High School Graduation

Preschool to High School

Prom dress

Congratulations to my beautiful niece on her high school graduation!

Starting her dorm room quilt now!  Can't wait.  

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Quilt Label Tutorial

Quilt Labels by Stephanie Hughes 

I always sign my quilts with a hand embroidered label that is personalized for the recipient.

LABEL TURORITAL

1.  Decide what you want to say on your label.  I use my word documents to create a template.  I type out what I want to say in the document and then play around with size of the letters and the Font that I want to use on the label.  Center your design.  I saved space for a big heart.  For this label I used Adobe Casion Pro Font, size 46 for the larger letters and for my name is used size 23.   I printed it on an 8.5 x 11 inch paper.  My final label size was 7 x 8 inches completed.  

Use a word document for centering your design

2.  Pick your fabric for the front of the label.  I used Kona Premium cotton fabric in bleached white.  Cut out a piece of fabric bigger than your label.  It needs to be big enough to use an embroidery hoop.  

3.  Trace the words and font design on to the fabric.  I used a pink lead quilting pencil.  Some people like to use the blue markers that dissolve after getting them wet but I like to use a find point because it gives me the opportunity to draw the fine details of the Font little curves and to color in the areas I want to fill in.  

Trace the design onto the fabric.  I use a pink chalk pencil

4.  Now you need to prepare the label for embroidering.  I use batting to back the thin fabric so my knots and linking stitches don't show through the front of the fabric.  I use "warm and natural" batting for all my quilts.  Lay your fabric for the label on the batting and cut the same size.  

5.  Baste the two layers together with red thread.  Using a bright colored thread makes it easier to remove later when your embroidery is completed.  I baste from the center and work my way out to the edges to minimize wrinkles.  

6.  Now that it is basted, put on your embroidery hoop and begin embroidering.  If you don't know stitches, look them up on Pinterest.  There are many beginner stitches.  Pick your DMC Floss colors.  I use 3 strands for letters and 6 strands for items I want to appear thicker (like hearts and borders).  

A pink chalk pencil is used to draw my design on the fabric

7.  Once the label is completed you need to finish it to attach it to your quilt.  I always finish my quilt first and then add the label last.  First, remove the red thread you added to baste the fabric to the batting.  I make a pillow out of the label and then quilt it separately and then baste it to the back only.  How I do this is by cutting a piece of the Kona fabric that I used for the label to create a back of the label.  I put the ride sides together and sew it together leaving a small area in one side to turn it inside out.  This creates 4 finished sides.  Sometimes I use binding around all 4 sides like a separate little quilt.  In this case I made a pillow and then secured the part that isn't sewed once turning it inside out.  

8.  I attached the label to the bottom left hand side of the back of the quilt.  I gently quilted the label through only the back of he quilt by stitching around the edges of the quilt.  This secured the label to the back but didn't allow any of the stitching to be seen on the front of the quilt.  

Label placement is usually on the back left

Feed sack Quilt by Stephanie Hughes

hand quilted

This quilt was made with feed sacks that I have been collecting for years.  I found most of them on Etsy and Ebay but once in a while I would find one at an antique shop.  Here is a link to my original post with the dimensions and layout of this quilt.  I hope you enjoyed my tutorial.  Check out my other tutorials here.   Let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks, 

Liberty Of London Log Cabin Quilt

I received a wonderful gift a few years ago, some Liberty of London fabric.  It was a special edition from V&A museum in London.  My friend Eileen went on vacation there and brought a pack of 6 fat quarters home for me as a thank you for helping her learn how to quilt.  I was looking for a new project this week and found the stash and got to work.  Here is Boris enjoying the soft fabric for his nap. 

I was limited to these 6 fat quarters because the fabric is no longer available.  I decided to do a simple log cabin and to use all the fabric did both dark to light and light to dark.  I am still not done but I got 9 squares made in a matter of 6 hours.  Not too bad.  I am loving the results. 

I think I have enough fabric for 3 more squares but not sure if I like having the colors uneven at the top and bottom.  What do you think? 

Feedsack Quilt

sneak peak to the front

Here is the start of my new feedsack quilt that I am making for my cousin to celebrate her one year wedding anniversary and as a house warming present.  She and her husband were married last December in Washington DC, near Dupont Circle and their home is located in suberb outside of Washington DC.  It's beautiful.  Below is a picture of their new home and of the room I am trying to make something for....

My plan was to make something with BLUE.  Since I collect antique feedsacks, I thought it might be nice to make something for her since she loves antiques.  I put a blue back on it.

the backing

So the front is made up of 154 (3.5 inch) squares to make a lap sized throw for the couch. 

Molly and RJ

I decided to hand quilt it so I placed lots of different sized circles all over the quilt. 

close up of hand quilting

Before binding

Finished Quilt

Quilt Label

To see a Quilt Label Tutorial check out this post!