LOL...isn't it amazing what different experiences people have with the same things? I don't mind the sticky labels and occasionally putting them back on. But I absolutely HATE taking any kind of stitches out and some of the sewn on ones just try my patience. I can generally look at the blocks after I have been through them a time or two and tell who made them. So, the labels become less important.

Like you, I will deal with whatever comes, though. I only have one set I haven't used any of so far.

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So am I the only one that can't make a square 9 patch? Sheesh, I feel like a rookie I'm sewing the top strip to the bottom strip : then wrong sides together : I swear I have sewn before!!!!
Heidi

Heidi, If it makes you feel any better, you aren't the only one who does things like that. Sewed a strip together right side to wrong side, DUHHHHHH.

It seems like there is a problem with every kind of label, I have a couple of ideas that might (or might not) work but wouldn't hurt to give them a try. Maybe those who use sticky labels might try putting them on the back side of the block. Those who stitch them on should remember to loosen the tension and just tack them on with as few stitches as possible. I haven't got a clue on what might work to help with those who use paper clips but I have poked holes, not very often, in blocks if I am not paying attention when I take them off and the same thing has happened with safety pins. Anyway, that is my 2 cents, if anyone else has any ideas throw them out here!

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I generally always use safety pins. They don't seem to cause many problems~

Wow!! 20 of us!! Hurray!! I'm so glad to be visiting & sewing with my friends for the summer...Even though things are busy, wild and crazy, I so very much enjoy getting together with you ladies to see what is happening in your neck of the woods..It makes a nice begining or ending to my day..I'm hoping for some pink blocks.. I have a friend that's going to foster then adopt a baby girl and I'd like to make a quilt for her.. now saying that,, I'm not sure what color combinations I will have..will just have to go to the sewing room and get organized today..yeah..organized!! whew!! first I'll have to put some things away..I've 4 projects all going at once that needed to be done at the same time.. I DID finish them, but my poor sewing room looks like a bomb went off.. HEre I go!! Everone have a good day and more later..!!

I finished 4 blocks last night/thismorning after work. My machine is clunking a bit so I need to find my screwdriver so I can oil the poor thing. I swear I just oiled it! Hope to get a few more done before work!
Heidi

ETA: I got 2 more blocks done. I now know why I don't do scrappy swaps. I like every block I put together and want each one of you to get one just like that! Obviously since it's scraps I don't have enough to go around of that color scheme :-( Off to work I go

So it is OK if the blocks aren't all the same fabrics...'cause we're working from our stash...right?

Ok i managed to get one child gone for a few days to Nashville with her daddy, and one is in color gaurd and gone from 7-5:30 all week.. GUESS what I GET TO DO!! Play in the sewing room!! WHOO HOOO.. now to go and hunt down and wash/dry my fabrics and print out the directions!

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Exactly! Mix and match to your heart's content!

Like Melissa said, just have fun, no rhyme or reason just what ever you have to make 2 1/2" blocks (or strips) out of. I am always amazed how our blocks always seem to work together even though they are all so different, these will be the same layout so I am sure they will work great together, just have fun with them, this is supposed to be a stress free swap!!!

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I am having just way too much fun with these squares. I thought I'd get bored making the same pattern over and over, but I'm not. I ran out of scraps and didn't want to start cutting into my larger pieces so I went and raided the remnant bin at the fabric store in the next town. Came back with 5 prints ranging from 4" to 9" the full width of the fabric. That will make a bucket load of squares. My problem is going to be deciding which to keep and which to send as so far I really like them all. Well.... almost. I'm not a pink person but got some pink for Maxine since she wants to do a girly-girl quilt. Since I will have 5 pink, some of you will get pink also.

The last time I counted, I was up to 48 squares, but with today's catch, I think I'll end up with 70+. Then I am going to QUIT. I promise.

BTW, do we call the finished product a patch or a square? Or does it matter?

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Maxine... not to worry, when I went through my stash I realized I have ALOT of pinks! Must be because I have 4 granddaughters and no grandsons.

Pinks coming!!Way cool!! I have 5 blocks put together... the first block colors I picked out looked so nice on the cutting table, but when I actually got the block put together it really was a bad combination..so I found some other fabrics I like better..having fun with those..I did also work on organizing my sewimg room for about 3 hours..got lots of fabrics folded and put away..some of the piles were from last Christmas projects and it's almost time to start them again!! Where does the time go??? I need to go water my garden this morning, then will be in the sewing room the rest of the day!!

Belfry did you say 70+ blocks??? Holy Macaroni you are awesome!! putting these blocks together can be very addiciting and fun..!! Good for you!! Do as many as you want!!

Everyone keep well...later..)

