Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Labels & Records

Labels...every quilt needs one. Long ago I figured out how to print them off on my dot matrix printer (the ink is permanent when heat set) and have a template set up on my computer so it takes little time to produce one. I generally hand stitch them on, although I've been known to fuse them on occasion, and am usually disappointed with the wobbly edges I end up with. You know, the edges have to be pressed under, and eyeballing that quarter inch turn-under doesn't produce the squarest, straightest lines.

Today as I readied the label for "Silver Birches" I had one of those "duh" moments. Why not mark the turnunder line with a ruler right on the label? Worked like a charm. I also used Beacon Fabri-Tac glue to hold the seam allowance in place, especially on the corners, then used it again to tack the label to the back of the quilt rather than pinning. If applied evenly out to the edges, Fabri-tac would create a permanent bond, but I just wanted it to kind of baste things in place, so ran a quick slip stitch all around. Wow! I don't think I've ever had a label come out so perfect!

I also worked on my tech journal today. It is 8 x 10 - a lined journal with padded cover and ribbon page marker complete with beads dangling on the end. I found it on sale at Office Depot, so cheap that I couldn't pass it up, particularly with this lovely vase with flowers on the cover. Only later did I decide it would be a good place to record my surface design experiments.


Here's what I worked on today. Since I was dredging up details from my blog, I just printed out the text and pasted it in. You can see how the pictures compliment the text. I don't print them on photo paper, but use a less expensive heavy weight imaging and photo matte finish paper like brochures might be printed on. It give a good enough print for this application.

Here's a page that shows an actual sample on the left as well as hand written notes and a picture on the right. If the sample will fit, I glue or staple it in.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great format for a journal. I've never been good a keeping a work or expirement journal but you've given me some good ideas to get started with. Thanks !

The Idaho Beauty said...

Glad this helped. True, keeping records can be a pain at times, but I really do refer back to my notes. It's amazing how quickly I forget details and procedures when I'm not doing them every day. Plus the part of my that loves organization really likes having everything in one place!