we want to drop the bar---we want to lower the definition of excellence." Not a good way to go, IMO---the goal must be to be better than they are (or at least outlive the bastids :)

The second case is harder to address. As a NASCAR fan, I'm watching the last five races of the season rooting hard for Jimmie Johnson to screw up, for someone else---anyone else---to take the championship. It ain't that I don't like Jimmie, it's the Monotony Factor: if he wins (and he looks set to do it) it'll be his *fourth* national championship in a row. Which is in itself an interesting statistic---nobody's ever done four in a row before. But having the same guy winning every year is definitely getting a bit boring.

At least when it's quilts, they're doing it with a totally different quilt, something new to look at. The design on the Lowe's 48 Chevy hasn't changed in years. :)

--pig

It would, indeed, but to continue the analogy, other sports have done it. If I am not mistake, I believe that there are standards for what constitutes a professional v. an amateur who can compete in the Olympics which are set by some Olympic committee. In baseball and other team sports, there are professional teams and feeder teams by designation of some governing body (from the MLB, NFL, etc.).

I don't think it would be difficult to create such designations for shows that want to be "certified" by the governing body that sets the standards. Those guilds or county fairs or whatever who do not want to be certified by the national body could set their own standards or invite all comers on an equal basis.

It is my understanding that some local bodies do set categories for styles of quilts and/or level of expertise of the quilters. I imagine the experiences of such local groups would provide some good ideas for national standards -- just as the federal government looks to state experiences in legislation and execution of the laws, and higher courts frequently look to lower courts and courts in other jurisdictions to decide cases of first impression in their own jurisdictions?

Can you tell I'm a lawyer and former political organizer? :-D But I personally am not terribly interested in the ultimate decisions quiltmakers make about these issues, as I myself dislike active competition. (One can't avoid the passive kind, but one can choose how much attention to pay to it. :-) I can't imagine myself ever participating in a show other than a local, informal one. And I'm going to have to improve a lot before I even consider that!

ep

Howdy!

Pat, I saw that last quilt you put into big competition in Paducah; delightful! The pics are somewhere in this computer... .

This gallery includes SAQA, works that have not been shopped to all the quilt shows:

Howdy!

Jimmie Johnson is still racing?!!!? When we first got married (34+ yrs ago), Gene kept up w/ NASCAR; I remember the names, the faces, and the voices. Then he transferred that attention to NHRA (drag racing), which he'd actually participated in, still loves. One guy, John Force, was someone Gene knew of when they both lived in Yorba Linda, Calif; John won & won & - I got sick of hearing his name, and his voice!!! But, these guys work at it, they make the connections, they get their selves out there and do it. As do these Award-Winning Quilters. Bravo to them. I'd prefer to sit here in my comfy chair, a/c cranked down, needle in hand, doing my thing & getting good at it. I enjoy making the quilts, but photographing them and filling out papers to enter shows - that's too much like work! I don't suppose these A-W Quilters get rich off their winnings; it helps, but they have to keep moving to make a go of it. Thank goodness they do, thank goodness they want to.

R/Sandy- professi> It seems to me that there are two reasons for getting tired of seeing the

Thanks so much, Sandy. It was such a huge thrill, as you can imagine. I doubt ever to be repeated! However, it doesn't really need to be for me >g