Quilt Show Etiquette

[Diane F.]

I am having a quilt longarm quilted by another person, if I enter this quilt into a show I understand I would give credit to both myself and the longarmer but (and this is a long-shot!) what if I win $$$money would that be split between the two of us? just curious....

[Margo C.]

I don't think there are any real rules for splitting the money. Your long-armer should definitely be given credit for her work, and if the quilt gets an award for excellence in machine quilting, you might consider giving her the ribbon.

If you paid her for her quilting, your obligation to her is finished, but if you win some money and share it with her, you will probably get really good service the next time you ask her to quilt something for you!

Also...some shows do not allow "quilted for hire" in competition. They only accept a collaboration of the entire quilt.

I'm just sayin.......

[Margo C.]

Thanks Margo! Sue

[Margo C.]

Thanks Margo! Sue

You are welcome, Sue. At the very least, please let her know if a quilt she has worked on wins a ribbon!!

[Hannelore N.]

I would always ask the longarmer if it's ok with her/him if I enter the quilt into competitions.

As for any prize money: If you have paid for the quilting, then that should be enough of a reward for the quilter. If it's a collaboration where no money has been involved, I would expect any prize money to be shared. But that's just my personal opinion.

[Hannelore N.]

If you had used hand dyed fabrics which you had purchased, would you consider giving some of the prize money to the dyer. NO!! I see for hire quilting in the same light. Credit should be given but the ribbon and the prize money goes to the quilt and it's owner. Betty Ann Seeman

[Margo C.]

I've never seen a ribbon (or prize money) awarded specifically for the fabric used in the quilt. I'm just saying that it is a nice courteous gesture to let your quilter know if her work helped you win a ribbon, especially if the ribbon was for quilting, whether it was by hand or machine.
If I were to get a judge's comment back with compliments about the fabric, especially hand-dyes, I would also let the dyer know about it.
I like to give credit where credit is due.

For instance, the current (Fall 2011) issue of ON TRACK magazine (for machine quilters) has beautiful photos on the cover of a TQS BOM made and quilted by Marlene Hiltner. The article does state that it is a Sue Garman design, but I would like to have seen TQS mentioned also.

[Nancy R.]

Hi Margo -

Thanks for your thoughtful advice! I haven't had a quilt in a show yet, but hope to have my first this spring and I stress over the acknowledgements. I'm making a wholecloth quilt that was started in a Karen McTavish class and she will definitely be mentioned. I'm including McTavishing in the quilt in honor of the class. That part is easy for me.

I'm an over-thinker, so where to draw the line in the gray areas gets more difficult for me. For example, I'm using stencils to create the design of the quilt. Obviously, an artist designed the stencils and I'm using them as an integral part of my design, but I don't know the artist's name and I've never seen stencil artists acknowledged, so I'm guessing it's okay to leave that off. What about quilting designs? If I use McTavishing in a future show quilt, do I acknowledge her? I'm guessing not since McTavishing is recognizable enough that people see it and think of her already. What about other quilting designs that I might use? For example, I read Leah Day's blog. If I use one of her background fills do I acknowledge her? My guess is that if the fill is a significant part of the design of the quilt then I acknowledge. If it is one of many, then I don't. Is that right? What do you think?

I hope I don't sound nit-picky but I really do over-think pretty much everything I do and I get caught up in the little details (I'm a software engineer by day). Any suggestions/guidelines would be very much appreciated!

Nancy

[Margo C.]

LOL....My son is an engineer, so I sort of know how you think, but copyright rules and laws can be really ambiguous.

I think that acknowledging Karen is important, and you might even want to make mention of her on your label! As for stencils, I personally think that falls in the same category as generic fabric. They are produced for the purpose of being used in quilting and other projects, and do not need to be individually recognized. Same is true for any background fills from Karen or Leah. They expect these designs to be used as part of quilt projects and that is why they put them out on public web sites.

If you make a copy of a design that is recognizable you would be smart to get permission from the original designer if you make it to be displayed in public.

Maybe someone with more experience can weigh in here????

[Nancy R.]

Thanks for the reply! It sounds like my gut is on the right track. I will definitely include Karen on the label. I hadn't thought about the label yet so don't know if I would have thought of that on my own, so I really appreciate the suggestion!

Nancy

[Margo C.]

Here is the label I made for my "Beloved Beauties" quilt:



I included the designer of the fabric because the quilt is made up entirely with her "Beloved Beauties" line of fabrics.

And here is a tutorial explaining how I make my labels: learn/projects/

[Nancy R.]

Thanks! This is a good example for me to look at.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nancy

[Nancy R.]

I personally think the labeling of a quilt has gone .... WAY TO FAR

I put family stuff on the labels for the quilt I make... as that is who I make the quilts for... My labels read who the quilt is for when I made it... should say finished it because they often take more than a year. I also include who I am giving the quilt to and for what occasion.

THE information such as quilter/ long armer / fabrics GO on the flyer that is placed on the front of the quilt when displayed in shows. But I do not feel it is appropriate to have them on a family quilt... GIFTEEs do not care about who quilted the quilt but who made the quilt for THEM.

I will say I have never participated in a BIG SHOW or made anything other than family style quilts. I have never tried making the complicated SUE GARMAN / MARGO style quilts. Maybe I would feel different if I did.

I am not in the QUILTING BUSINESS. I do not keep track of the manufactures of the fabrics that go into my quilts. I just mix and match to the best of my ability putting fabrics that look well together. Maybe I would feel different if I worked in the business.

I do know that when I look back at the antique quilts .... I want to know who made the quilt / for what occasion and when was it made.

Lady Rags



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[Margo C.]

For what it's worth, that label is not an example of how I label family quilts either!
That label was on a quilt was being used by TQS to encourage people to join TQS in order to access the pattern and to sell the fabric kits.
It was on public display at venues where lots of people were examining it for the entire year of 2011.
It needed a different type of label than what family quilts get.
But....every quilt I've ever made had been labeled according to how it was expected to be used.

[Margo C.]

I think I get touchy about quilt labels cause it is the PART OF QUILTING I most dislike... do not know why ... just do.

I can understand how you need to label different because you are in the business. But I see a lot of quilts labeled like yours lately. I do not know if they were shop quilts or manufactures quilts.... so I might be out of the loop on how quilt labels are made.