Thursday, November 8, 2012

Yards

Back in March, I announced that I would finish up three quilts that have been waiting to be quilted and bound since the Herbert Hoover administration.

There have been a few things that have redirected that goal, like a red and white 9-patch that I found in my mother-in-law's closet (its binding was nearly done, so I finished it). And then there was a green Double Irish Chain that needed to be bound (that was trickier).

And of course, there is the Double Wedding Ring made by my grandmother-in-law, which has become a house guest in the family room. (I'm quilting it in a hoop the size of a wagon wheel. "Florence" snoozes on an over sized chair when not being quilted, a process that takes forever when done by hand.)

Doing any of this quilting stuff is a misery in the summer. But, it's been pretty darned cold this fall, so I've spent quite a bit of time sitting under one or an other quilt, sewing and listening to episodes of Jon Stewart and Masterpiece Theatre.



The Double Irish Chain, I am sure, would have been bound in green. All I had (thank you, quilting gods) was enough muslin backing to make a binding. When I finished sewing it on, 8 inches were left over. Not a huge margin of error. 


I had heard you could buy printable fabric in order to make labels. (I used to use my old typewriter to type directly onto muslin.) The local quilt store sells these (not cheap) ink jet printer sheets.  You compose your thoughts in your word processor, insert a fabric sheet directly into the printer and voilà -- a label that has been spell-checked.

I appliqued this label to the reverse of the quilt. Not sure how Betty would feel about that, but so many of our nation's textile treasures bear no signature of the woman who brought them to life. I want to make sure that 200 years down the road, people will see and know our Betty for the exceptional quilter that she was.

When we went to Savannah last month to ready her home to sell, there were a couple of unfinished quilts that I found upstairs. They're keeping Florence company in the family room until I figure out what to do next.


Naperville Now participates each week in Mrs. Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. Bounce over and read what others are writing about here.

18 comments:

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

I think she would love that label! What a great idea. I have some quilts my mother in law made and I think I'm going to do something similar....

Lara said...

I absolutely love this! I have the two matching quilts from Grandma's humongous stash for Natalie and Baby Girl #2 and I would love to put a label on them so they (and their future children) will always know who made these very special quilts :)

SarahBeth said...

I think it's wonderful that you made a label - it's so important to know who made what!

Lola said...

You've given me great ideas for some quilts here too!

Lovely post.

Happy A-Thursday!

Leovi said...

Yes, beautiful quilt. Two hundred years of future guaranteed, sure to be remembered more.

carol l mckenna said...

Beautiful work ~ love quilts ~ Great post for Alphabe ~ (A Creative Harbor) ^_^

ps. wonder if you have read any quilting novels such Chiaverini I believe is the author ~

VBR said...

I think the label on the quilt is going to be much appreciated in the future. To me, quilts are works of art and to see the face and know the name of the person who created this beautiful quilt is invaluable.
Wonderful post

Esther Joy said...

Your post made me smile - By the title I was expecting possibly gardening pictures or photos of fall trees/landscaping, and I was surprised by YARDS of quilts instead!

Kathy and Freddy said...

I love that you have thought about this. I own a framed cross stitch Sampler which has the name of the girl who made it as "Johanna" I have an idea about who made it, but am not totally sure. The fact that someone long ago framed it means that someone cared enough, and I'm sorry that we don't know now who really made it. Good job!

Sharon said...

Great idea!

ImagesByCW | OceanDreamIllustration said...

I think the label is a great idea. Well done!

This is my Alphabe- Thursday - for letter 'Y' @ ImagesByCW is about yellow

EG CameraGirl said...

How fortunate that the quilts and you have connected!!

Splendid Little Stars said...

Wow! That's beautiful!
The label is fantastic! I agree with labeling quilts in order to know who made them.

Johanna said...

Could you make me some labels to sew onto the quilts that Mom made for me? I can sew just fine but the labels may task my tech skills. Another wonderful post!

Do you suppose that Kathy has one of samplers?

Johanna said...

Whoops. One of my samplers----

Naperville Now said...

@johanna - happy to sew whatever you need. Send copy.

Susan Anderson said...

I love quilts, and ones handed down through the family are best of all!

=)

Jenny said...

I think she would love this label!

What a wonderful idea...and a gorgeous, gorgeous quilt!

Love the color palette in this one!

Thanks for sharing your treasure!

A+

PS. Happy Thanksgiving!