QuiltCon 2015 Lanyard Swap!

I haven't posted about swaps in a while -- Here's one I just sent out! 

My lanyard swap partner likes red - so I picked out my very favorite red print for her lanyard! I hope I get a chance to meet her in person at Quiltcon! 

I followed this tutorial to make the lanyard - however I cut my strips to 2" wide and used my bias tape maker to fold the fabric. These are super easy and fun to make! 

How to run a successful swap

I'm not going to claim to be an expert swap mama, but sometimes it's good to know a few things before deciding to host a sewing swap. Here's a little post about what I know (29 swaps worth of experience!). Please feel free to add comments at the end with any additional suggestions!

Before starting a swap you'll want to think about a few things, what sort of swap will it be? Is this for anyone to join, or just people you know and trust? Is it going to be a quick swap, or one that spans several months?

At the bare minimum you'll want to have the basic info covered BEFORE posting a signup.

1. Who - will the swap be limited to Instagram people, limited to flickr users, limited to people you know locally? Be sure to be clear - if you don't want Suzie who is not a regular internet user - then say so in the beginning. If you want active swappers you might consider limiting it to one site - IG or Flickr.
2. What - What will you swap? Be as specific as possible (for example: One medium pouch, no extras required). Be upfront if you're expecting people to send a bunch of extras - some people prefer to send just handmade things.
3. Where - Will the swap be hosted on flickr or Instagram or both? Can I sign up if I don't regularly visit any social media? Do I need to be active? You can request swappers to check in / comment on photos once a week - encourage them to encourage each other. Everyone loves a chatty swap partner.
4. When - Give us a timeline. When will the signups start/end. When will you send out partner info, what is the deadline for mailing. For longer swaps you may want to set a "don't mail before" date too.

The above info should be posted when signups are opened. Include this info in the important "partner email" too for easy reference.

Some additional things to keep in mind:

• Swap mamas - You'll want some help with this. Ask a couple people you trust (hopefully ones who have previous swapping experience). Communicate either by private flickr group, google docs, or a group email. 
• How many swappers to allow? This is all up to you, but in my experience having no more than 10 swappers per swap mama is ideal. For a quick matched swap maybe 15 swappers per swap mama. Most swaps would be good to be capped at 100 swappers... it gets awfully hard to keep track of everyone once the swap grows so huge. If you're an expert swap mama then trust your judgement. If you're a newbie swap mama, then try for 30 - 50 swappers. Smaller is easier.
• Quick and easy vs partners matched carefully. Many swaps are more of a "you get what you get" when it comes to partner pairing. I find that swaps are a lot more fun if I know the person I'm swapping with, or if I share similar style / likes with my partner. This takes more time for the swap mamas to pair up partners, but it's worth it. It is especially helpful to pair people up by their style for longer running swaps. By pairing by style it helps swappers to feel confident in their end product - they can stay closer to their own comfort zone. (insiders' info: when I sit down to pair up partners for Doll Quilt Swap, it takes a couple hours of pouring over my group's feeds, and taking notes about skill, color style, and modern vs traditional). For shorter swaps (or swaps that are for a small item / quick item) it's just as well to pair randomly. 
• Communication - it is important for swappers to know that they are expected to reply to all emails from their swap mama. Being open and upfront about these thing will help swappers stay on track (and it'll keep you from having people flake out at the last minute). For longer swaps it's good to have the swap mamas communicate with their swappers once a month (at least once in the middle of the swap for shorter swaps). This gives the swapper the comfort of being able to say that they need more time / will send late / can't follow through on the commitment. It's easier to handle these things mid-swap. Swap mamas should keep track of this communication - if you notice one swapper who doesn't reply keep hounding them - nothing is worse than a swapper going AWOL and leaving their partner with nothing. 
• Deadlines are to be broken? Be clear about what is expected. Generally it's a good rule to say that if you mail late this time, you can't swap next time. A late sender will have to sit the next round out. There is always an exception to the rule, but be clear that it's better to be in contact with your swap mama about sending late. 
• The swapper who refuses to communicate - there's always one. You email, they don't email back. It takes them ages to post a progress pic, etc. Beware. Sometimes this is just a case of being busy, but a swapper who doesn't communicate is much more likely to flake on the swap. Be persistent. 
• Timelines - Small swaps (one item, small item, holiday themed, color themed) are great for 4-6 week swaps. No big commitment. For larger swaps (doll quilt, purse/bag, multiple item, more personal) 2-3 months is good.
• Lottery - The lottery system is good for larger swaps. Here's how that works: everyone signs up via google forms - the swap mama's look at each signup and OK each swapper (no late sending last time, regular posting on their IG/flickr, etc). If signups surpass the number of swappers allowed then you'll pull names from the list of signups who have been OK'd. This allows you to gently decline a swapper who just isn't ready for a big swap / who has burned the group before by not sending / who is negative in the group / etc. I wish this method weren't necessary, but it's a good protection should you need to say "no thanks" to someone who signs up. 
• International swapping - International swapping is so much fun! Who doesn't love to receive international mail? But - international mailing is EXPENSIVE. Please please please give swappers a spot on your signup list to request a USA only partner. I personally have to edit what I can send because I'm not willing to spend more than $20 on postage. Take a look, anything more than a flat rate envelope is more than $20 out of country. In my experience it doesn't add much work for the swap mamas to match partners to those of their own country when necessary. For swappers outside of the US, they have less chance of getting a partner in their country - I think they're aware of that. I offer "USA only", and "I'll ship anywhere" for swaps I run.
• Extras - even if you tell people that extras aren't required, you'll still have people who send them. If you require people to send extras give them an idea of what is expected "one small handmade item (pincushion, needlebook, etc), and a treat" or "a favorite notion and two FQ's." People will still go way above and beyond, but they will not feel required to do so. 
• Angels - even the best run swaps have some flakes. If someone flakes out and doesn't send their swap package, have a couple people on hand who are willing to be "angel quilters" - to make a swap package for the person who's partner flaked out. If it's a quick / smaller swap you can announce at the beginning that there will be no angels - meaning that if someone flakes out you aren't responsible for finding an angel. For larger / longer swaps it's good to have a couple people ready for this task. If you don't know of anyone willing, announce it to the group - usually someone will step forward and be willing to help. 