Ok, IM LOVING how easy these blocks are!! and I washed so much fabric i could EASILY got carried away!!! LOL I have alot of "single" blocks and some multiples.. but when digging thru my (gifted) stash and found 3 sets of ALREADY CUT 2 1/2" squares! So I used them mostly (most cutting done) But found out (in the long run) THEY WERE HARDER cuz you had to sew EACH sq.. and not the strips.. I did manage to do some stripped and loved that way!!! ( Im thinking of doing my giraffe print and a brown/beige combo for myself HE HE ) .. Any way Hubby gone and daughter til tomrrow night, and DD1 is at Color gaurd til 5:30... Ive sewn/cut since 7 am... taking a hr break (back break really) then heading down to finish!! I have all but 10 into the "3 set strips" so peicing them then doing the rest of the "strips" and be done I should HAVE mine DONE toinght (barring a mishap) ... Its great having it be 106 outside and hiding in the basement and no one home to bother ya!!

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oh my ... this was an exercise in humility for me. i have been sewing quilts like crazy all summer but i needed to do a little fixing on these blocks. they were all sorts of wonky... i thought i had enough quilting under my belt to participate in a swap. i have made quilts on and off for 12 years. so these will go off in the mail soon, and i may have to go back my corner and work on my strip quilting on muslin. --theresa

ps mine are purple paislely with all kinds of scraps.

Maxine, the jelly rolls I found in my stash are pink, green and yellow so you will have more pinks coming from me too! When I make piles I will make sure you get as many pinks as possible.

Belfrybat, you have more than you need already, sounds like you are just having sooooo much fun you just can't stop yourself!!!

Giraffe_Baby, sounds like you are also having a super day without any "help", things go a lot quicker that way don't they?

Greencountypete, don't worry about a little wonkiness, that is part of the charm of our swaps, some squares seem to be absolutely perfect and some (like mine) are little wonky but they all work and are so beautiful together.

Seems like this swap is really doing great, easy to do blocks and lots of fun things we can make from them when they are finished. Are we getting excited yet? I know I am really looking forward to seeing what colors come in the squisheys. (Anybody else have trouble trying to spell that?) My spell check hates me

Got to go to the dentist this afternoon, lost a BIG filling and now I have a toothache. Since they are working me in, I will probably be there all afternoon, just hope they don't have to pull it and can just refill it. Y'all keep your fingers crossed for me!

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I'm so busy I don't know if I found a rope or lost my horse.
coming soon - www.MyCountryCrafts.com

Good luck cc!! You will feel better soon..yuck..I hate going to the dentist...blah!

Greencountrypete mine are always wonky no matter how hard I try..and you are finished!!! good job!!

Horsemom..I have alway admired you for the way you have been taking care of yourself and Cheyene..being a single mom is hard.. I speak from experience!! worked 3 jobs raised two teenages.... but made it though it..hang tough!!

GB I think I might have a piece of giraffe spot fabric.. I will check.. if I do I'll make one with it for you..!!

Nanavicky thank you! I wish I had some grandchildren..but don't darn it.. sigh!

I'm very excited about all the pinks coming!! you ladies are awesome!! the fabric I settled on is pink flowers, with turquoise background and using a dark purple/blue fabric for the second color.. maybe will pop some other color for the middle..will have to see how I feel "color wise" this afternoon..!! it really is fun to make these blocks..I am using the stip method too and it does go super fast!! ofcourse going fast means I get wonky too!! Later!

Well I am too exhausted to do anything! Have had the 3 grandkids since 6:30am yesterday and they just went home at 11:30 am this morning. (daughter works 24 hour shifts/then had a staff meeting). The 4 year old is driving us all nutty! Her daddy has let her have her way all her life and she doesn't know what discipline is. Ugh! He now recognizes that fact and is trying to discipline her but it is still exhausting trying to deal with her.

The workman have now finished (yesterday) with putting the geo-thermal in and I have messes everywhere. The pantry had to be emptied as that is where the lines come in from outside. Now Bill wants to put the freezer in the pantry, which will take away my 2 big racks the food goes on. Where it is going to go I have no idea!! But on the plus side I will get to do a good inventory of both freezer/pantry.

Upstairs all my craft supplies, fabric and bookcases full of books/magazines is shoved in the guest room and where ever I can fit it in. Will be gone all day tomorrow and I have no idea how long it will take me to get this organized and put away.

The squares are ready to sew so I may just make room on the sewing table and grab my chair and start sewing and to heck with the rest for now!!

I have mine sewed up, need to square about 1/2 of them, then label. I had so much fun with this....not saying the blocks are perfect, but lots of practice does help!

Great job, ladies! You guys are so far ahead of me. I had about a dozen done and then realized they were my scraps and not pre-washed. I don't prewash anything but flannel, batiks and the stuff for on here. I used to keep it separate but in a cleaning frenzy I combined all the scraps.

Right now I am working on a D9P as the leaders and enders for the Orion's Star I am doing. I also need to catch up on my Tetris quilt along blocks & my BOM at the LQS. THEN I will finish all of these. Shouldn't take long after I pick some fabrics out and wash them.

