TGIFF Label That Quilt

It's that time again TGIFF fans! That's right.  Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday! This time around I'm focusing on several quilts of mine that need to have their labels added, because, as I often say, a quilt without a label is a travesty and we can't have that!

As you can see here, I do my best to get a label on my quilts that has something to do with the nature of the quilt. I include the title of the quilt, the details of who made it and quilted it, where I was when I made it, and the time frame in which I completed the quilt. Then I sign it and voila!

Here's one in my pile that hadn't been labeled when I made it last year. Gear up is a pattern from my Heavy Metal line that came out from Island Batik last year, but I had to ship it out too quickly to get a proper label on it.

When thinking about how I would set up the label I wanted to use some of the gear and cog like elements as well as some of the background fabric from the line.

Eventually, I traced a gear onto fusible and made my base label to go with it on the background fabric from the quilt. I wrote the label information onto the label with a dark shade of Zig Writer Marker, which has a long lasting archival ink.

I also discovered some small metal pieces in my collection left over from the last time my husband took apart a small motor. All together, this makes a beautiful finish to Gear Up!

Blast! was also in my stack of unlabelled travesties. This is a new quilt from my Fusion line that hits shops in late spring of 2025. The pattern is so fun and easy that you can make a quilt in a weekend!

This was another example of a project I didn't have time to finish a label for before I took it to Houston Quilt Market this fall. In this case, the pattern makes use of a stitch and flip technique that creates some waste I used to make throw pillows and I had a couple of left over pieces for the label.

I used my four left over pieces from making the blocks to make a 4 patch unit with the lighter elements in the center.

I stabilized the label with piece of freezer paper on the back side to make it easier to write on. I always draw straight lines on my freezer paper before I iron it on, so I can use a light box to write in nice straight lines rather than my natural tendency to let my writing run downhill.

Notice how I always sign my labels. Adding your own signature is a great way to add value to your quilts.

Progress is a quilt from my Summer Scrap Elmination program from 2023. To finish this quilt I added a border and quilted it for the Tucson Quilt show in February. Unfortunately it also was on the shelf of travesties. In this case, I had made the label, but that label was serving as one of the examples in my Creative Label Making class, so it never made it onto the quilt until now!

When I stitch a label onto the backside I like to stitch it on by hand, the same way I would do a binding or an applique, but as you might imagine that often means using a lot of straight pins and can end up feeling a little stabby.

This last year, I discovered Sew Tites and I have to say, this alternative to pins is AMAZING! These powerful magnets are perfect for attaching labels. I plan never to use a pin for this process again!

If you haven't tried Sew Tites, now is the time. They make the perfect stocking stuffer for your quilting friends too! To use my affiliate code and get 15% off your order, just type in SwanSheridan as all one word in as the coupon code when you check out.

I'm so glad to have another quilt in the finally finished pile!

Join me in making sure all of your quilts get labels and show us all what you're finishing this Friday! Please include a link or button to tgiffriday.blogspot.com in your post so your visitors can see everyone's finishes too and be sure to check out the links of other participants this week! Click on the image below to join the party!