Swap mama tools

• google forms / google spreadsheet - poke around on google drive. There is an option to "create form" That is the questionaire. Include all your required questions. Then click on "Responses" on the top task bar -- that's how you'll set it to send all the responses into a google spreadsheet. Easy. If you have trouble setting this up let me know... I'll do my best to answer any specific questions. Example of a swap signup google form is below (feel free to enter random stuff into the categories and hit send - then I can show you the spreadsheet too).
• Swap List - (pictured below) this is used to keep track of one swap mama's bebe's. It's a quick at-a-glance way to keep track of the important stuff.
• sample emails - I have sample emails saved for basic "swap partner email" emails - if you need some help formulating I can send you a sample. 

Swap List

#CitrusSwap Sent and Received

I joined a little swap on Instagram called #citrusswap. It was a lot of fun... short and sweet. We all made the medium Open Wide Pouch by Anna / Noodlehead using citrus themed colors, and we filled them with citrus themed goodies. 

My partner hasn't received hers yet, so I won't share who this one is for. I did start off making these tiny little blocks (above), but in the end I didn't like them as much as I liked the back - Anna Maria Horner fabric slays me every time!

I tried something new and added my signature prairie points in at the zipper - It's an okay look, but I will probably stick to putting them in the side seam or the inside seams from now on.

I used Erin / Dog Under My Desk's tutorial for the little zipper end. It turned out just perfect! I'm so proud of that perfect little zip end!

I also received my swap! I received this from @courtiepie Look at all the cute stuff she sent! Thanks so much!! This swap was a lot of fun!

Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap - Sent!

It's been ages. I know. 

No excuses. This is my blog and I'm sad to have let a month go by without sharing a bit of my sewing. It's getting harder and harder to find a minute to post -- but I don't want to let go of the blogging. I love blogging. So thank you to whoever is still out there reading!

