Thoughtful Thurs 183~ Not Waterproof Enough for Labels

 

 

I have been using these very expensive pens, in my opinion,

for probably the last 5 years

to make my quilt labels.

 

 I truly believe quilts, especially those made specifically for someone else,

or that hold memories as in a Memory quilt made from clothing or other fond articles,

should be labeled.

I gained this appreciation after my parents died.

As we went through their collection of quilts,

we knew they had stories of my Mother using our clothes as we grew out of them

or ruined them.

We knew some were made by grandmother's and aunts.

I knew one was pieced by my Dad when he was a child.

He said his Mother made even the boys stitch pieces by hand during the winter

to keep them out of trouble.

****************

When I retired and started making quilts again,

 I would try to remember 

to use my machine features to make a label. 

Sometimes I just stitched a name and date on border or even the binding.

Coin Quilt: A Memory Quilt, 2015

As I go through my online quilt gallery,

I see the first label I show using these pins was in 2017.

This was on the Game Quilt.

I started making handwritten labels,

because I wanted to tell more information than just a name and date.

 

 

In the last couple of months,

I've come across a couple of quilts I have gifted,

and discovered the labels had faded so badly after their first wash

that they couldn't even be read anymore.

I had used these pens on these labels,

because they clearly say

 "WATERPROOF" 

and

"PERMANENT"

 

Am I the only person that didn't know I was not to use these on labels

that would be washed?

I'm so upset,

I felt I needed to tell others 

DO NOT USE

on any project that will be washed.

 
I have kept hard copies of my labels,

so recently, I was able to write over & redo

a label made a year ago.

This time I'm trying "Sharpie" fine point.

I remember those pens in college days

never faded from our underwear 

that was washed very often.

NOT JUST ONCE

 *******

I thought paying for expensive pens would work?

I guess I thought wrong.