This is a fascinating thread, and I just have to come out of my burrow to post on this one.
The Rocky Mountain Lace Guild decided to run a class last year for our interested members on judging. One of our members conducted it, and we had a couple of 'never judged before' and a couple of 'done it several times'. Those of us who have done it before and have our own system found something new to learn and ponder. Since our Guild supplies Judges to the Colorado State Fair each year (and they love us because we volunteer to do it), we decided that judges should at least have had some training on things to look for and how to score it. Most of us have used a numerical system with a maximum of 10 points for each criteria an item is judged on (8 in all so a max of 80 points). We start with the view that a piece is perfect and deduct from there - dirty lace, tatting that has ends left on knots, sloppy execution all see deductions, along with things like inappropriate thread selection, poor finishing and mouting, etc. Highest number of points gets the highest ribbon awarded - and not necessarily a first place if no entry warrants it. Our Judges also award the State Fair's Best in Show ribbon and our own Guild donated and lace adorned Dorothy Names Memorial Ribbon (to best or 2nd best in show - Judges discretion), and we also try to find outstanding examples of lace in other classes such as Hardanger, or on a dressed doll, and award a few honorable mention ribbons. We have found that sometimes a simpler piece will rate higher than a more complex piece because of higher marks in the execution of technique/s category. It shouldn't always be that a more complex piece will win over a less complicated one. Complexity of design is only a part of the overall package in my view. How well a piece is made is a large part of the picture, and overall presentation is very important too. The last time I judged (and it's open judging at the state fair) my DH was in the audience and told me afterwards that the lady next to him (who didn't know he was related to me) told him that she like how we judged each piece 1 at a time and on it's own merits (methodical), rather than how the quilting judge just seemed to pluck one quilt up from the stack and give it a first because she liked whatever about it (seemingly random, in other words). I thought this was a very nice compliment which reflected well on how our Guild Judges operate. Cheers, Helen, in Denver - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
