Quilt Labels: Do As I Say (And Not As I Do…)

Tags

A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins, Crossed Purposes, Finishing quilts, Lemon Daze, quilt labels, Quilt Show, quilting, Spirographology

I have to confess that while I am a “quilt namer,” I am not a “quilt labeler.”  The only time I put labels on my quilts is when they are going out of my home (most likely to a quilt show.)

I don’t know why I don’t label my quilts. It may just be that I don’t feel I need to “for posterity.”  I have no kids and my quilts are utilitarian, so they will probably end up with someone who just enjoys the patterns and/or colors and really doesn’t know who I am (or care.)

Maybe it’s a rebellious streak, though. After years of people telling me “but you HAVE to label your quilts,” I just don’t.  So there.

It’s silly, I know, but up until a couple of years ago, I just felt that labels were something I just added on at the end.  It really didn’t strike me as an opportunity to add to the design.

And then I had to take a bunch of my quilts to my Guild for a “Member Spotlight,” and I knew that I was going to get grief for not having labeled my quilts.

So, I decided to improvise and make some “fancy” quilt labels.

Googling “free quilt labels” got me the same old, same old. Some were nice, but none were inspirational.

So, I combed free clip art sites and noticed that the designs that attracted me were bookplates.

The big problem with using images off of the web is you have to make sure that you are using royalty-free, and not someone’s artwork.

If you do find a piece of art you’d like to adapt to a quilt label, just email the artist and explain what you want to do.  They might say “no” but they “yes,” or that you have to put a copyright info next to the artwork on the label itself.

I like vintage art, so most of the designs I choose are in the public domain, but a scan of the actual image may not be, so that requires a little more research if I fall in love with an image.

After I find the image (and get the necessary permission, if I have to), I create the label. I use Photoshop Elements, but any application that allows you to layer text over images (or move it around along side the image, or whatever) will do.

Then, I print my labels on muslin using something like Bubble Jet Set, stitch them on to the quilt, and, voila! It’s not as painful as stitching down a binding by hand, so I don’t really have an excuse when I’ve made it that far.

Showing Off

Tags

A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins, Christmas Dear Jane, Dear Jane, DSM, Long arm, long arm quilting, machine quilting, Making out with BoB, Miko, Quilt Show, stories, Teal There Was You

No, I won’t have the Christmas “Dear Jane” completed before my Guild’s Show.

‘Tis Spring (finally!) and Quilt Show Season seems to be gearing up.  My Guild has it’s show in May (almost always Mother’s Day weekend.)

I have a love/hate relationship with quilt shows.  I love seeing what other people have done, what colors and fabrics they’ve chosen to work with, what patterns or designs have inspired them to pick up needle and thread (or sit down at their sewing machine.)

Teal There Was You will have been long gone to its destination by our quilt show. *sigh*

I dislike displaying my own quilts. I don’t know why. It seems to me that there are other who love what I love about quilt shows and I’m not holding up my side of the bargain.

The reason I enter my Guild’s show, though, is because of something I was told my first year in the Guild: The biennial show (i.e. every other year) is basically, a hanging “show and tell.”

I like show and tell. It’s one of my favorite parts of our Guild meetings. I like the giving and receiving of feedback by applause or “oohs” and “ahhhs” (which is something you don’t get at the show.)

‘Cause everyone knows the true use for quilts is to wrap your loved ones (or cats) in warmth…

I also like knowing the stories behind the quilts, but many people filling out the show form don’t choose to put their stories, inspirations or even reasons for making the quilts in the “artist statement,” even though they usually do at show and tell.

Maybe it’s because they think it’s too personal, or that no one would want to read “that stuff,” but, to me, “that stuff” is almost as interesting as the quilt itself.

Anyway, I’m entering two quilts this year: A Tribute to Maryellen Hopkins (without being wrapped around Miko) and Flying in Formation (if it’s done. Right now it’s on the long arm.) And I’m agonizing over what to write about them.

What kinds of things do you want to read about the quilts you are viewing in a quilt show?

A Few Hints For Setting Triangles

Tags

A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins, Borderpalooza, piecing, quilting, UFO. WIP, V is for Victory

Still snow out on the porch, so this is as much fit as I could photograph.

Wow.  How did that happen? I was going to post again “in a few days” and almost 2 weeks flew by?

I’m still coughing, but more in a general “let’s get this illness over with” kind of way. I feel fine, though, and I doubt I’m contagious.

And, yes, I did finish the Tribute to MaryEllen Hopkins quilt top. I only was able to take a picture of half of it, though.

