swap

I was uncertain what to make for both Doll Quilt and Secret Santa Christmas Swaps and I was almost sure what I would pick for the Fat Quarters Swap. I then decided what to make for the first two swaps and felt absolutely uncertain what to send to my fabric swap partner as I though for something she dislikes. Some unexpected things happened, making a very busy period almost crazy.

I now have a clear plan for all the swaps. And no time to make it. I will be hardly able to work on them in the next 10 days. The good thing is I will probably be fast in the making as I have them all ready in my mind, including the package, which will be similar to the one on the picture. Read the rest of this entry »

I was planning not to enter new swaps until the end of the year with all the holiday work to do.
But I realized I will have to finish the 2 swaps I am in, in a a few weeks, so I could think of something new.
So I entered two new swaps. And one of them is absolutely new, it all starts now - started tonight actually with partners announcement.

The other has no sewing involved so its almost instant gratification swap. I will start working on all the swaps tomorrow to make a very busy week more interesting.

Wish you a nice and productive pre-holiday week!

I had the chance /and madness/ to enter several swaps that take place at the same time. Three of them! And a give away on mu blog at the same time…  I have completed one swap and the giveaway, but two more swaps have to be done pretty quickly.

I have finally picked up the pattern for the Doll Quilt Swap yesterday evening! This is a huge step as I was very uncertain what would be the best choice for my partner’s tastes. Hopefully I have guested something. At least I picked up a pattern I have wanted to make since I first saw it. So I will enjoy making it and this will result in a nice quilt.

The Secret Santa Swap is a different story… I was about to start five times … or more. But never felt the choice was really appropriate. Yesterday an unexpected idea hit me. So I will give it a try. I have almost no time left…

I am really anxious to start cutting and making blocks, assembling tops, quilting and packing…. I have so many ideas and patterns listed already. However, I have to make the swap entries first. And they might not be two quilts. I wll not ruine the Secret Santa surprise by telling you what it will be!

I had some strange experience with the doll quilt swap. My partner sent it and it was returned. This resulted in a long trip Australia-Bulgaria-Australia-Bulgaria and delay. My partner was told it all happened because she sent me chocolate /actually attempted to/.

So here is what you would better not send to Bulgaria using the postal services:

• precious metals and stones,
• guns and similar items,
• things that may stain the package or the other packages /maybe chocolate was considered part of this category/
• things that may be harmful to the postal stuff.

This is the official list of the Bulgarian Post Office. It seems plain and I doubt you would send any of the listed forbidden items.
If you would really like to send me something special, consider fabrics, or something like trims, buttons sewing aids, or knitting ones I am currently into socks, hats and shawls knitting, a craft magazine, etc. It is so much better than chocolate and the post office would not mind. Being in Europe I have to shop fabric in local fabric stores or online, so any nice cotton or flannel fabric will be appreciated and cherished. Local shops offer no quilting fabric at all so you see why I love fabrics best.

Hope this helps my swap partners.

If you are my partner and you find my initial likes & dislikes you received insufficient, here you can find more. I have already posted some of my favourites but could not stand it and I am showing more here. This way when I need an inspiration I can have half of them on these two pictures!

Note: I will try to explain I generally like, but I do not stick to this only. All of following things here are just some vague ideas to help you find a starting point for your creativity.

USE & WASHING:

The quilt will be used for display for now, but I prefer it to be washable if possible /it may find a doll later on/. However, if you thought of something artistic with felts, etc, why not? I want you being happy while making the quilt. This matters and makes difference to the final result. Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, a big “Thank you!” to all of you, who commented on my #100 give away post - you are all so kind! I will reply and show all the cards later today!

Back to the swap now. I was quite vague in my likes & dislikes in the sign up message. I would like a quilt that is made with enthusiasm, care and love. So I thought I will not specify what I like /and I hardly can do this/ but give my partner absolute creative freedom instead.

However it may be difficult to start sometimes, so following a Flickr discussion idea, I am showing you here some of my favourites from the previous rounds.   These are only 36 as this is the maximum I could include. This is the only reason! They are all soo beautiful!

You can click on the button on the side bar to visit the Doll Quilt Swap blog. I modified it a bit.

And here you can check more on each of the beautiful quilts below. Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished a commission quilt and can move on to swaps!

My first swap was amazing! I really enjoyed Doll Quilt Swap 4 and I learned a lot with all these fantastic quilts and talented quilters there - gorgeous quilt, brilliant ideas, interesting techniques.

I signed for the next round too!!! You can hardly imaginе how happy I am - check here to see why.

It will be a fast swap with little time for preparing and sending the quilt, but I am sure it will be a fun one again. Read the rest of this entry »