sina28 wrote:How are the prices given? I don't really see why it shouldn't have made it to the first price, but then I have never entered a competition, there are none like this in Germany.
Aw, thanks.
It's really interesting to watch the judging. She looks at the overall design, and then gets down to business. She will follow the threads on all four sides to see if the piece is exactly square in the frame and/or mat. She looks for even tension, incomplete x's, twisted threads, and missed stitches, carried threads showing through from the back. And she does this with a magnifying glass. Yikees!!! Sometimes she will express her opinion on the framing, fabric, etc., but I've yet to see her personal preferences play a role in the awards. In fact, I've seen her clearly state how much she likes a certain design, and then award a first or a champion to another piece.
I lost one point on this one because she thought there was something on top of the stitches but it was actually the spots on the fabric itself showing through the lighter stitches. While her conclusion was incorrect, I can totally see why she thought that and even when I was stitching it I could see the issue.