I…Have Always Archived Information About My Quilts

I’ve been actively sewing quilts since about 1996. From the beginning I’ve archived information on every quilt I’ve made. And I can’t believe how many times I’ve gone back to check on some detail about a finished quilt.

I use big notebook binders, and inside the binders I use plastic sleeves that will hold my quilt information and that open on the top only. The pictures below are from volume 4.

What do I record? EVERYTHING about a quilt I might need to know down the road. Always, I include pictures, the number of the quilt in the completion lineup, the completion date, the patterns involved (sewing, quilting), the size, the backing fabric, information on the front fabrics if needed, to whom I gave the quilt or why I’ve kept it (quilts saved for grandchildren), thank you cards or pics sent to me by recipients, and so on.

Below, the left page is more information about the quilt on the front side of that sleeve, and the right side is the first info for that particular quilt. On the left you can see there is a thank you note included. You can see each quilt has a page where I take notes as I work on the quilt.

On the left below you can see I included the pattern for the quilt on the front side. On the right side you can see the backing of that particular quilt.

Another set of pages:

The back side of the right page above:

In the book I reserve pages for quilts under construction–so I keep all the numbers in correct order for when I create a quilt’s label.

I hope this post encourages the quilters who read this blog to start archiving your own quilt work and/or other sewing projects. YOUR work is important.

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Author: louisaenright

I am passionate about whole, nutrient-dense foods, developing local markets, and strengthening communities.

2 thoughts on “I…Have Always Archived Information About My Quilts”

  1. What lovely records you’ve kept! I made quilts for many years before I started blogging, so there is very scant record of most of those. Then I used the blog to keep a record, having a “blog book” printed every couple of years. Now I just have a Word document with a table that includes pictures. I love that you’ve done this, but I think my record will have to stay as is.

    1. OH my Zippy Quilts–I wish I had made books of my blog as you have. I didn’t know one could do that back when I started it. I really envy keeping an archive like you have done. Now the blog is likely way, way too big to print out. And it wouldn’t cover my early quilting anyway–there’s about eight years of that work. I’m not even sure I can access the early postings on WordPress anymore.

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