Quilt Story

Every quilt has a story...I wish I knew this one!We bought our cottage 2 years ago, and with it came a mish-mash of hand-me-downs, a wealth of both useful and interesting items (like a gorgeous antique dining set and a pile of vintage sheets!)...and plenty of garbage. We are still uncovering new things regularly. Enter The Quilt. It was wrapped in a sheet, folded into a pull-out couch that we opened for the first time when sleeping over this winter (and wanting to sleep as close as possible to the wood stove!). It is not a fancy quilt, the seams are not neat, it has a huge patch and many more areas that are worn through, yet I find this is what I choose to wrap around my shoulders when enjoying my morning tea by the water.
I wonder who made it? The previous cottage owners, or did they, too, "inherit" it and adopt it as their own? How old is it? There is no labeling of any kind, so I suppose I will never know. Just something for my imagination to ponder while enjoying those morning mugs of tea...... Which brings me to the topic of quilt labelling. This is something I am determined to do for all my quilts. There are so many ways to label, and my favorites are the hand stitched and the iron on transfer. For hand stitch, I like embroidery thread on a contrasting fabric, but have to say that it is best to keep it short and sweet, as the more wording, the more chance for it to get crooked and look sloppy- not good for my Type A self. If you want to have a longer message on the label, such as a birthday greeting or birth details, best to go with the iron on transfer. The brand I use is from Dharma Trading Co., which Kathy introduced me to, and it works like a dream. You design your label on the computer- this is where the computer scrapbooking types can really shine (not me at all!)- and type in all the details you want on the label. Print it on the transfer paper with an ink jet printer, then trim it closely and iron transfer it onto a scrap of quilt fabric or broadcloth. Fold over the edges and press, then hand stitch to the back of the quilt. Ta da! You have made your mark!