Last month I finished this sweet little mini quilt for the Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap. I decided to go with a mini Red Letter Day block - since I can't stand the cuteness of all those tiny bits! Also, I paper pieced a tiny paper airplane there. Really the theme of this was cute (check out those tiny Briar Rose strawberries). 

I have been a bit addicted to paper piecing these days - my preparation for Demoing at International Quilt Fest hooks me every time! I decided to go super personal by spelling out my partner's name in perfectly paper-pieced letters. I imagine with a name like Rhiannon, she doesn't see her name printed on most things. The pattern I used is "My First Alphabet" by Diane Bohn / From the Blank Pages. Diane is awesome and I recommend her patterns - they're great!! 

This one is now living with its new owner Rhiannon / @Raebirdrhi (on instagram)

Doll Quilt Swap 14 - Received!

The other day I received the most amazing mini quilt in the mail!

Photo by Andrea

I was very intrigued last week when Andrea shared a sneak peek of her DQS quilt back - Anna Maria Horner fabric - the caption of the photo said that this was all that she could share without giving it away. The extras she showed were all fantastic drool-worthy Anna Maria Horner fabric scraps... and well I started wishing and hoping for that quilt to come to me! Without even having seen the front I secretly hoped it was Harry Potter related.

You see, at the beginning of each swap everyone fills out a questionnaire stating their likes and dislikes. Along with the typical stuff (I'm obsessed with AMH fabric, paper piecing, tiny quilt blocks etc) in my questionnaire I said I'd adore a Harry Potter themed mini. Apparently all I had to do was ask!!

Best quilt label ever!!

Andrea's quilt did indeed come to me! I couldn't be happier!! It really is just perfect!! I was so excited that this afternoon I re-arranged my mini quilt wall. I chose to hang the mini quilts from the last three rounds of the Doll Quilt Swap. I ran out of command hooks so once I restock those I'll have to see how many more mini's will fit on that little wall!

Thank you so much Andrea! You put a lot of effort into piecing this tiny little quilt - and the perfection is astounding! I hope you know your quilt will bring a smile to my face every day! :)

Doll Quilt Swap 14 - Finally a bit of progress!

We're nearing the end of the 14th round of the Doll Quilt Swap on flickr. I can't believe it! I was working thinking that the final mail date was Feb 14, not Jan 31! Oops! 

This week I really buckled down and settled on a sketch. I picked out my fabric and now today I found a bit of time to sew! I have completed 7 cross stitch blocks (the tutorial for these can be found at Pile O' Fabric). The blocks finish at just 2 1/2" and that makes me happy! I'm going to work on some free pieced arrows to add to this... and I'm adding FMQ text too. I sure hope my partner loves it because I love it a lot already!

I'm hoping to have some time next week to keep working on this. I'm really inspired by so much of the work I'm seeing in the DQS group right now. It's just the inspiration I need to push through the rest of this dreary and COLD winter. I'm ready for some sunshine!

Allie has a new Ice Cream Dress!

I'm so behind on blogging. Sorry guys, life comes first you know! 

As busy as life is, I can't keep from sharing this adorable dress that my friend Emily made for Allie!  Emily has the dress making skills that I lack, and this dress is absolutely adorable! Yes, that's Echino, and it has bugs and lizards hiding in the print!!  We love it! Emily made it for me for my birthday - we're doing a little side swap for our birthdays (along with Elaine - I need to do my project for Elaine soon!!). 

I'm so glad we've gotten a few sweet pics of Allie in this dress, she looks so adorable in it!! So far we've kept if clear of all chocolate and ice cream! 

Thanks Emily!!! 

PS The pattern used was the Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress!

Rapid And Tiny Zakka Swap - May swap signups open!

1. Coffee Cozy Tutorial, 2. Coffee Cozy, 3. One for my sister, one for me, one for my sis-in-law. Just need buttons! :), 4. Hope mug cozy, 5. Coffee Cozy Sleeve, 6. Coffee cozy on Starbucks cold drink cup, 7. coffee cozy, 8. French Press Cozy, Coffee Cozy, Tea Cozy, 9. Tea Love Mug Cozy, 10. Coffee Cozies, 11. Coffee Cozy, 12. darjeeling mug cozy, 13. Aidan, 14. Argyle Reusable Coffee Sleeve, 1, 15. Tropical Garden Coffee Cup Cozy, 16. Coffee <3 a="" cozy="" cup="">

I'm excited to say that one of my little flickr swaps is starting up again.

