Here Come de Judge

Keeping this blog post light today. Now to explain its title: Here Come de Judge was a reoccurring skit on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, a TV comedy that only lasted for six years (1968-73) but shaped a whole generation's sense of humor. There wouldn't be a Saturday Night Live without Laugh-In. I leave your research on Laugh-In to you and YouTube. Start here Laugh-In on Youtube . 

Here Come de Judge, a tossed-off line at first, caught on with the American public and turned up on T-shirts, license plates, and sweats. And as more college students got arrested in anti-war demonstrations, de Judge was omnipresent in young consciousness. 






I truly believe the reason my family finally got a color TV was because Laugh-In celebrated color. And in particular actress Goldie Hawn, that gorgeous blond in the bikini decorated with sayings in body paint, who
looked so much more alluring in technicolor--thanks Dad!

Last week I got to be de Judge, along with John Flynn and Pat Harrison, of 273 quilts entered for the quilt competition in Road to California, a huge quilt show/competition/retail circus and learning experience for my beloved craft of quilting. And lest any non-quilter reader thinks, "Oh that's nice, Granny got a ribbon for her blanket!" you need to understand, this judging thing is serious stuff. It took our team of three two days, every quilt got written comments, and prizes varied from $500 for a third place winner up to the Best of Show that lands a $10,000 check. To really get your head around what these winning quilts are, go here  Road to CA Winners 2020 .

The first quilt that shows up is the Best in Show. We all agreed that Marilyn Badgers' Christmas in Saint Andrews was magnificent and lingered over its many glittering details and stood in awe of the breath-taking guts it takes to work with plaids. 


I thought this wonderful quilt (titled Carolinas) by Terry Sargent Peart truly deserved the Best of Color award. And Laugh-In would have loved it!

It's no stroll in the garden to get your quilt into the Road competition. You need to follow the rules and enter your quilt into the correct category. No kits allowed, no pre-printed panels, etc. etc. Originality is appreciated and workmanship must be excellent. 

I was knackered after two days of judging but had an aha! moment when this quilt was shown. Here's my judge's choice. I could look at this quilt for days.
        
     Away  by Karen K. Stone.

What's funny is that I know Karen and would never imagine she'd make an Asian-influenced masterpiece. When we judge, it's all blind. Only the name of the quilt is called out-no other info.
I am in love with this quilt--wish I'd made it!