October’s meeting provided some fabulous inspiration and encouragement, thanks to a fascinating talk from quilt judge Merrill Tanton.

Merrill offered us a unique peek behind the scenes of the Festival of Quilts competition judging process. She brought along some wonderful examples of her own beautiful quilts and gave us a fascinating insight into what judges look for; from full binding and well matched points to innovative design choices that make a quilt stand out. Merrill also gave us a look at a real judge’s marking sheet, showing how quilts are scored across different categories.

One of her main messages was to encourage us all to consider entering our own work. She pointed out that, with all the different award categories, each entry actually has quite a decent chance of earning some form of recognition! All in all, it was a fascinating talk and a great way to get us thinking about sharing our quilts beyond the group.