Let's Get This Party Started....

Let’s start our 25^th celebration with a challenge! Each answer is worth one point and the bonus question is worth two points The one with the most correct answers and points will be deemed the winner. In case of a tie, I will use the random number generator to select the winner. What’s the prize? You will have to wait and see! 

The deadline to submit your answers via email to 2013hexagonswap@gmail.com in Monday, Nov. 7^th at 11:59 pm ET. I will have final say on all the answers. 

Note: This game is only for those who are officially signed up for the 25^th Hexie swap.

From the Keepsake Quilting website:

1.      This ornament kit by Penny Marble makes 3 1/2” finished ornaments. What is its name?

2.      As far as making a quick baby quilt, this one is ________.

3.      This freezer paper is designed specifically for quilters. What is it called?

From the Paperpieces.com website:

4.      This item can watch your children or your needles. What is it called?

From the Connecting Threads website:

5.       This new fabric collection is named after a famous character from an Oscar-winning movie. What is it?

6.      What is the name of this microwave safe batting?

7.      This Essentials variegated thread color reminds me of the sea. What is it called?

8.      These small scissors look and remind me of Halloween. What are they called?

9.      This adorable owl pattern has a “hoot” of a name. What is it?

10.   These labels really tell it like we all feel at the end of a project. What do they say?

Bonus: This answer is worth two points---This male quilter has another talent that started at age 3. What is it?

Hexagon Swap Finish Project

Janis T. from Florida shares her beautiful fall colored table runner made from our swaps. I spy one of my hexies (bottom row, second flower).

If you have a project you have made using our swap hexies, please share with us. We LOVE hexie eye candy!

25th Hexie Swap--Sign up now!

Let's celebrate with 25 gifts! Some might be small; others big, but always fun! This is open to those who sign up for the swap and complete it.

You will be given a number once you sign up and I will have a random number generator pick a number and the one that is yours is the winner. It's that simple!  Photos of the winner's name and prizes posted on the blog and yes, you can win multiple times! We will also have an occasional contest for more excitement. I will not send you any notices of the contests, so you will be responsible for checking the blog on a regular basis.

 And, in order to get more new swappers, if you get one of your quilting/hexie buddies to sign up for this swap, you will get a prize. The best part of this is that you can share on the postage to and from the swap.

If you do not send in your swap, I will redraw the prizes and all will be sent to you with your completed swap. Any questions?  Just let me know!  Remember you only need to submit a minimum of 36 sets of any theme in order to play with us. Sign ups end Oct. 28th!

Sign up by emailing me your name, address, phone, email address and themes to 2013hexagonswap@gmail.com  

  SWAP IN DUE IN MY HANDS NO LATER THAN JANUARY 14, 2017

Our three themes are:

*Stashbusters (see guidelines below)
*Small Floral Prints (see guidelines below)

*Tone on Tone (TOT) Prints (see guidelines below)

<<36 SET MINIMUM-99 SET MAXIMUM PER THEME>>

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 our 25th 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 I 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, address and phone number and the swap(s) themes you be joining in. 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.

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!
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. See the tutorial on how to make hexies for this swap on the blog under favorites.

Check out the right side of the hexie blog for photos of suitable fabrics for the above themes. Remember, you can only send in a maximum of ten sets (60 hexies) of the same print. And no, you cannot duplicate or use the same fabric for another theme (such a sending in a TRUE Red and White Print and also including it into the Stashbusters theme).

**Remember, NO large prints or novelty prints. We are getting many of these sent in and I just have to return them back to you**

Here are our three themes: 

>Stashbusters: Use the guidelines below for selecting fabrics and check out the blog: http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/2012/12/basics-for-hexagon-swap.html 

>Small Floral Prints: Small is the key word—we want a nice small print for these hexies. Larger prints look distorted and do not make a nice flower. Please check scale below against the prints photos below.http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/2013/12/official-sign-up-for-eighth-hexagon.html

>Tone on Tone Prints (TOT):   just that--the same color family with various shades or tones of the same color. NO other colors are allowed in the print. http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/2013/12/official-sign-up-for-eighth-hexagon.html and http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/2013/06/suitable-fabrics-for-tot-tone-on-tone.html

*PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY BEFORE COMMITTING TO THE SWAP OR CUTTING YOUR FABRICS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK!* As always, if you send in hexies using fabrics not allowed in the swap, they will be returned. 

*Use only 100% cotton washed fabric.

*NO solids (unless noted in swap guidelines), homespun, glitter, batiks, novelty prints—this includes holiday prints (unless noted in swap guidelines) and children prints, flannels, thin or plastic-feeling fabrics. Please do not send in any WOW (white on white), COC (cream on cream), etc. They really don’t make a colorful flower. Just remember we want each flower to stand out—and 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! If you have a question on a fabric, please do not hesitate to contact me at 2013hexagonswap@gmail.com PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, ALSO PLACE A 1” HEXAGON PAPER ON THE QUESTIONABLE PRINT SO I CAN SEE THE SCALE.
 
*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. 

*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 week shipping time. For international shipments, please plan on at least three weeks to arrive in time to swap out.

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. Please use a straight stitch, not a whip stitch for easy paper removal. Please do not baste with red thread!

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. 

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 2017 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 pet dander and scents, 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. 

PACKING YOUR SHIPMENT-We found that using dollar store sandwich Ziploc-style 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! Some swappers like to use those address labels they get in the mail. You can put all your separated themes in a larger Ziploc-style bag with your COF 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.

>>Please see packaging guidelines on the blog post>> 

http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/2013/08/packaging-your-swaps.html

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 (minus the stamp money for return postage).

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 may not be returned the same way.

Paper Pieces:
http://www.paperpieces.com/
(Use the search box to find the HEX100)
Email: paperpieces@paperpieces.com
Call toll free in the US: 1-800-337-1537

Hexagon Swap blog:
http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/