Tuesday, August 19, 2008

I Wonder

Do we wonder enough? One of the questions I loved to ask my kids in class was "What do you wonder about?" Sometimes out of the blue, sometimes based on what we were studying or reading. At first kids would look at me with that stare that said, what does she really want from me, but over time they would begin to wonder and share what was on and in their minds. Wondering is a wonderful thing and an incredible tool for learning.
I digress....When I find or buy or see something handmade I wonder about it. Who made it, why, and how did it get here? Every piece has a story. If there isn't a label I imagine the maker. Isn't that part of the beauty of the hand made, the maker. A label is a clue. It won't reveal the whole story, but it may encourage someone to wonder.
The labels started with ink jet fabric sheets. Thanks to Penny at Sewtakeahike who motivated me to dust them off and give them a try. She has a great tutorial on how she makes her hang tags. I think this is what Nicolette uses too. I included the name of the quilt, the maker, the date, and if they were made for a specific person or occasion I added that. Six labels from one sheet. The only hitch is that you have to have 6 quilts done to get them all on one sheet. Definitely a flaw in my plan.

















Then I made little log cabin blocks using fabric from the quilt or that coordinated with the back of the quilt. They're so me...I love log cabins. Here's what I have finished. They're about 4.5 x 5 inches. A bit bigger than I wanted, but it was hard to get much smaller and be able to miter the corners neatly. Time for some relaxing hand work during the Olympics.

















I'm working on quilting Hannah's graduation quilt. It's been tough, so to relax myself I made a few of these blocks last night. I've been wanting to do another quilt like this one. A bit of a departure...not much color here. I do love the simplicity of the steely gray. There will be a little surprise punch of color...more on this later.





















For those of you who asked...he didn't finish the math...felt really bad...led to a rewarding "sit on the bed" conversation...a lesson in responsibility, independence, procrastination....lesson learned...I wonder?

30 comments:

Unknown said...

I love seeing wonder in my kids' eyes. That twinkle of imagination, and understanding :) Love your solution for labels! They look great. Have a great day - wondering.

Anonymous said...

Love the labels. They are so you with the log cabin design. I have to get better about making labels for my quilts....

Heidi said...

I LOVE the grey and white block. You're right, the simplicity is it's charm.

I want to do labels too, but don't have an ink jet printer anymore. I have a free motion quilting machine though... Hmmmm...

Sniff, about the last "first day of school". I am sure he had fun hooking up with his pals, despite the math homework debacle :) Tell him to have fun this last year. BTW, does he have plans for college?

Tine said...

I am in love with your new labels!! What a great look! It seems you found you labeling-style :-)

dutchcomfort said...

Yeah, that‘s exactly what I mean!!
Love the way you made log-cabin labels. I think I might ‘borrow’ your idea!

The grey and white blocks are fab!

Tina said...

Great job on the labels. I'll have to look at the tutorials you mentioned. Sometimes I have trouble with the fabric jamming in the printer. Your boy sounds like mine. Hopefully they learn from these experiences.

Anonymous said...

You're inspiring me to get on making some labels. These are great!

audreypawdrey said...

What a great question to ask kids about! What do you wonder about? I need to remember to make labels; you have inspired me to remember for my next quilt. Love the way the gray and white blocks are looking-simple and elegant.

Nanette Merrill said...

How funny, kids don't always get that teachers are real people. I know I didn't. I saw a teacher smoking once and I was so shocked! Silly.

I used to be able to print on fabric with my old printer but the new one has ink that smears - ick.

Shannon said...

love, love, love your blog!!

I'm going to ask my kids what they wonder about tonight.

Thank you Melissa at "sweet sewing, sew sweetly" for the link.

sewtakeahike said...

I love the creativity you put into your labels! They turned out fabulous! They are little masterpieces for your big masterpieces!

Liz said...

I often have my middle school students keep an "I Wonder Journal" It was a great way to keep them wondering...

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

Love your labels - they add a great finishing touch!

Kate said...

Great labels - you have really made me think I should add them to mine.

Rebekah said...

these are so cute and simple! There are so many cool things that you can do with inkjet fabric...

QuiltedSimple said...

Wonder - yes, I wonder and ask - sometimes the answers surprise me! Love the labels - how great they look! That it oh so bad about the math - but you are a great mom to encourage the heart to heart!
Kris

jovaliquilts said...

Those labels definitely are you. The grey and white piece you showed is just lovely, wonderful to get lost in.

Janis said...

The labels are just charming, and IMHO the perfect size. I like something a tad larger than traditional. And the math . . . oh my, I didn't see that one coming.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of asking what kids are wondering. What a great peek into their minds.

ThePeachTree said...

I would absolutely LOVE to know what kids wonder about nowadays :)

Stephanie D said...

Now, you think he'd know better with a teacher for a mom!

Creative labels!

One Shabby Chick said...

I love these - I never put labels on my quilts and then after always wish I would have - this is such a cute idea - Thanks for sharing!

Amber

syko kajsa said...

The labels look great, so "you"!

Leanne said...

I don't think you need to be a kid to wonder I do it all the time ...my 2 are always laughing at me when I ask "what if".....love the labels I alway try and label things I have made.

Anonymous said...

I love the grey block. I can't wait for the "surprise".

Nice work on the labels. I'm going to try to have all mine (that I can get my hands on) labeled by the end of the year.

MightyMom said...

I used to be a terrible procrastinator. Motherhood cured me of that. If you don't do it in the 2.5 minutes you have RIGHT NOW, it isn't gonna get done for at least a week!

loving the classy simplistic clean cut look of that block.

labels.....I'm still thinking on that....I wonder if maybe I should?? I wonder who would possibly care?? I wonder if any quilt I make will outlive my ability to tell it's story???

em's scrapbag said...

Your labels are cute. Mine are rather boring. I just sew a prairie point with the info on it in one of the corners when I put on the binding.

Cheryl Arkison said...

In my mind a quilt isn't quite done until the label is on. And I usually design the backs with the label in mind.

What also works for labels - if you don't have an inkjet - is fabric pens. I would print off my label on regular paper and trace it on fabric with a fabric pen.

Also useful in a label is the quilt pattern (if there is one) and the make-up of the materials. Labels are a history tag for the quilt - you never know where it will end up and people might have questions.

henny said...

Jackie,
wow...now I found your others blog. You know what, I was thinking before to find a blog that I could learn to make quilt.
Maybe you could tell me, how shoul I start to learn quilting. I do really want to make it. Never before and skill of my sew is ordinary (as long as I can fix the holes of kids clothes, haha...), but I don't have sewing machine. Did we need that machine for quilting? thank u.

Amanda Jean said...

I love your labels. they really are perfect. I like the bits of log cabin border to complete it.