**SIGN UP BY NOVEMBER 16, 2013 AND THE SWAP IN DUE IN MY
HANDS NO LATER THAN JANUARY 11, 2014**
*NO INTERNATIONAL SWAPPERS*
The two swap themes are Stashbusters and *TRUE
black on white and white on black prints:
*TRUE black on white and white on black prints are
just that--black on white or white on black--NO ecru, cream, off-white, eggshell, grey (gray) or any other additional
colors allowed!
As always, if you send in hexies using fabrics not allowed in the swap, they
will be returned. The regular guidelines also need to be followed (no solids,
no batiks, NO novelties, etc.)
When viewing your stash
or shopping at your local quilt shop, it's best to take your fabrics to a
natural light or just take a piece of white computer paper or bolt of white
fabric and place on the questionable fabric. If you doubt the shade, it's
probably best to do with your gut and not use it. Also be sure the sizes of the
prints are small enough for the 1” hexagons.
In collaboration with the great ladies
at Paperpieces.com (see their contact information at the end of this post), we
will offer you the opportunity to join a fun swap with other quilters and save
20% not only on your precut shapes of English paper pieces, but for all other
merchandise on their website! Please note this discount doesn’t include the
shipping charges. They offer an extensive collection of hexagon books to spark
your interest and especially recommend “Piecing It All Together” and “English
Paper Piecing”.
The Paperpieces.com code number will be
emailed to you once you officially sign up at 2013hexagonswap@gmail.com with your
full real name, board name, address and phone number and the swap(s) you will
join. Paperpieces will do their best to get your shipment out ASAP so you will
have plenty of time to work on your sets! I will do my best not to send you
back any duplicates.
This a fantastic bring-along project
while waiting in the doctor’s office, sporting events, watching TV, etc. The
hexies just about make themselves! Check out the
http://www.paperpieces.com site for lots
of motivation, books and patterns!
Be sure to check out the blog and
please feel free to send along pictures to share with others of your progress.
We will be swapping 1” hexagons
(Paperpieces item # HEX100). Please note that these measure 1” on each side.
Each “set” will be of six of the same fabric with the papers left inside. This
will allow you to make the outside edges of a flower and use your own center
fabric to bring consistency to your finished project. Please do not use any
glue to hold down the paper piece on the fabric. You will be sewing through the
paper and be sure to check the blog for the details.
Each “set” is six (6) - 1” hexies of
the SAME fabric. You can send in a maximum of ten (10) sets of the SAME fabric
There will have TWO themes—Stashbusters
and *TRUE black on
white (white on black) prints
*PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY BEFORE COMMITTING TO
THE SWAP OR CUTTING YOUR FABRICS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK!*
35 SET MINIMUM-100 SET MAXIMUM PER THEME
Our players:
Stashbusters:
1.
KC1930
2. Karen S.
3. Chris M.
4. Mary Ellen R.
5. Chatwell18
6. Jennifer L.
7. Lilly14
8. Judy A.
9. Kathy O.
10. Priscillasss
11. PatV82
12. Melody M.
TRUE black on white (white
on black) prints:
1.
KC1930
2. Mirka S.
3. Mary Ellen R.
4. Kaylaquilts
5. Emily P.
6. Ruth50
7. Judy A.
8. Kathy O.
9. PatV82
10. Bernadette K.
11. Craftypeg67
12. AngieinNH
13. Melody M.
14. Janis T.
15. Melinda F.
16. Sue Stitches
17. Darleen
Below you will find what seems like a
copy of “War and Peace”, but I run my swaps with open communication so there
are no surprises and complete consistency from all swappers. Follow the
guidelines? Great! Don’t follow the guidelines? Your swap will be returned. I
need to be fair to all swappers who play. And I know what you are thinking and
yes, I am a type A personality, lol!
>>We do, however, want to keep
the prints to SCALE so
that we have a nice visual when the hexagons are sewn together. If you have a
question on a fabric, please do not hesitate to contact me or post a picture on
the HGTV discussion board. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, ALSO PLACE A 1” HEXAGON
PAPER ON THE QUESTIONABLE PRINT SO I CAN SEE THE SCALE.
*PLEASE SHIP IN PLENTY OF TIME AS ANY
LATE PACKAGES WILL BE RETURNED BACK TO YOU UNSWAPPED AT YOUR EXPENSE!* I will
be sending out a “gentle reminder” notice two weeks before the swap is due.
THIS WILL BE strictly INFORCED! If shipping parcel post, plan on two weeks
shipping time:
As a member of the HGTV Quilting
boards, you are invited to join us by clicking on the HGTV registration link on
right side of the blog page. After you sign up (this is free!), you can join us
on the “Quilting & Needlework” board. Any problems, just contact me. I will
have a running discussion there if you want to communicate and share with the
other swappers.
While I advocate using Paperpieces
papers (#HEX100), you can also take lightweight card stock and cut your own.
You cannot use regular computer paper or cardboard for this swap as they are
subsequently too light and too heavy ensure a sharp point when turning corners
and will be returned! If you do use your own inserts, be sure they are
consistent while cutting. I will be doing a spot check to be sure they are not
too small or too large and that once you sew down the corners they are not
pulling up the tips. Check out the blog for a tutorial as to how we would like
the hexies made. Please do not use any glue or adhesive to hold down the hexie
paper to the fabric. WE ARE SEWING THROUGH THE PAPER. Please use a straight
stitch, not a whip stitch for easy paper removal.
Your swap guidelines on how to make of
the hexagons will be posted on the blog. Please DRY press your hexagons when
finished. Be careful NOT to use steam if using printed inserts as the dyes may
come off on the fabrics! Yes, we will be sewing through the paper, but as you
see in the tutorial, it will be easy to remove the papers for reuse once you
sew your hexagons together and remove the basting stitch.
