Today we take 16 quilts over to the Peoria Art Guild to hang the show opening next Friday night, Sept. 1st. In the rush to finish a couple more pieces, find all the unlabeled work, and get all the hangings on, the rods cut, and the cat fur off, there’s a final task that has to happen. I need to do my documentation.
There are 1,107 quilts on my price list since the 1980s. There are around 200 quilts in house. I’m not good at keeping track. I regularly find I’ve got a piece at a gallery I thought I’d lost. I don’t even panic anymore. The chances are excellent that the missing piece is safe in a store where I left it, coming home in time.
But I do have some documentation tricks that help.
photos, photos, Photos
Take full and detailed shots of your work, without Fido in the background. It helps to take process shots too.
Everything Has a Number
Each piece has a number of its own. Its number is the next sequence, plus the year it was made. That gets documented in an Excel file that has the size, and price of each quilt.
The price list is the listing for each quilt by number.
Everything has a Signature
I always sign my work. Right in the stippling. Sometimes it’s obvious. Sometimes it’s not. But it’s always there. Yes, I can sign it backwards in case I have the cool thread in the bobbin.
Everything Has a Label
I’ve done everything for labels at one time or another: written in pen on the back, or stitched on a computerized machine. Now I run them through the computer. I use June Tailor’s Iron on Quick Fuse Fabric, an ink jet printer, and Avery’s free label printing site. I can print a sheet full of any kind of label I want and cut it out with a rotary cutter.
Labels are a safety feature. How does anyone know it’s your quilt if you don’t label it? I have a recognizable style, but it’s hubris to pretend everyone would know. Telling one quilt from another on a price list can be harder than it looks. And it has my contact information so someone can send it back to me or contact me if they should find it. I don’t send quilts out without a label.
So how do I manage to lose quilts? I’m so tired at the end of this I don’t always mark off when something sells or when it goes somewhere. The best system is subject to human error, and boy, am I human.
These are some quilts that just came home. They’re on my Etsy site on sale.
The opening for the Peoria Guild Show is at:
Natural Threads Ellen Anne Eddy Show September 1-28
Peoria Art Guild, 203 Harrison St, Peoria, IL, 61602, 309 637 2787
Hours: Monday 9-4, Tuesday 9-6:30, Wednesday 9-6:30, Thursday 9-6:30, Friday 9-4 Saturday 9-2, Sunday CLOSED
Thank you for the information on how you track your pieces. I track what I make on spreadsheet but I don’t have a good list of completed quilts and wall hangings. I’ve been quilting since 1976 so I have quite a few hanging around. Good luck with your show – Wish my travel days were still in force.