Patchwork Quilting or Sewing Diary

One of my biggest regrets is that I have not kept a detailed patchwork, quilting or sewing diary of every quilt or major sewing project I have done over my lifetime.  Not only do you get to look back and remember who you made the quilt or sewing project for, and how patterns, materials and textures and trends have changed over the years, but it gives valuable details about how you actually did it, and how you have grown in techniques over the years.

If you are beginning a Patchwork, Quilting or Sewing Diary of a quilt or project you were making for your son’s or daughters wedding, or a wedding dress some-one special to you will wear, you may wish to make that diary itself really special, it can also be in a simple spiral bound notebook and be just as effective,  we are able structure our diaries to reflect who we are as quilters and sewers. We can let our artistic flair take over, or we can make it a straight forward account of the processes we took to get to the finished product. And both are perfect.

• Choose your diary make sure it is large enough to take at lease a standard 6″ x 4″ photograph.
• Scan or take a photo of your pattern if you are using one, and paste it onto the 1st page of the diary (If you are building your quilt or sewing project from scratch, leave enough room on the first page to place of photo of the finished item).
• Make a note of who the project is for, and if it is for a special occasion on the first page and most importantly don’t forget to place the date on your first page.  Your Quilting or Sewing Diary has now officially begun.
• Take a photo of your fabrics before you begin to cut, and use off-cuts of your fabrics and place them into the first few pages of the Quilting or Sewing Diary, along with your personal notes as to what colours and types of fabrics you have chosen and why.
• If you are a Patch worker or quilter that uses the dining room table as a “this goes with that” when choosing what colours go where, take photo’s as you start laying out. If you are a quilter who pins your fabrics to a cork board in your sewing room, take photo’s through the process of choosing your final fabric placements.
• Write dates at the top of each page as your diary grows with your quilt or project.
• Make notes about each stage of your quilt or project, good and bad, if the flying geese gave you a massive headache one day, write it down, but also make notes about those amazing break through you made.  i.e. when the  light bulb flashes above your head  “YES”, that will work and it does.
• If you draw or sketch, draw and sketch to your hearts content, little triangles with arrows, exclamation marks if it’s warranted.
• If you don’t draw or sketch, photographs, photographs and more photographs.  They can be printed on plain paper if you choose, this is not about winning a photography competition, it is about Us as quilters and sewers.  (Although I am sure you will find, by the end of the Quilting or Sewing Diary, your photography skills will have improved dramatically.  !!!!
• Document your ups and your downs, because our quilts and our sewing projects are about us also, not just about who they are for and why. Often we forget just how important what we do is for us.
• Take images of your completed project, give them pride of place on the last pages of your quilting or diary.
• Never criticise your finished product in your Patchwork, Quilting or Sewing Diary, too often we forget the we are talented and very special, what we do is unique and a project finished is a project well done, and we deserve to proud of it. Sure we can and most of us do, go over the final product with a fine tooth comb, and we have conversations with ourselves about what we would do differently, and how we could improve this or that.  But that is for the next project, not a distraction from this project.
• Do NOT give your Patchwork, Quilting or Sewing Diary to the person who is receiving the quilt or sewing project.
  This diary is about us for us, something to treasure and look back on and learn from, the person receiving this special gift, will have the finished item, to hold and remember with, they do not need OUR Diary as well.
• And last but by no means least, take a final photograph, have it printed and laminated, and place it on the front of your quilting and sewing diary, and secure well.  This Patchwork, Quilting or Sewing Diary with any luck will get lots of opening and enjoying, just like any great book should.

This is not just about those of us who patchwork and quilt, but is also perfect for people who make gowns, dolls or anything that is a project of love for people we love.