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OK, my dreams were smashed LOL I got 21 of the 42 done (sending an extra pink for you Maxine!).. But I also CUT them all today... MY BACK said UMMM HECK NO.. your done!! LOL, so tomrrow after getting school supplies I will hit the last 21... LOL but I WILL finish them! Maxine I have plenty of pink for CC to choose and turquoise IS in some of mine too! So should be pretty close ! Ok off to relax!!

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Wow, we are all busy beavers, aren't we? I found one secret to not having wonky squares is in the ironing. These small ones seem to be more prone to ironing crooked, so when I run the iron over the top side, I make sure to pull on the corners a bit and they straighten right back up. Then, of course, the final squaring with the ruler and pizza cutter thingamajig finished them off.

I wasn't intending to brag about doing 70 (actually it turned out to be 72) -- I was just amazed I could get so many done so quickly, and just got carried away. And yes, they are just about addictive to make. I have several projects in mind -- a table runner, lap quilt, and perhaps a wall hanging if I can come up with an interesting middle. Right now I'm thinking about a fancy 12 - 15" square surrounded by the 6" patches put on point.

CC--hope you get well fast.
Billie -- are you sharing about your geo thermal set up in another area of the forum? I bet several folks would be interested.

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Maxine- Thank you for your kind words! I'm just glad I have a good job and don't have to work 3!!! I too have some pink,but it's a brighter pink. I just put a beautiful pink/blue together, it's bright though! It is the Blue from this http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/cou...lightning.html and the pink from this http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/cou...l-flowers.html

I'm ending up piecing more the old fashioned way then the strip way. It just doesn't seem I can get long enough or the right number of strips from my scraps Oh well I'm getting there. I'm gonna do 1 or 2 more then off to bed.
Heidi

wow!! I have the first 20 blocks finished...now I'm changing colors ro the next set of 20 to a blue & yellow combination..I too am thinking all sorts of things to make..besides the baby quilt.. table runner, etc..or even..a couple of baby quilts made up ahead for when they might be needed..gee..there's an idea..ready instead of sewing like a wild person the night before a baby shower..well..sounds like crazy talk to me!!! and some red/white/blue combo's for patriotic days...and I have lots of Christmas fabrics..hey..maybe we could slip in a Christmas theme 6"- 9 Patch swap!! Okay now I'm really out of control!! Horsemom I like those pink & blue colors... GB.. I can't find the giraffe fab but will keep looking..Off to the sewing room!!

Well looks like I'm the one close the gate behind everyone this time. LOL.

I still have my son here for another couple of weeks and trying to find/do things with him. Like our Flat Stanley project and we are working on finishing a wall hanging for his Dad using "Japanese Sashiko" method. We finally got a layout graphed, cut and pinned with today spending time with the sewing machine. This was a great project to work on with him as he was able to stitch his own block and he also decided on the plaid design too.

At Tv Time I'm still working on my hand appliqueing block. I was making one for the Honey Forks "Make Ugly Beautiful" contest but at this point I'm doubting I'll make the contest deadline. That and the fact my raw edges are unraveling. But I'm going to finish it any ways.

But yesterday evening before dinner was spent cutting out a whole bunch of 2.5" squares with a mess to go. Good thing I have month left to work on these.

Well that's my story right for now.
Toodles,
RHTricia

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No your not RHT. I haven't even started yet either. I do have my fabric ready and will get it cut in the next couple of days then will sew away.

Maxine, pink comin' at ya' from here too!

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Can the shipping envelope be re-used if I enclose a shipping label and the required postage? Or should I "make" my own envelope out of a brown grocery sack? The end would need to be sealed up with good tape, though.

USPS doesn't have tyvek style envelopes big enough, and the big enough ones have bubble wrap, and cost $2.29.


(I'm sending some deep pink/fuschia!)

I'm about halfway done (19), and I;m pretty sure I haven't made a dent in my scrap pile. I'm hoping to hurry and finish so I can start packing. Tonight will be my last night of sewing for a day or 2. I need to start on a top for Cherokee and the rustic blocks as well.
Heidi

i have found a small tote of my fabric with some of my 1930's fat qaurters in it and am hoping to get the table ready to be used thursday for cutting if i can get it back in the house and together as i had to finish the floor project before i could start anything else ( ok i am not completely done putting in wood floors have 1 room left but the public rooms are done) that i could enjoy and play at doing so some of my blocks may be brighter color combos then others hope you guys don't mind when you get them.

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Pauline.... nope sure don't. I dream of the day when I can buy my own so for now, I'll drool all over the ones you send me.

:P

Okay I can say I finally got all my 2.5" squares cut out. Now I have to pair & pin them all together so that I can begin to chain stitch them.

I guess all that cutting is will allow me to at least make a bunch of the 9-patches if nothing else. There are days where I like doing "mindless" sewing and these are prefect for that. Shoot maybe I'll make a couple of twin coverlets out of these. I could do some with a white sashing and another set in blue or whatever color I can catch on clearance. LOL


RHT

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Blessed Be!