I have been using some of my string piecing scraps to make blocks for V is for Victory.

That, of course, means that I have finished my current piecing project and I need to start another one. In this case, I had to decide between one of three. The first one is V is for Victory.

I just couldn’t help myself. I’ve been trying to give my friends hints on how to make this quilt for a while now meaning to pull them all together in one file and publish it on the Chelmsford Quilters’ Guild web site, but things keep getting in my way.

Anyway, I won’t be making the entire big quilt.  Mine will only be 80 blocks… a lap size (unless I run amok with the borders…)

But, in case you have been wondering, here is one last piece to the puzzle of how to make that quilt.

There are plenty of places to learn how to put together a quilt with the blocks on point (I rather like this one by McCall’s) so I’m not going to go over the details in this post.

The corner triangles for V is for Victory are made from two 4″ triangles cut on the diagonal (this will keep the on-grain edges on the corners.) Yes, no matter how big you plan on making this quilt, you only need 4 of these.

(Truthfully, I usually cut mine a tiny bit bigger.  I cut my corners at 5″ and line up the center of them with the center of the block when I sew.)

Cut a 45 degree triangle off the edge of the strip to start.

For the edges, you can cut a 7″ square and cut both diagonals, leaving one side on the grain and two (smaller) sides on the bias.

I. however,  cut strips of 3.5″ and cut my QSTs that way.

First, cut off one corner at 45 degrees (this one won’t be used in this project so put it somewhere you won’t confuse yourself with it.)

The 45 degree angle on your ruler aligns with the top of your strip, and the “horizontal”lines of your ruler align with the cut edge.

Then cut your first QST out of the strip by using the 45 degree line on your ruler placed on one edge of the strip.

Slide the 45 degree line until the edge you use to cut with is exactly a 90 degree angle with the previously cut edge.

For this example, the point under the ruler will be at the 5″ line. (This will not always be the case!)

Keep alternating 45 degree angles (I usually just flip the fabric), until the strip has been cut (or you have enough.)

This 4.5″ block will match the corner triangle if I trim one of the bias sides to 4.5″ as well.

Another trick I use when I start sewing on the setting triangles, is to clip off one of the corners so the sides you are sewing together match exactly.

You really only need to trim one corner because when you sew the rows together you are matching something else entirely.

When you sew the corners on, you can also trim them, but I only do that on two of them. (The ones you are sewing into rows.)

To do that, fold the corner triangle in half, and trim TWO corners off at the same time by using half the size of the UNFINISHED block. This will make it easy to align the corner triangle to the block.

The corners you sew on last will be easier to align without trimming at all. Just fold them in half and align the center of the triangle with the center of the square.

If you have any questions, just put them in the comments or send me email. I know I sped through the process, but that’s because it’s covered in depth and very well elsewhere.

Quilting Assistance

Tags

A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins, charity, Jinny Beyer, Meezer Teaser Balls, quilting, Rumi

The second shipment is away! Check the Siamese Store or the SCRC Facebook Page for when they go on sale.

I know I’ve talked about my Meezer Teaser project quite a bit on this blog, but I’d like to give a nod of thanks for all the support, fabric and batting scraps, and other help from my friends (both in CQG and otherwise) and my family.

I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks, so I’m way behind on this blog, but I have been collecting snapshots of my special Meezer assistant on this project and thought I’d share them with you.

Yes, each Meezer Teaser Ball has been rigorously supervised for quality control by one of my crack Snooze-r-visors.

Much care goes into selecting. cutting and readying our fabric donations for use in our projects…

In fact, everyone here is very “paws on” for all aspects of the projects, including telling the labor force just when it is time to quit for the night.

And of course, the testing phase is intensive and requires much time and focus.

I hope to be back blogging on quilting in a few days.  I can even see the light at the end of the tunnel on the Tribute to MaryEllen Hopkins quilt, so more design is in sight!

Thanks all for sticking with me.

 

Ten More Days…

Tags

A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins, Borderpalooza, DaGM20, DnA3, Kansas Dugout, labels, Meezer Teaser Balls, Rumi, UFO. WIP

Only 2 labels are left to be sewn on: Topsy Turvy Nine Patches (which also needs to be laundered) and DnA3 (which needs the binding and some other finishing work.)

I just noticed a couple of days ago that I had only a dozen more days to prep for my member showcase at my Guild.

As luck (and total obsession) would have it, I am well on the way to completing what I need to finish before then. At least the snow has been good for keeping me inside and chipping away at the list.

