Finally! Here's the coordinating Egret & Hibiscus quilt label ...
As anyone who knows me personally knows, I'm a fanatic about labeling quilts. Too many times I've ventured into antique shops (looking for quilts and feedsacks of course!) and seen a gorgeous creation ... without a single clue to the identity of the quiltmaker! I'm left with questions about this mystery woman - "Who was she? What was she thinking? What was her life like? Why did she make this and for whom?"
Quilt labels satisfy those questions and leave a viable, tangible clue to the "Three W's" (the Who's, the Why's and the When's). Quilts usually have long lives ... a quilt you make today will more than likely survive for generations and generations. Why leave your descendants with more questions than answers? Let them get to know you ... the woman (or man) who spent hours and hours patiently creating a special family treasure!
I am more than likely sensitive about labeling quilts because of my grandmother, Eva Elmore - a wonderful, amazing woman who passed away a few years ago and is THE reason I began quilting. She left her family with such an abundance of quilts - every family event, to her, was worth celebrating. And in a small corner, on the back of each quilt, she recorded in embroidery, the "Three W's." I've always loved tracing my finger along her carefully embroidered name. Trying to feel what SHE felt as she hand-worked each block, quilted each stitch, and bound each edge.
Her quilts would spark beautiful conversations with my dad ... she was such a strong woman with a kind, nurturing soul. While her husband fought in WWII (two tours, as I recall), she was the heart and soul of the family. She took care of four rambunctious kids (of which, my dad was the baby - and, I suspect, the most rambunctious of the four!), and kept the home-fires burning. When my dad was a child, she even managed to tame a wild raccoon! I could go on and on about the stories I learned about this wonderful woman - stories prompted by her quilts.
My late Father-in-Law, Harry Pierce, is another reason I believe in labeling quilts (No, he wasn't a quiltmaker). He spent decades searching our family history, spending hours digging through dusty records at the National Archives in Washington, DC, hunting for clues to where our family's been and what they've done. Leaving a record was so important to him and I know firsthand the grief it caused him when all he found were questions that couldn't be answered.
Two of the family's treasures that he was able to track down (a lap robe and a death veil - dating from the 1800s - belonging to his great-great-great-grandmother) were, thankfully, labeled. Because they were labeled, he was able to learn more about our history and about the woman who wore them. Knowledge that will continue to pass down through our family to the generations after.
So, considering my feelings on the subject of labeling quilts, I'll always provide a quilt label with my patterns - if there's any way that I can encourage other quilters to leave a record of who they are, I'll take it. If I could applique a label on to the backs of your quilts myself, I'd do it. Just to make sure that your beautiful creations answer more questions than they leave behind.
So, please, please remember to label your quilts. Even if it's a quilt that you decided to just try a new technique on. Even if it's a quilt that as you finished it, you weren't quite thrilled with it. Trust me, your great-great-grandkids will thank you for it. :)
Until next time ...
Happy quilting & quilty hugs!
Connie :)
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