Submitted by Dianne McD.
Do you journal about your quilts? I usually take a photo of each of my quilts and store it on my phone or computer, and that’s about as far as it goes. But that’s about to change.
My friend, Christie, gave me a beautiful journal that she’d made. That’s it in the photo. For the last few months, I’ve been thinking about how best to put this journal to use. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that it shall become my Quilt Journal. How did I come to this decision? Well, a couple of things inspired me…
Last summer, while having dinner with some new friends, Bev found out that I quilted. She told me that her mother, who had passed away three years earlier, had also been a quilter. While Bev had been going through her mom’s things, she found her quilt photo journal. Bev went to retrieve it for me and came back with a sweet little book. It wasn’t fancy, but on one page was a photo of a quilt and on the facing page was a short summary of the quilt’s life and who owned it (if it had been given away).
Her mother had been a prolific quilter beginning in the 1980’s and hadn’t met a new technique she wasn’t willing to try. As I was looking through the photos, I could tell Bev (who is not a quilter) about the significance of her mother’s work. A few times, I just said, “Wow!” When we were all done Bev said, “I’m so glad we did this! It has made me appreciate what my mother did. I didn’t understand how important quilting was to her; but now I do.”
The second thing that inspired me was a fun Quilty Love blog post. It’s titled, “How to take photos of quilts: 10 photos you should take”. In it, Emily explains why each of the 10 photos is important, and shows examples of each. She doesn’t go into technical terms, which is a good thing. But each photo is a fun look at her quilt from a different perspective. You can see her post by clicking on the button below. Quilty Love Blog
So, I’m going to print the best photos of my quilts and get started putting them in my journal. Since I haven’t been quilting for very long and am not a very prolific quilter, this shouldn’t be an overwhelming task. And maybe when I’m not around anymore, my daughter (who is not a quilter either) will find it and show it to someone who can help her appreciate what her mother did.
Are you a quilt journaler? How do you do it? Let us know in the comments below. You just might inspire some of us to begin!
I tend to keep notes of my quilts, techniques, batting, etc in various places and on scraps of paper. Thanks Dianne-I have committed to documenting this information in one place! Enjoyed the tips on quilt photos to support the documentation.
Thanks so much for the link to the Quilty Love blog, Dianne! The tips for photographing quilts are terrific . . . except for the “swirling” one. I’ve never understood the appeal of wadding a quilt up into a knot in the center of the frame.
I agree with you, Dawn. I don’t mind the rumpled look of a quilt. In fact, I like it. (Look at Kim King’s photo of her quilt in the June Inspirations.) But I can’t make sense of the swirled quilt.
Thanks for this post! As I look back on my quilting life, I realize more and more that quilting really taught me more about myself than anything! Even now, when I see quilts I’ve made, I think about the joys, about the “aha’s, about the “Are you kidding me moments???!”, victories, about smooth sailing quilts, frustrations, tweaks, etc., etc., etc.! They are all a part of any quilt! Most of all I love remembering the faces of people when they opened it! I wish I’d kept a journal! Maybe I will!!!♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I have a scrapbook with photos, details, and notes about the quilts I have made since my first in 1994. I can see I’ve fallen a bit behind, so will print some new photos and get them in! I love paging through it. Thanks for the reminder.
Love the beautiful journal! Thanks for sharing! Journaling my quilts has been mostly just a snap in my phone photos! It’s time to step it up! I loved the ideas from Quilty Love about creative ways to photograph your quilts. Thank you so much for sharing this Dianne! Nancy W
This is also a good list for photographing quilt for Inspirations presentations. I need to make a copy of it. Thanks Dianne for sharing this and your beautiful gift.
That journal is a beautiful gift, and what an inspiring way to get you started on Quilt journaling. I too am guilty of just having a few pictures on my phone! Good luck! The Quilty Love Blog post was really chock full of good information! Thank you for including it. Not sure if I’ll get to the journal stage but it inspired me to take more artsy/creative, and informative pictures of my quilts. Thanks Dianne.