Mel is a San Jose, CA based fiber artist, in-demand quilt lecturer and instructor, offering a variety of fun and inspirational quilting programs to inspire others to create with confidence and joy. Mel has been honored to judge quilt competitions including guild quilt shows, county fairs, California State Fair and Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Entering judged competitions has played a significant role in Mel’s artistic journey. Through the judges’ feedback, Mel was able to identify her artistic strengths, get direction on where to hone her skills, and gave her the confidence to enter her quilts into larger venues. Mel is honored to serve as a quilt judge with the ultimate goal of celebrating visual design and quality workmanship, while providing careful handling and thoughtful feedback for each quilt entered. As an accomplished fiber artist, teacher, and judge, she is well-versed with a wide array of quilting styles and techniques and actively seeks out opportunities to advance her knowledge of emerging trends.

Mel’s goal as a judge is to partner with quilt show organizers, fellow judges, handlers, and scribes to provide a judging experience that is professional, compassionate, objective, and educational. She has written short articles about the quilt judging process for guilds to publish in their newsletter to educate and encourage their members to enter quilts into the judged competition. Mel sets aside time at the end of the judging day for volunteer handlers/scribes to ask questions about the judging process.

QUILT JUDGE EDUCATION/TRAINING

■    2025: Completed a 2-Day Quilt Judge Training, Vacaville, CA
■    2018: Completed a 2-Day Intro to Judging Seminar offered by National Association of Certified Quilt Judges, Santa Clara, CA

QUILT JUDGE EXPERIENCE

■    2023-2024: Judge - Pacific International Quilt Festival, Santa Clara, CA
■    2024: Judge - California State Fair, Sacramento, CA
■    2019-2024: Judge - San Mateo County Fair, San Mateo, CA
■    2022-2024: Judge - Alameda County Fair, Online
■    2023: Judge – San Marin County Fair, San Rafael, CA
■    2023: Judge – San Francisco Quilt Guild, San Francisco CA
■    2018-2019: Judge – San Benito County Fair, Tres Pinos, CA
■    2018: Volunteer Quilt Handler – San Mateo County Fair, San Mateo, CA

QUILT JUDGE AFFILIATIONS:

■    Quilt Judge Training Directory of Judges
■    Northern California Quilt Council Judges Directory

HIRE MEL to JUDGE YOUR NEXT QUILT SHow/Competition

Mel is experienced judging within different set ups: judging individually, within a team format, flat and hanging shows. Working with a team of scribes and handlers, Mel can judge up to 60 quilts within a 6-7 hour judging day which allows time to provide thoughtful comments on visual impact, design and construction for each entry.

Please use Mel’s online contact form to inquire about her availability to judge for your guild or organization and include the following information:

■  Judging dates, times, and location
■ Judging fees and travel costs covered by host organization. Please note that judging fees should reflect the professional nature of quilt judging and cover’s Mel’s expertise and time, in addition to meals and travel (mileage and/or flight), in addition to private lodging if venue is more than 2-hours travel from San Jose, CA.
■  Information about your judging set up: anticipated number of entries, number of judges, and basic set up

1-2 weeks before the judging competition, Mel will request the following information from hosting organization:

■  Total number of quilts to be judged, breakdown by division/class is also helpful
■  Competition rules, categories, and descriptions
■  Copy of judging evaluation form
■  Overview of special awards and criteria
■  Judging set up re: number of participating judges (individual or teams) and assistants provided during judging: scribes, handlers, etc
■  Open vs. closed judging event