The RATZ Swap (Rapid And Tiny Zakka) - is a monthly swap where we (the swap mamas) choose a quick and useful item for each month's swap. For the month of May we'll be swapping coffee cup cozies!

Our group is for swappers of any experience (even newbies), you only have to be a flickr member to join! (if you're not yet on flickr go sign up - there are a ton of fun groups and discussion boards there!). Head on over to the RATZ page to sign up! Sign ups will end later this week!

EEE Swap: Emily, Emily, & Elaine

Silly EEE's posing for a picture at QuiltCon

I am pretty lucky that in my quilting and blogging journey I've met several awesome quilters in real life. Many friendships are built online first, then continued after meeting. Two such friends are Emily and Elaine.

The three of us met through blogs/flickr/our guild's bigtent page, and then met in real life at a Chicago Modern Quilt Guild meeting. I've got a funny story about how Emily gave me a ride to my first CMQG meeting - without ever meeting me first. The whole way there we were both trying to make sure the other wasn't a cereal killer. LOL.

Either way, the three of us became friends, and at some point last summer/fall we decided to do a swap between the three of us. Each of us making an item for both of the others.

Well... we're really good at deadlines. Our first swap date was to be "after Thanksgiving"... which was pushed back to "around Christmas"... lol. Well we've decided that swapping in person is going to be better - so we'll swap at QuiltCon (did I mention Elaine moved across country?).

I decided to make a Pretty Pleats Tote for each of them.

I didn't worry so much about making something that Elaine would love. Hers was fairly easy once I decided on the pattern. I used Anna Maria Horner's Feather Bed block pattern (altered to fit). When it comes to fabric I used some Denyse Schmidt and Shot Cotton paired with a scrappy mess of Anna Maria Horner fabrics. I wasn't too worried, since I know Elaine and I have very similar taste when it comes to fabrics. 

For Emily's I worried. Yes, she's my best friend but man she has opinions about fabric! lol. Having a background in art means that Emily has very specific likes and dislikes when it comes to color. So, wanting to make something she'll really love, I made her list her favorite Konas (off the top of her head) so that I could match my fabric choices to the color card to see if I was on track. (I previously did not notice the warmness or coolness of a purple....). I think I captured Emily's colors pretty well. For hers I did a bit of free piecing with a couple cute flying geese blocks. It was really fun and challenging to work outside of my normal color scheme! (Sorry to my regular readers, I'm repeating myself... that's what happens when you write blog posts way ahead of time).

Before starting either of these bags I sketched and listed all the things I wanted to include, so I didn't forget to add my three prairie points to the lining of their bags. I also remembered to add a loop of super awesome AMH ribbon for them to clip their keys.

I just couldn't leave well enough alone, and added a tiny coordinating mini dumpling pouch to each of the bags. The dumpling pouches as well as the totes all have some little simple hand sewn details. For that added touch of love to the project. :) 

Picture taken by Alyssa / Pile of fabric

EEE Swap (Left to right), Pillow covers made by Emily B. Totes made by me. Composition notebook carriers by Elaine.

Doll Quilt Swap 13 Received!

Fractured Quilt Doll Quilt Swap 13 Received from Silort

I'm so excited about the quilt I received this time around for the Doll Quilt Swap! This is by far my favorite swap, and I'm one of the head swap mamas for it... which meant I split up the bebe's for the other mama's to pair up.... I tried not to remember or even to think about what group I was in... (since partners are paired up within that group. Sneaky Jen, worked with another mama to pair me up so I wouldn't have a clue! It's a good thing too, because I had my eye on this beauty throughout the whole swap!

Doll Quilt Swap 13 Label, Received from Silort

I recieved this fabulous quilt made by Silvana / Silort. Silvana was inspired to try one right off my inspiration mosaic! The pattern for this little one is based off of Charlotte's Pervalong / Fractured quiltalong. Silvana did a great job executing this - the colors are perfect and bold and fun! I love the quilting, which really carries your eye across the piece. 

