YOU are the best!!!

I want to thank all of YOU for reading my blog. I've learned so much and located many things from my readers and I truly appreciate that!

Here's what's happened lately. I got a taker for the teal fabric. The fabric and her address are sitting on the ironing board. I hope to make it to the PO today.  I've got a ton of stuff to do today so I might not make it. Thanks to Terri for offloading that from my stash.

From Laura, I got an e-mail about two specific properties in New Orleans. One that was owned by a friend's brother and was sold to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. After looking at the map, it's two blocks from the LaLaurie mansion (that awful house of torture!). I must have walked right past it as I was in that area.

Here's a link to the map of the French Quarter in case you're as obsessed as I am about the place. And I said I would never go back! Now I want to go back!  Shoot, as I look at the map, I realize that one of the cemeteries was within walking distance of the hotel!!!  DARN DARN DARN!!!!!

Laura also mentioned that their friend's brother lives in the baby wedding cake house in the Garden District. I can't find pictures of the baby wedding cake house, but here's a link to the REAL wedding cake house. It's pretty impressive. Let's just say that real estate in New Orleans isn't cheap and these houses are HUGE. The baby wedding cake house was built for the daughter of the owner of the big wedding cake house. If you Google the address (6300 St. Charles Ave.) you'll see a picture of the house. It's not a good picture, but the best I can find.

And if that isn't enough, Kate just revealed that Emilie Richards (the author of Wedding Ring) has written three books that are based in New Orleans.  Just checked, the library doesn't have any of them. That's on the must find list.

Just in case you're wondering, I do have the Ann Rice books (that were set in New Orleans and she was from there) on hold. OK - so just the first one is on hold.

I'm sure there'll be more about New Orleans that pops up from time to time as it's a fascinating city with a very interesting past.

I think I have to admit that I've got a head cold and the darn thing is sapping me of my energy. I'm quite content to sit in a chair and read rather than be working. But I managed to get some quilting done yesterday on the long arm and I almost finished another project.

Now here's a dilemma and I think we just have to make our own rules about it. Here's the almost finished project. I stitched the binding to the front of the table runner.

The binding is on this table runner

I had to make a label for a project that was leaving the house forever and while I was in the process, I decided to make labels for some of the table runners that I've worked on this year.

Now here's the thing. What projects need a label and what projects do not? And how much information should be on a label?  I've been using these little tags for my work and they are great. They have a bicycle logo on the "front" of the label with my name, blog address and phone number on the underside. 

The little label that I use to identify my work

That information makes the item look more like a "store-bought" item than a traditional quilt label on the back.

But - what about the pattern or the designer's name? What about who made it and where and most certainly the year it was made? Now all this information may not be important, but yet it is.

Here are two instances where I'd like to have all of the information about a project. When I'm doing a trunk show, the labels are very important because I don't remember all the details and certainly NOT the year the quilt was made. Actually, when I bring out a quilt that I haven't seen in a while, I love looking at the label, especially the year the quilt was made. NO WAY - that wasn't done in 2013???? 

The other instance is that you're given something or you win something (like the mini quilts at guild shows), I love to know the name of the maker and the year the item was made.

I can appreciate putting a label on a big quilt or an item that has a really neat story behind it or a quilt that was made for a specific person or for a specific reason. Then all that information should be put on it.

But here's the thing - a lot of what I work on these days will never be included in a trunk show, will never be used as a sample (I have TONS of stuff for show n tell) and will likely be sold off at some point or given away. Many items were made ONLY because they were needed for a sample for the class.

So do those things require labels???  I don't know and I've been marking stuff off my list as DONE when some of them did not have a label stitched on. So while I had to make a label for that project that was recently sold, I made some labels for the table runners that I've made over the past few months. I simply put the name of the project, the designer's name, my name, where it was made and the year. That's all that really needs to be on these projects and I'm going to hand stitch them on as I get the projects completed. All the labels have 2018 on them, so I'd better finish this year!!!!

Fabric labels printed on the inkjet printer

Actually, as I got to looking at some of the projects, there are several that I did as blog posts on QUILTsocial and those would be good with the larger label that I created yesterday to reference the technique. Since I'll use those for samples, it's good to have all that information on the label. I'll be making a few big labels and stitching those on. I've already counted those projects as done, so I have to work behind the scenes to get that label on before anyone knows about it!!!!

What I would love to do is go through all my quilts and see if an additional label is needed (as in I acquired the quilt from somewhere) to keep up the provenance of the quilt or perhaps it never got a label. I think that's important and I should schedule a week in the future to make that happen.

I think I'm going to wing it for the labels. Some will get a label and some will not - depending on what the purpose of the item.

Don't forget about the CreativFestival this week (October 11 - 13). Remember this is NOT a quilt festival. It never has been, it never will be. But if you're in the market for a sewing machine (and I know for a fact that Husqvarna Viking and PFAFF has some amazing new machines), or you want to check out a new hobby or just an overall view of what's happening in the market, this is the place to go. There's FREE parking, you get a chance to win a $10,000 sewing room (wouldn't that be amazing!) and you can come and meet me in the Husqvarna Viking booth - I'll be there all three days. Don't forget that there are classes - this is a great place to learn about new techniques and tools. Check it out!!!!!  There's also the Project Creativ Catwalk where the local design schools make an outfit. I love that event!!!  Even if you just came for all the FREE stuff - the lectures and demos and make and take it projects - it would be worth the price of admission. Make sure to check out the BROCHURE to get all the scoop on the FREE stuff and the classes that you have to pay for. And come by and say HI!!! 

On that note, I'd better get myself in gear. I had an amazing sleep last night and I don't feel so bad this morning. But I'm hours behind as I slept in and I really slept in. The girls are NOT happy.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!