Yeah, I Made That! - - Labeling Your Quilt

Do as I say and not as I do.

I don't label all of my projects. I should, but I don't. There's some insecurity that I carry around with me that says, "What if they don't like it and want to regift it?"  So sometimes I label and sometimes I don't.

This post is about the way I made a quilt label for "Fiddlesticks." Now that I've given the quilt to my friend Teresa, who happens to be my son's MIL, I can share the label-making process with you.

I have a pet peeve with people in general who insist that there is only one way to do something. There are as many ways to make quilt labels as you can think. Researching on the web is a great way to get some ideas. You can buy pre-printed labels, you can get fabric with label designs, there are iron-on transfers to color in, you can download and print labels from your computer, some people make their labels as pockets and include the washing instructions.  Experiment with all kinds of ways and do what brings you the most pleasure.

I like to make labels using rubber stamps. It's very simple and my favorite way, especially for quilts that have scrappy or country-type designs. For a more modern quilt I think an updated label would be smart.

First I pick out a neutral color fabric for the label and cut a rectangle of freezer paper the size I want the label.  I iron the freezer paper shiny side down on the WRONG side of the label fabric.

Cut out around the freezer paper leaving about 1/4" or 3/8" border of fabric.

Gather your supplies. I used a cute angel rubber stamp which I won from Shellie's giveaway, black ink, a micron pen and fabric markers (not shown). I placed the fabric on sandpaper. This is still showing the freezer paper side up instead of the fabric side that I'll be writing upon.

Stamp wherever you'd like on the fabric, making sure not to go beyond the boundaries of the freezer paper stabilizer. Using the micron pen write the basic information:

• Your name
• Name of quilt
• Month and year
• Name of recipient
• Why the quilt was made
• Washing instructions (optional)
• Any other information you think should be included

The extra fine sandpaper helps create a stable writing surface. I find that I need to go over the lines of the rubber stamp and the writing a couple of times.

Here's how the label looked after I completed it. Iron the front of the label to heat set the marker(s). Iron the border fabric to the back of the freezer paper, making some nice creases. Remove the freezer paper.

Time to sew your label to the back of the quilt.  Pin it in place first.  I used a blanket-stitch with a double strand of cotton thread. Make sure you go through the backing fabric without going all the way through to the front of the quilt. Some people like to create their labels prior to quilting so that they can also quilt through the label, ensuring it will be there throughout the life of the quilt. Again, my own insecurity prevents me from doing that.

My quilts will never be in any show. I won't win any awards or blue ribbons. I couldn't bear to hear what a judge might say about my simple creations. However, my quilts and other crafts do represent the love that I MUST express with my hands. For the recipients, I can only hope that's enough. 

Happy stitchin',
Momcat

TGIFiddlesticks

Fiddlesticks is ready for its quilt label and then can be given to its unknowing recipient. It was started over Easter weekend last year and it feels great to have it finished.

I quilted in the ditch along the gold sashing/border. I completed the 60-degree grid quilting using the masking tape method.

You can see the resulting diamond shapes from the close-up of the back of the quilt.

Reminder for those of you who own the same pattern: I deleted the extra wide outer border because I know this is going to be used as a sofa quilt and didn't need the extra size. As you can tell from the picture on the queen-size bed, this size is going to be perfect for a throw.

Ready to move to the next project,
Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - March 21, 2010

Happy Spring!

We've had beautiful weather here for the past several days. It's still too early to plant flowers in our area because of the threat of frost, but Maggie has certainly enjoyed her walks and her yard. We kitties have liked lying in the sunbeams.

Yesterday was National Quilting Day and Momcat sure took advantage of it. All seven of us (Momcat, five felines and one dawg) were in the sewing room together at one point.  The binding for Fiddlesticks is done and we spent time working on 3" squares for a scrappy baby quilt.

I'll snuggle in with Momcat so she can finish sewing the binding down and then we'll take a picture.

The figures below reflect .75 yards used for the Fiddlesticks binding plus 1.75 yards cut up for the scrappy baby quilt.


Used this Week:     2.5 yards
Used year to Date: 79.1 yards
Added this Week:    0 yards
Added Year to Date: 32.5 yards

Net Used for 2010:     46.6 yards

Judy is complaining that her numbers are stagnant. That girl has already busted 152 yards this year! Click on the link to see what I mean.


Create for fifteen minutes a day. It's good for the soul.

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - March 14, 2010

I can't stand it anymore!  I'm counting what I've used for "Fiddlesticks" even though I haven't completed it yet. I've spent so much time this week helping Momcat knit, fix the dishwasher and help the real estate agent do a walk-through that our sewing time was cut short again.

If you also have the Fiddlesticks pattern by Kansas Troubles Quilters, we're not doing the outer border. That means our yardage is reduced by the outer border and that we have a smaller backing.

I'll add the binding separately when I cut it. 

Used this Week:     12 yards
Used year to Date: 76.6 yards
Added this Week:    0 yards
Added Year to Date: 32.5 yards

Net Used for 2010:     44.1 yards

Next week Momcat is visiting her parents in North Carolina. There won't be any sewing, but Philip has promised lots of cuddle time.


Visit Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Purrs,
Piwacket

Fiddlesticks Quilting

As you know, Butch and Sundance were holding Momcat's place at the sewing machine for when she felt like going back to do some more quilting on Fiddlesticks.

