The Honorable Judges of Spring Top Week

I am actually a little floored at all of the talent represented here on our Spring Top Week judges panel.  I'm thrilled they said yes and that they are so excited to peruse/score your tops!  Our ten Spring Top Week judges are, in no particular order:

Astrid of Denmark from Connecting the Dots, the winner of Spring Top Week 2009!
Ashley of Film in the Fridge, quilting extraordinaire who also designs great garments when she's not making gobs and gobs of quilts
Whitney of Darling Dexter, one of my all-time favorite design-bloggers, who also happens to be a fabulous wedding photographer and fashion designer
Juliette of Chickpea Sewing Studio, pattern designer for Bernina's Sewing Republic and another amazing quilt designer, has the enviable advantage of being French and therefore possessing inborn style sense. 
Kristena of Thimbly Things, who is currently working through Cal Patch's pattern-drafting book and does the most amazing refashions from thrift store nightmares, and who sadly missed last year's Spring Top Week submissions by just an hour (Would she have won?  We'll never know!)*
Jamie of Pretty Ditty, owner of Phat Fabrics online store and designer of Jamie Christina Patterns
Dana of MADE, my partner in crime from The Boy Month who owes me big time for making me work so hard in February, but more importantly can make absolutely anything, specializing in children's garment design and refashion.
Meg of Fashioned By Meg, a blog and pattern-shop on Etsy, and one of last year's Spring Top Week finalists
Deborah of Whipstitch, owner of Whipstitch Fabrics in Atlanta and online, pattern designer and author Kelli of Presser Foot, one of the most hip sewalong blogs, who also happens to be one of last year's Spring Top Week finalists.

So, what will they be looking for?  The goal here is for you to create wearable (read: not haute couture) tops for your own wardrobes.  To create something you'll find yourself grabbing over and over when you're getting dressed.  With that in mind, when it comes to scoring judges will be operating on a would-I-wear-that basis as well as looking at things like good construction and fit and keeping an eye out for unique ideas or designs or creative use of use of color, pattern or embellishment.

Many people have asked me if the tops need to be self-designed, and the answer is no.  Using a commercial pattern is fine as long as you give credit where credit is due.  With that said, those tops using commercial patterns will have to be judged on different merits than those that are self-designed.  Since you didn't create the design, now it's up to you to marry the perfect combination of pattern and fabric or add other details to make the top unique. 

And one more thing I'd like to add:  I'm really thrilled that most of you are doing this more as a personal challenge than a competition.  It makes me so happy to hear from all of you who are taking this challenge as a chance to sew for yourselves for a change or even the very first time!  Sometimes simple can be good too, no?  So no pressure, and have fun with it!

Would you join me in giving our judges a big THANK YOU?  They are lending us their time and style-sense, and it's going to be great.  When they're done scoring the entries we'll take their top 50 and showcase those on the blog during Spring Top Week for reader voting (and I feel it can't hurt to remind you again: voting will happen for 24 hours only for each group).

*those of you who've had me for a teacher know I'm a stickler (to a fault) for deadlines.  Come on, I know you guys are stalking my blog. Might as well back me up here.