As mentioned before, each set will be
six-1” finished hexagons of the SAME print with a knotted basting stitched (PLEASE USE THE SMALLEST NEEDLE POSSIBLE TO AVOID
HOLES!) down the middle and back up to the top to hold each set together (with
papers left inside each piece).
You can only send in 10 sets of the SAME print! (Total of 60 hexagons of the
SAME print) to ensure a nice variety of prints. I found cutting 2 ½” strips of
fabric and sub cutting them into 2 ½” squares work PERFECT for this project.
A couple of rules of thumb for this
swap for both Stashbusters and B & W (W & B):
*Use only 100% cotton fabric.
*NO solids, homespun, glitter, novelty
prints—this includes holiday prints and children prints, flannels, thin or
plastic-feeling fabrics—this swap is for prints, so please do not send in any
WOW (white on white), COC (cream on cream), etc. They really don’t make a
colorful flower. You can send in TOT (tone on tone) fabrics. Just remember we
want each flower to stand out--not become a wallflower in your finished
project!
*NO large prints—be sure your fabrics
selected are to the 1” hexagon scale! Leave your open background and large
prints for other projects—use smaller prints that fill in your hexie! CHECK OUT
THE BLOG FOR FABRICS THAT ARE AND THAT ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR THIS SWAP.
*NO
batiks or plaid fabrics.
*Be sure when cutting directional
fabrics they do not end up looking off-bias or wonky once the hexagon flowers
is put together.
*Be sure to REMOVE your selvedges (and
pin marks) BEFORE
cutting your fabrics. Check fabric for flaws, such as runs or stains. Since the
sets will be stacked and tacked by a thread, I will not be able to double check
your work. Remember the golden rule of swapping—do not send anything in that
you wouldn’t want to receive in return.
NOTE: I know life sometimes throws you
curve balls, but it has happened that people get excited and want to play, only
to wait two months later when the swap is due in a day or so to say they didn't
have time. By that time you should have already been ready to mail the package.
That leaves me hanging to replace your swap with my stash and totally unfair IF
you know you cannot make the deadline to begin with. I give you ample notice so
you have plenty of time to make an informed decision. Also, another player may
liked to play in your place. Be honest with me up front, or a repeat offender
might not be able to play in the future The success of this swap depends on
your ability follow through your commitment to our group of players. Thank you
for your understanding!
By all of us being honest and
accountable, I'm sure we will have a great 2014 swapping year! I really do
enjoy hostessing and want to continue to enjoy it, so by coming up front with any
issues is not really a complaint, but a way to correct it so my frustration
level (and blood pressure!) stays at an even keel. Probably the MOST important
thing I can say about a successful swap is the high level of communication
between all parties. Without that, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Be
prepared for me to contact you several times during the swap for an update on
your progress and invite pictures of your hexies to share with other swappers!
I’m allergic to dogs and cats, so
please do what you can to control the fur. Some packages come in with so much
pet hair that they look like they need to be brushed! For health reasons, I
cannot handle them and they will be returned untouched at YOUR expense. My
health depends on it and I thank you in advance for your understanding.
POSTAGE or POSTAGE money must be
included in your package. Be sure to add a stamp or two to your stamped
envelopes if not going priority mail flat rate boxes. They also seem to weigh
more returning than coming in! If you are a frequent swapper, you can also send
in $20 or so and I can keep it on “account” and deduct your postage from it.
This was worked nicely with some swappers in the past and that way you don’t
have to worry about sending in money each time. Once the swap is complete, I
will PM you your postage balance on account for your records. If you wish your
extra postage money returned, I can certainly do that also.
If you wish to include a self-addressed
mailer for the return trip back to you, remember NO metered postage or ACP
postage on the return mailer. Stamps only. Our post office will not allow more
than a 13 oz. pre-stamped mailer in any mailboxes nor can mail carriers accept
them (since 9/11 our East coast mail guidelines have been modified). While your
local p.o. may say it is okay to use metered or ACP postage, our p.o. will NOT
accept anything that has been pre-dated. I’m just trying to make it as easy as
possible for all concerned. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate
to ask!
For Priority mail packages, I have
plenty of mailing envelopes and boxes here so there is no need to send a new
one. I do, however, try to recycle the boxes if possible. IF YOU ARE SENDING
YOUR SWAP IN A MANILLA ENVELOPE OR PADDED MAILER, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO SEND
IN A RETURN ENVELOPE. Remember, I am not responsible for the packages once they
are mailed back to you.
>>NOTE: Some of your local post
offices allow you to pack a flat rate envelope or legal size envelope to the
bulging point, but mine won’t accept them as they are intended for FLAT items
only. So, if you can get away with it on your end-fine-just be aware they
cannot be returned the same way.
PACKING YOUR SHIPMENT-We found that
using dollar store sandwich Ziploc bags package nine sets nicely and make it
easier to swap out. If you “burp” the air out of the baggies before you seal
them they pretty much stay in place during shipping. Also, please ID each
baggie with your name and state so that the other swappers can know where their
hexies come from! You can put all your sets in a larger grocery bag (or Ziploc
bag) with your HGTV board name (if you have one!), real name and address, phone
number and number of sets in the main bag AND a separate
piece of paper with your mailing address in case the package is damaged in
shipment so the post office can still return it to you.
Resources:
Paperpieces:
Call toll free in the US: 1-800-337-1537
Hexagon Swap blog:
HGTV Registration: (Once you sign up, go to the “Quilting & Needlework”
Message Board)
My HGTV board name is KC1930