I'm so excited to get this hung up on my wall! It is perfection!! I'm so lucky to have received such a beauty!! Thanks Silvana!!

Doll Quilt Swap 13 - Sign-ups starting!

We're preparing for another awesome round of the Doll Quilt Swap on flickr. This will be the 13th round - and I'm one of the head mama's for this swap now. I'm pretty excited to have a bigger part in a swap that's so special to me! 

Doll Quilt Swap 9

The swap is open to all active flickr members (posting sewing related pics a couple times a month). If that's you, feel free to go sign up! 

Doll Quilt Swap 10, made for Kaelin / theplaidscottie

This will be my fifth round with DQS. I'll always have a special place in my heart for it since DQS9 was my very first swap (I know that's not supposed to happen since you're required to have participated in a swap before... but I got in!). I have grown and learned a lot throughout those five swap rounds. I've made a lot of really great friends too.

Doll Quilt Swap 11, made for Maria / MollyJolly

I have to say that this swap keeps getting better and better. I always try to push myself to learn something new on my DQS quilts. I also love getting to know my partners after they've received their quilts. 

Doll Quilt Swap 12, made for Mona / QuiltCyclist

Some really great friendships have been formed here - I first "met" Shruti in Doll Quilt Swap - she sent me this fabulous quilt for Doll Quilt Swap 10! We've been friends ever since (maybe one day we'll meet in real life - when my life becomes glamorous enough to take trips to India for a visit! I can dream right?). Though I will be lucky enough to meet my DQS12 partner, Mona this year at QuiltCon! 

Are you ready for a fabulous swap? Please go sign-up now! Don't wait too long, sign-ups won't be open too long! :)

Just a little sneak peek...

A couple friends and I are doing a 3 way swap which we're calling the EEE swap (or Triple E). It's EEE because our names all start with E! I'm swapping with Emily and Elaine! We decided to make a medium-ish sewn item and we'll swap before/around Thanksgiving. I have my two gifts mostly finished... I need some hand stitching to make them shine! I sure hope they like what I've made! 

Since we've agreed to keep it a secret until we swap, I can only show just a little detail shot here! I'm pretty excited with how these turned out!! By the way, we're planning on swapping via Skype - since Emily and I are local and Elaine (who used to be local) has moved far away! It'll be amusing to open up swap gifts on skype! :)

I've really enjoyed doing this side swap - it's fun to sew for my friends, and we have similar styles. Do you swap with quilty friends? Do you do organized swaps? 

CMQG - Modern Art Challenge (part 2)

As promised here is the picture of the fabulous quilt I received in the guild challenge!

Sara had chosen my bag - which included a picture of Bernini's Baldacchino, which is within St Peter's Basilica in Rome (well Vatican City, if you want to be precise). My instructions were that I don't like brown or gold, and that she shouldn't take it too literal - I love the texture and the movement of the piece, as well as the way the light shines in... and the Holy Spirit window behind it (the dove).

Click here to see the picture I sent her - it's the first image. 

I love that Sara pulled grey fabrics for the main part of the piece, and added in the bright sunshiny yellow up there- and the piecing in the yellow has so much great movement just like sun shining through a stained glass window! Her quilting is flawless too! I'm so happy with this quilt - even though I know she fretted about it for a while. I really didn't mean to provide such a challenge! 

(Photo taken by Rachael from the CMQG flickr page)

I can't begin to express how excited I am with this quilt!! Sara did such a great job at interpreting it into a quilt!!! I really feel like the quilt gives me that "home" feeling that St. Peter's gives me! Thank you so much Sara!!! 

For a little bit of background, I have visited Roma three times. One of those times was for a college study abroad, where I lived around the block from St. Pete's. I was studying Catholic theology so it's not surprising that this basilica holds my heart in a special way. I long to return to Rome. One day we'll retire to a little apartment in Rome. :) I can dream! 

Chicago Modern Quilt Guild: Modern Art Challenge

Today was the day that we swapped our challenge quilts! Our Chicago Modern Quilt Guild meeting today was so fabulous! It was a love fest of amazing quilts and fun speakers! I'll tell you a bit more about the meeting in general (and the AMAZING quilt that I received later this week, but for now I want to show off the pretty little thing that I made for my partner!

