I spoke with "Miss J" at the Utah State Fair Home Arts department today. She was very kind, listened to what I had to say. She let me know there really is a rule stating quilts should not be washed, but she doesn't know why. She also promised to email me the link and/or screen shot of the rules where it says that. I let her know I had been back over the rules several times and could find no mention of washing. In fact, the only thing I found was that it needed to be clean and that "Soiled items would be disqualified." She's going to continue to look into this and also said she'd try to get that particular rule changed. She is not a quilter and not a judge, but she understands they do get washed once they're complete. She's also going to make sure the rules that were posted and the rules the judges were using are the same.

I thanked her for her willingness to look into this for me and assured her I'm not one of those sore losers who thinks they were cheated. I didn't see the competition this year, but I know it's always pretty stiff. I just want to make sure I'm following the rules in future competitions.