As long as there is some day in the next ten that I can get to the laundromat, I should be okay.

The binding is sewn on DnA3 and I am doing the hand-stitching.  I know I should be burying the threads before doing the binding, but at least progress is being made.

This Meezer Teaser ball has bells inside it.

I only need 9 more Meezer Teaser balls for the next shipment to The Siamese Cat Rescue Center’s store. These are turning out really nicely, and I have figured out a way to get bells and rattles inside some of them.

My Mom has decided to contribute some pre-cuts to the cause.  Not sure what she’s sending, but I love fabric, and even random old calicoes look great in 3D!

I would like to think that I’m more than half-way done with the border to A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins.

I would like to, but I really don’t know if I am… still plodding along there. Will I ever be done?  Stay tuned!

Rumi is helping with quilt organization…

This weekend, my plan is to line my quilts up in order for the speech and make index cards with what I want to talk about for each one.  No doubt when I get up in front of people I will totally forget that I have these cards (or how to read) and I will just wing it (or babble), but I want to give myself a fighting chance.

Since they’re calling for another foot of snow, there’s not much else for me to do anyway… except for playing Fetch with the cats.

 

V is for Victory

Tags

A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins, binding, longarm quilting, Meezer Teaser Balls, paper piecing, piecing, quilting, Spirographology, UFO. WIP, V is for Victory

I’m calling this quilt V is for Victory, but, in truth, I don’t know who made it or where it’s from.

Those of you who are connected to me on Facebook, or who have been looking at the Chelmsford Quilters’ Guild page there, know that a friend of mine posted the photo of a quilt she really liked and wanted to know how to make it.

It’s actually a very easy block, complicated only by an “on point” setting, and, if you like it scrappy, you can use 5″ charm squares or 2.5″ strips, or even the 10″ layer cake squares that Cricket and I run the raffle for at the Guild meetings.

For those of you who have been quilting a while, I suspect you see right away that this block is the start of a Log Cabin block using 2″ finished blocks/strips.

You only need three pieces for this block: two of the same fabric and one background.

For those of you who didn’t see that right away, I’ll lay it out for you:

Each block contains 3 pieces: 2 2.5″ squares and one 2.5 “x 4.5″ rectangle. There are 270 blocks in the quilt as shown. (There is also no reason to be intimidated by the task of making so many blocks. Just make as many as you want, and your quilt will be either smaller or larger.)

First you will need to choose a background fabric.  In the first photo, the background fabric is a solid black.  For my test shots, I used white on white leftovers. You only need one 2.5” square of your background fabric per block.

In fact, I used only scraps. I have quite a few scraps which I really should give away, but I can’t seem to part with since, well, it’s fabric.

For the scrap fabric you will need one 2.5″ square and one 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangle (in a future post I’ll talk about how to cut this block from pre-cuts and how many you will get and what you will have left over.)

From there you only need to sew 2 seams:

1. Put the two 2.5″ squares together and sew a quarter-inch seam on one side.
   I usually press after this step, but it doesn’t particularly matter which side you press your seams to, or even if you press them open.  All have their merits.
2. Sew the unit you put together in the last step to the remaining rectangle.
   If you have sewn your seam “correctly” at 1/4″, the two pieces should line up exactly.  If you haven’t, don’t bother trimming until after you sew the long seam, just center the short seam to the long side of the rectangle and sew.
   Again, I press after this step.

I don’t usually trim until I have several blocks finished. That way, if I’m off in my seam allowance, I can trim all the blocks to the same size.

And that’s one block! You only have 269 more to go!

This is a great quilt to chain piece.  I would probably line up at least 10 blocks to sew step one, and then another 10 blocks to sew step 2. That way I would only need to cut out/set up 10 blocks out each day, and I’d finish 10 blocks each day.

So, there you have it, Pat.  That’s how to make the block.  I’ll talk about cutting and setting in another post.

In other news: I’ve finished Meezer Teaser Ball #25, and now that I have approval of the wording on the tags, all I have to do is print them out, put them on and ship the whole kit and caboodle to the SCRC.

I’ll let you know how much they’ll end up charging and when they go on sale when I know myself.

I have decided not to stress myself and finish 2 more quilts before my babble in February. I am now hoping just to finish Spirographology. That should take some of the stress off since I will have three bindings (two I’ve been putting off to play with Meezer Teaser Balls), and the label project.

I also started the border for A Tribute to Mary Ellen Hopkins. I kind of like it even though I’m not really a fan of paper piecing.