spokanequilter

When I first started making quilts, I also started a quilt journal - just a small album with a picture of each quilt and a little paragraph about who it was for, the fabrics used, and anything else I felt like adding. Well, as I made more and more quilts, that small album was overflowing and so I now have a larger album, with 12x12 pages. I put a couple of quilts, wallhangings or other quilt project on each page. Of course, I've gotten behind and haven't added anything for the last couple of years, so I now am in the process of updating. (I had taken the photos of most of the quilts, but hadn't had them printed or added to my journal.) At one point, I thought, is it really worth it? And I decided that yes it is definitely worth it. And when I finish the updating, I have promised myself that when I finish a quilt, I will take a picture and get it in the album right away. It's actually been very fun to go back through my journal over the last 7 years and look at all those quilts! And I'm finding that I can add some photos - like if I catch my grandson taking a nap under his quilt, that photo goes in the journal. I'm hoping that some day when I'm long gone, the kids and grandkids may enjoy going through the journal..

Do some or all of you keep quilt journals?

quiltingcandy

I was keeping a journal but then when most pictures are taken with a digital camera and kept on the computer instead of a paper copy it just doesn't get done anymore.

w7sue

I have been a scrapbooker since I got pregnant with my son almost 30 years ago. So ... when I started quilting it just seemed natural to keep one for that. I have pictures of almost all the quilts I have made since 1998 (when I started). Like you, I have pertinent information - size, batting, pattern name, book it came from, type of batting, who quilted, how much it cost to quilt, who it went to - usually a full quilt picture and some close-ups. It is great fun to go back and look at all the pretty quilts I have made.

I did the same with quilt shows that I went to - those got big very fast because of all the pictures. When I take those, I always take a picture of the label on the quilt, a full view and any close-ups. Now, I just keep those on my computer - sorted by each show, by year. I usually delete all the informational pictures once I have generated a word document with the information in it. I label all the pictures according to the quilt name given by the maker (2012 07 26 - Twister Quilt (1), 2012 07 26 - Twister Quilt (2) and so on).

I have discovered that I don't have all the pictures of quilts I have made on my computer - I can only assume those must be in my negative boxes - I really need to purchase a decent negative/slide scanner and get those onto my computer - it probably would be a good idea to do the same with the kids pictures too - lol

w7sue

I was blessed with a Gammill this past year and have been learning how to use it. I have been doing quilting for charity and decided that if I wanted to use it as a deduction (still have to find out if this is even possible) that it would probably be a good idea to have a picture of each project that I would want to claim. Those are pictures that I print and attach to the receipt I get when I return the finished quilt.

KR

I got behind on family scrapbooks back in the 70s and never picked them up again, so I knew a quilting scrapbook wouldn't work for me. Instead, I created a document file on the computer that has photos of each quilting project, size, date, who it was for, and any other pertinent information. I may print it out at some point but right now it's not taking up space on a shelf.

patchsamkim

I used to keep photos of everything I made....but no written journal. Somehow I got away from even taking pictures of everything. I am lucky it seems to get a label on the back of a quilt, and I do know I should really do that for every quilt

HillCountryGal

Being new to quilting (guess after I've been quilting for a year I will quit saying that!) ... it never crossed my mind. However, two friends showed me their quilting journals. What a good idea.

In my way of thinking, it's something of a diary. And hope when I'm gone, my daughter and grandchildren will find pleasure in looking through it.

DebraK

I keep a simple quilting diary on line. I also have a picture file, but if my computer goes kaput, I can always retrieve the photos from the blog.

Peepers

I keep pictures in an album with basic info on the back of the picture. I have about 20 vintage quilts I've collected over the years and I want to be sure my son knows which quilts I made as I'd like him to keep those for my grandtwins. I have simple labels on the quilts, but this is a back-up.

quiltingweb

I started keeping a journal. I think I bought it at a quilt show, small, spiral bound book. Well, it's been filled up, so now I'm thinking I need a bigger book. I like the scrap book idea. They're expandable and I didn't really need some of the pages that were in that book. I've also considered keeping a file folder for each quilt I do, snips of fabric, pattern or ideas I used, completed photo, that sort of thing.

You're right, since all the pictures are digital, they stay...or get lost...on my computer or my phone.