Being Judged: Uncensored Feedback From the QuiltCon 2024 Contest

QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina, was a whirlwind of activity, and I loved it all! I taught five classes filled with phenomenal students, walked the entire show floor filled with amazing quilts, and had a chance to connect with many of the wonderful people I only see online the rest of the year.

What is QuiltCon?

QuiltCon is the annual show by the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG), making it one of the only major quilting events run by a non-profit organization. The event includes judged contest quilts, special exhibits, vendors, lectures, and workshops focused on the Modern Quilting aesthetic.

The board president shared some MQG and QuiltCon statistics with us at the awards ceremony. 

• There are 17,555 Modern Quilt Guild members. (I’m sure there are even more now!)
• All 50 US States plus two territories were represented in the contest quilts along with 18 countries. (I still remember when the show was hoping for all the states to have representation!)
• More than 600 quilts were on display during the show!
• The MQG and their many generous sponsors gave away $20,200 of prize money.
• QuiltCon 2024 included 180 workshops, events, and lectures.
• 622 MQG members participated in the mini quilt swap!

Who was at the show?

This year also brought record-breaking attendance. At the show’s beginning, the MQG announced they expected 10,000 attendees, which would set a new record. Quilters crushed that number; the last estimate I heard was over 15,000!

The Juried Quilts in the Show

Of the more than 600 quilts on display, there were 470 juried quilts this year, divided between 12 judged categories and one non-judged category. MQG members entered 2,342 quilts, so just having quilts accepted to the show is a tremendous honor.

Here is the breakdown of how many quilts were in each category:

• Appliqué: 19
• Group or Bee Quilts: 21
• Handwork: 23
• Improvisation: 47
• Maximalism*: 20
• Minimalism: 40
• Modern Traditionalism: 54
• Piecing: 56
• Small Quilts: 54
• Super Scrappy Quilting Challenge**: 30
• Use of Negative Space: 33
• Windham Artisan Cotton 2024 Challenge***: 43
• Youth****: 30

*The Maximalism Category was juried but not judged for the show. The MQG displayed this category separately, so I wonder if the MQG needed a specific number of quilts to fill that particular space or if it just happened to have a round number of quilts selected.

**The Super Scrappy Quilting Challenge was the “special” challenge category for 2024. There is always a challenge category, but it changes each year.

***There is a fabric challenge category each year, but the fabrics and manufacturer may vary from year to year.

****Traditionally, each youth entrant has at least one quilt accepted into the show. It’s a lot of fun to see their creativity run wild!

Judging Feedback

I stayed to pick up my quilts the last evening of the show, and this year, we received our judging feedback on physical sheets with the quilts. Do you want to see what the judges had to say about my quilts?

The judges scored all quilts on design, construction, and quilting aspects. Some categories within the contest included supplemental criteria specific to those quilts.

Design scoring included:

• Elements of the modern aesthetic
• Visual impact
• Use of balance
• Use of color
• Use of contrast/value
• Fabric Choices
• Innovation/Creativity

Construction scoring included:

• Overall construction
• Piecing
• Binding or edge finishing

Quilting scoring included:

• Execution
• Thread Choice 
• Complements the piecing/appliqué design

The Assessment of My Quilts

Using the criteria above, the judges marked well-executed elements with a YES on the form.

Note: One of my quilts, Keeping It 100, was in the Maximalism exhibit, so the judges and MQG did not provide feedback.

Next Verse, Different Than the First

Well-executed elements include:

Design:

• Use of Color

Construction:

• Piecing

Quilting:

• Complements the piecing/appliqué design

Judges’ Comments

• Stitched embellishments are a nice touch.
• Pieced binding is nice.
• Small pieced details are well done.

Tipsy

Well-executed elements include:

Design:

• Elements of the modern aesthetic
• Visual impact
• Use of balance
• Use of color
• Use of contrast/value

Construction:

• Overall Construction

Quilting:

• Execution
• Thread Choice
• Complements the piecing/appliqué design

Judges’ Comments

• Addition of the small bits of printed fabrics is effective
• Piecing details in negative space support overall composition
• Addition of neutrals is a good complement to color story

100 Days of Greenery

The Appliqué Category included additional judging criteria for innovation/creativity and execution of appliqué.

Well-executed elements include:

Appliqué:

• Execution

Design:

• Visual impact
• Use of color
• Fabric choices
• Innovation/Creativity

Construction:

• Overall construction

Judges’ Comments:

• Beautiful original design
• Choice of quilting motif complements quilt design
• Masterful craftsmanship

I am thrilled that 100 Days of Greenery received third place in the Appliqué category!

QuiltCon 2025

Next February, QuiltCon heads to Phoenix, Arizona. Contest entries open in a few months, and I hope to see your quilts there!