Emily and I organized this swap (who's idea was it ladies? I don't even know)... and I blogged about it here and here (the details about the swap are in those posts. In short we each chose a work of art and a piece of fabric to inspire our partner. We brought them to the meeting in a bag and then chose a bag out of those that the other people brought. :) Random selection! 

Natalie & I and the finished quilt!

I chose Natalie's and I'm glad I did! First off she is a really awesome lady and it was a real joy to make this for her! She sent along a picture of a piece of art she has hanging in her home. I came up with this. Pixelated, ruffled, and wavy quilted! I was insanely inspired by the bag she brought her art in (pictured below), as well as Shruti's recent quilting piece here. 

Finished quilt, fabric sent (used as backing and for color inspiration), art sent, and bag.

For this quilt I tried some new things. It was a first for me to add a ruffled border (what's the technical term for that?). It proved to be a little challenging since my center portion was stabilized with interfacing.... But it turned out great! Also, it was the first time I've ever buried my thread tails. Yes, I know... I should be doing this all the time. I'm getting to the point where I have no excuse for it other than laziness. I used Ebony's method (video here) for burying them (there were a TON of tails to tuck under!

A simple label. 

I also added my little tiny prairie points to the side edge. I really enjoy those. My thoughts for this piece is that it's like the layers and layers of a lush garden. I highlighted some of the details. 

I'm really glad to have taken part of this swap. I feel like doing swaps like this with our guild helps us to form tighter bonds with each other. We grow as a community. I feel so much more connected to Natalie now, after working on this quilt for her, and I hope that that happens with all our participants (there were about 25 of us!)

RATZ Swap Needle Book Received!

This week has been a whirlwind with my niece in town. I never posted about receiving this fabulous needle book!

This time around I received a sweet needle book from Kris / Zaynoo1! What you didn't notice? Yep - she sent to me last month too! I think it's a sign that we are a good swap match, since we were paired up twice in a row! And lucky me - because I received two super awesome swap packages! Thanks Kris! 

Chicago Modern Quilt Guild: Modern Art Challenge!

My friend Emily and I are heading up a swap for our guild. The swap is titled "Modern Art Challenge" and here's how it goes: Each person picked a piece of art (not necessarily modern art, just any art), and they wrote up a blurb about what they like and what they like about the art. They put a postcard size picture of the art, the blurb they wrote, and a FQ of fabric (representative of their likes)  in a bag and we swapped at our last CMQG meeting.

Fabrics for Natalie's quilt.

We each went home with someone else's art - that person is our partner, and we'll return in August with a doll size quilt for them!

My partner chose a painting she has in her house. It doesn't scream "my style" but immediately I thought of this cool pixelization that I could do with tiny squares so I started there. Below are my sketches - I've got a strong plan in place and have chosen and cut fabric.

My partner Natalie likes modern and negative space. Her favorite colors are warm and resemble storm clouds at dusk (deep and rich purples and pinks). So with that in mind I have some fabrics pulled that are mostly solids, and I've got some big plans!

I'll be making a "sister" quilt too - one that's practically the same, with different colors. It'll be a few inches larger to qualify as a "wall quilt" should I decide to enter it into a quilt show. I'm mostly just sure that I won't want to give my challenge quilt to my partner! :)

Fabrics for the "sister" quilt.

Stay tuned to see where this goes!

Finish it up week - and a giveaway!

Did you finish your stuff last week? I had a fun time trying to finish all mine! Here's what I managed to accomplish:

Pieced together my QAYG Bella Parade blocks - and bound all those seams. Cut binding for the outside edges.

Finished piecing my {Sew} Beautiful Bee quilt. Top complete!

Finished piecing my Bohemian quilt. Basted it too!

Started and finished some cute little needlebooks for the RATZ Swap!

Aren't they just too cute? One of them will be sent off to one of the Finish it up weeks's participants! Leave a comment here telling me what you finished (or what you attempted to finish) this past week. You'll get a chance to win that teeny adorable needlebook! Be sure that you're not a no-reply blogger though, so I can contact you if you win!!