Label Your Quilts--the Future Will Thank You

Putting a label on our quilts is something most of us know we "should" do but a lot of us don't take time to do it. Recently, the topic of labels has come up in classes and on Facebook groups so we should discuss it.

Last Fall I was interviewed by the Quilt Alliance as part of their "Go Tell It At The Quilt Show" project. Amy Milne, the speaker at the guild meeting, stressed several times the need to label and document our work. They have several projects to document and protect quilters' stories for the future:

Quilt Alliance

About a year and a half ago I wrote a detailed blog on how I make permanent labels of all the quilts I make. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I send you there so you can see the steps I take:

Quilt Labels--Don't Leave Home Without Them

Here is a blog TIP: I found this post very easily--in the upper left of the blog is a small box with the orange B blogger symbol to the left and the magnifying glass that means "Search" to the right. I typed in Labels and every post I've written and tagged "labels" comes up. This is the first one that appeared.

Another TIP: there is a Tutorials page with a direct link--the button is on the bar with various pages, like my teaching calendar out of town. The Labels blog is one I show as a Tutorial. Most of my step-by-step posts get added as a Tutorial.

So, if  you are looking for things  on my blog you have seen before or you think I may have written about the subject, use the Search box or the Tutorial button--you may just find what you are looking for. You can always Google the topic, I show up there too but this is much more direct.

Here are a few more label photos:

The fanciest label I ever made. When the quilt has a WOOL batt I make certain that care instructions are clearly marked on the label. My husband thought I was giving this quilt away when he saw the label--"No, but I'm not going to live forever" was my response:

This quilt is hanging on the living room wall so the photo is not so hot. If there were more room on the label I would add that it was Best of Show 2011 Fanfare HQH show, juried in to Paducah 2012, featured in the book 500 Traditional Quilts and included in the 2014 Special Exhibit of 500 Traditional Quilts at International Quilt Festival Houston. Maybe it just  needs a second label:

Give credit to the designer if the work is not original:

Give credit to the quilter if you did not quilt it:

Labels ready and waiting. Two are for quilts I plan to finish this year--hope I don't have to change the date. Three are for quilts made in the past that did not have labels--I discovered that omission when I was doing my "The Journey" series of blogs last year. It's time to get them sewn on those quilts:

And, my all-time favorite label. The photo won't hold up to years of washing, colored inks won't last, but the black ink printing should be fine for years to come:

Please label your quilts!

Let's quilt,

Barbara