I thought I'd take you through an easy quilting technique. Experienced quilters will already know this trick, but some of you beginners may appreciate this.  It's especially helpful to those of us who do not use a long-arm machine. All piecing and quilting here is done on a Janome 6260QC.

For this quilt I wanted very simple quilting and at an angle to add interest to all the squares and rectangles in the piecing.

I decided to quilt at a 60 degree angle from the top and bottom borders.  First I found the 60 degree line on my ruler and laid that line on top of the border where I wanted to begin my quilting.

The secret tool is 1-inch wide masking tape. Blue painters' tape works great, too. I placed the tape at either side of the ruler, which happens to be 6" wide.

I followed that line all the way up to the next border area.



Now I'll sew on either side of the masking tape. The inner lines will be 6" apart, just as the ruler is. Here's how it looks after it's sewn and the masking tape is removed. TIP: Try not to sew on the tape itself. From experience I can tell you that trying to tweeze the tape out of those stitches is a real pain.

When I'm done following this part of the plan I'll then center a piece of masking tape at 3", precisely between the 6" space left open. Therefore, my overall quilting plan will be two lines 1" apart every 2.5".

Too much math for you? Don't worry about that part then. Just know that masking tape and a ruler will give you a perfect quilting line to follow without dealing with pencils, chalk or the quilting bar on your sewing machine.

Looks like Butch is ready to hold down some more tape.

Happy creating!

Piwacket

Fiddlesticks!

Momcat finally settled into the recliner so that we could have a cuddle and a conversation about the retreat she went on last weekend. Although she didn't accomplish nearly as much as she thought she would (too much time spent giggling and playing Left-Right-Center, perhaps?) she feels great about what she did manage to get done.

Here's the Fiddlesticks top, sans outer border. Not bad considering how many pieces are involved. Proves how much it pays to have things cut ahead of time. Look closely and you'll find the "humble" block. Some people purposefully put in one block that serves to remind them that only God is perfect. Momcat never gets to put one in on purpose. Her imperfections just naturally show up uninvited! mew


You'll be seeing this again when it's completed. At Momcat's given rate of UFOs, that might not be for several years.

She also completed 188 small flying geese blocks for another project.

Here's an equation to remember:

Momcat + Sewing Machine + 3:30 a.m. = Frogging (see sidebar for definition)

There are about 50 of those flying geese blocks that had to be unsewn and redone because they turned into trapezoids rather than flying geese blocks. Thank goodness Momcat didn't cut the waste triangles as she went!

What a blessing friends are! The ride to retreat was delightful. Cathy is a down-to-earth, wise, generous soul. Cathy introduced Momcat to a store called Valley Quilts which is a sweet store with lots of neat things to see. Each store has its own personality. Below is a picture of Cathy's dog, Daisy, seeing us off. I would have preferred to see a picture of Smudge, a fellow feline, but she was wisely in hiding.


When they arrived at the retreat center Momcat had such fun meeting people that she'd only known through their online communication. They took her completely by surprise when she found out that they'd made a comfort quilt for me. (Yes, for me. I comfort Momcat, so her friends know just how important it is for me to feel engulfed in loving support). Naturally, interspersed among the beautiful blocks you'll find some cat fabrics.


Momcat was so overwhelmed that she hardly knew what to say. I, on the other hand, know that I am totally deserving of anything that someone chooses to do for me. In fact, I sometimes think, is that IT? Truthfully, beans need this kind of community and I'm so glad that Momcat has found her niche.

Jill made several of the blocks, along with Jen, Moneik and Cathy. (Please leave a comment if I've left someone out.) Jill and Jen did the quilting (the night before leaving for retreat, no less) and Moneik did the binding. Jen also made a pillowcase for me.

I have more to share from retreat, but right now I want to rest my weary head on my new pillow.

Purrs,
Piwacket

Just Kitting

The first day working at the quilt shop yesterday was terrific and Linda returns today, so I guess she didn't make too much of a mess of things (other than taking the entire shop off-line thanks to hitting the wrong button in spite of Jill saying ,"No, hit cancel!" Or taking a ruler away from Jill because she was too lost in her own little world. Or folding the fat quarters wrong and having to redo them. Just why is she allowed back today?)

The St. Jude's retreat is just 18 days away and there's still so much to do in preparation!

This morning we worked on preparing another PIG to take along. The pattern is Fiddlesticks by Kansas Troubles Quilters.

I'm using two Wild Rose jelly rolls by Brannock and Patek for Moda. This pattern would also work well for all those 2 1/2" strips from your stash.

I'm cutting it using one of my favorite tools, June Tailor's Shape Cutter. It has slots every 1/2" up to 12".


I've had mine for a couple of years and use it tons. In fact, you can see that I've taped one corner due to traveling and having SOMEONE (with human hands, so take a wild guess who it was) accidentally bend it when putting a heavy object like, say, a sewing machine on top of it. You can also see that it's been marked with numbers on both sides. That's so that we don't wear out the slotted openings on only one side.

It's a marvelous helper when you're cutting lots of 2", nickels or other similar size pieces. I layered 4-5 jelly roll strips on top of each other, then went down the line cutting my rectangles and squares. It was so much faster than lining up the ruler each time.

I still need to pick out the fabric for the sashing, inner and outer borders and binding. Shopping from my stash is a job for tomorrow.



Your feline friend,
Piwacket