I make my labels with the iron on transfer to fabric (and computer) with "Made by _____________________"
Quilter by _______________________
Made 2010
Surprise, AZ (wherever I happen to be living at the time.

I love the iron on labels but if you are using a dark background they have a special sheet for that.

Lynne Plotner-Pierce

I always use the finished date.

I believe that, for purposes of showing a quilt, which is the strictest rules quilters put on dating a quilt that I know of, it is the date of the LAST stitch that goes into a quilt that determines the date of finish.
Like, if you start an Irish Chain and put it aside for 5 years and then finish it January 5 2011, say, then that's the finish date. If you go back and embellish it with something, then that becomes the finish date.

Am I right in this?
Someone will know.
.

I'm bad, I've never labeled a quilt.