Labels

Do you label your quilts? 

I have always documented and labeled my quilts with at least the name of the quilt, my name and the date. If it is a gift, I add who it is for and maybe the occasion. Sometimes I add my location.  

I also keep a running journal and of coarse photos of all the quilts I make and a short paragraph about each quilt, including size and finish date. 

Lately, I have fallen behind in labeling. 

Since I finished a baby quilt made for a gift, I knew I needed to get busy making some labels. 

I used Bubble Jet Set 2000 to set the ink from my printer on the labels.

It is easy to use. I take my muslin (my usual go to label fabric) and soak it in the solution. Ring out the excess and hang it to dry.

Once it is dry, I iron it and then cut it to 8 1/2" x 11". I also cut freezer paper to the same size and iron it on. 

At my computer, I search for free clip art that will go with each quilt. I make my labels with the important information on it and then print it out. Here are the ones I made yesterday.

Once they are printed, I iron them again to set and cut them out. I remove the freezer paper and iron under a 1/4" around the label.

The last thing to do is stitch them on! Here are the quilts I finally finished!

From left to right:

Yes, Baby Bear (Mod Bear Paw), Hunter's Star, Freedom of Expression, Pretty Patchwork, Diamonds in the Rough, and Fall Y'all!

A finish and the final Rainbow Scrap block

It is always exciting to have a finish! I really enjoyed quilting along with Lorna over at SewFeshQuilts on the MOD Bear Paw! Even though this quilt was time consuming with all the little pieces, the finish was so worth it!

I love how the Mama Bear is padding along through the grid of baby bear paws!

One of my favorite stories that I read my 3 girls when they were little was this book, Can't You Sleep Little Bear by Martin Waddell.

It goes perfectly with this quilt as I imagine this Mama Bear padding into Little Bear's room because Little Bear couldn't get to sleep. The illustrations in this book are beautifully done by Barbara Firth. 

Mama Bear is so patient with Little Bear and teaches Little Bear that he does not need to be afraid of the dark. 

The backing is a cute cross print in 2 different shades of pink.

I straight lined quilted around each baby paw and diagonally across the blocks. On Mama Bear, I FMQ stipples to give her texture. The binding is in a slightly darker shade of gray than the Kona silver I used in the sashing. 

This quilt finishes at 39" x 47". 

It is ready for the baby shower (baby due after Christmas) and of coarse, I needed to find a copy of this book to go along with the quilt! 

Thanks Lorna for this fun project! Linking up with Lorna's Let's Bee Social.

Another thing coming to an end is the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. October was the final month and the color is Yellowish Oranges. 

Here is my final finished block.

I will now be playing with the layout of all my blocks. 

Here are all my other blocks (not in any particular order) 

and whether or not I will add a scrappy border. What do you think?

I will be linking up to SoScrappy tomorrow.

Progress Report

Before heading off for a few days of relaxing Fall days in beautiful Door County, WI, my goal was to complete the 26 blocks needed for the Mod Bear Paw QAL hosted by Lorna over at Sew Fresh Quilts.

As I stated in my last post, the blocks were a bit time consuming partially due to all the trimming of the small HST and the arthritis in my hands. 

I persevered through the 22 Bear Paw blocks and finally  started on the big bear blocks. Although there were some tiny pieces and some even tinier HST, these block went together faster. 

I did need to remake a few of these blocks as I realized a bit too late that I'd sewn and cut the diagonal in the wrong direction. 

Here they are! All 26 blocks finished.

When I get back in a few days, I'll be working on adding the sashing to complete the top! WooHoo! 

I'm loving this pink baby quilt version! 

I'm linking up to Mod Bear Paw QAL at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Quick Update

After cutting all the pieces for the Modern Bear Paw QAL, I started the piecing process this week. The blocks are a bit time consuming. All those small bear claws (HST) which are made oversized for accuracy purposes results in a lot of trimming! They add up to 16 claws per block!

The trimming and pressing does not bode well with the arthritis in my hands.

I do love these Bear Paws! 

I have completed 10 blocks (or 160 claws) and I have some more partially pieced together. 

Linking up at Sew Fresh Quilts