THE exchange........................

Oh boy - if you remember back - ONE YEAR ago, we were getting our blocks ready for THE exchange.


If you want to check out the reveal from last year and the unveiling of our new blocks - check out this link.....



ONE YEAR AGO

There were a LOT of anxious moments over this past year. OK - so I am lying - there were many HATED moments this past year. ANOTHER DAMN deadline - what am I going to do for this person?, I don't even have their box - what am I going to do????  Is my stuff good enough?, am I good enough to be doing this for others?  Oh WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?????   Ooops - now I am behind. Oh well - what else is new and the comments went on and on for the entire year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well you get the picture - it was an interesting year. I know as we moved to the end last year, everyone was excited. Excited to be finishing the round robins and excited to be taking on a NEW exchange. This year - there was ONLY RELIEF as we all agreed to NOT take on anything new.

Oooops - I stand corrected because we all agreed to not one, but TWO challenges. And that was to FINISH BOTH quilts - last year's exchange as well as this years. Last year's just needs to be quilted.

Let me describe what we were supposed to do - we each chose a theme and a colour theme (if applicable). Then we were to make a block - 8 - 12" and several small blocks - 4". The sizes could be anything, but we were aiming to use numbers that were divisible by 4" - to keep it easier to assemble when done. So 8" by 16" blocks were OK as were 4" by 8". Some of the blocks (applique) were not trimmed down - just in case you are wondering. The blocks were passed to each member (there were 9 of us in total) and each of us were supposed to make one big block and several smaller blocks. Then we passed it onto the next person.


OK - without further ado - here are the reveals - in NO particular order...............

First up was Marian's - her theme - Holland (her native country) and of course there was a colour scheme (in case you didn't figure that out!!! - it was blue and white!!!)

Marian\s blocks

This is the BIG block that I made for Marian

And these are the little four inch blocks - FOUR Dutchman puzzle blocks, a reverse applique block from the book Dutch Treat and the windmill which was from a fabric that I purchased when I was in Amsterdam. 

This is going to be one STUNNING quilt when it gets completed. I love the classic blue/white colour scheme as well as the theme.



Then we had Flo's. Her theme was canoeing, camping and outdoors. A perfect theme for Flo since she spends a LOT of her time, canoeing, camping and just being outdoors.

Flo's blocks

This is the big block I made for Flo - those are hiking boots and see how perfect that border print was??????

My little blocks which are snow shoes

Going to be an awesome quilt. I have to say that EVERYONE chose a PERFECT theme. They were very appropriate and personal to each individual which made it somewhat easier to pick what to do for each person. And while the themes were very specific for each person, they were broad enough (or maybe we are that open and diverse) that we never really ran out of ideas - we had more trouble picking which one to do.

Next up was Linda's. Her theme was All About Me.   Hey - I told you these were all very personal themes.

Linda's blocks

The little blocks I made for Linda. These represent blocks from quilts that she has made (and made famous) since most of us are making or have made one of these quilts. 

The rest of the little blocks that I made for Linda. There is the black/white quilt we all made from our black/white exchange, the Christmas tree quilt (that I haven't started yet) and some snowflakes from Winter Wonderland which I am still working on!!!!!

Ooops - did you notice that there is a big block missing from me?????   Oh yes - I have started it - Las Vegas is the theme, but just didn't get time to finish it.

Next up was Mary whose theme was "In the Kitchen". If you know Mary - this is an excellent topic for her AS she loves to cook, almost as much as she loves to quilt.

Mary's blocks

These blocks were missing from the above photo.

The blocks I made for Mary - I made THREE vegetables blocks - the carrots, the peppers

And green beans as well as ONE little block - vanilla

Doesn't that look like a real bottle of vanilla????   I had to do this for Mary because at one retreat several years ago, she had forgotten to bring vanilla. We whipped down to the store - nope - they had no vanilla either so we ended up knocking on some doors and NO ONE was home. Some community event was taking place and all the community was in attendance. We zipped up to the nearby roadhouse/restaurant and they had vanilla. Mary made the cookies and we popped back to the restaurant to give them some!!!!   It was pretty funny as we had a bit of alcohol in us and we couldn't stop laughing. 

I am surprised that Mary doesn't have hers whipped together already. Ooops - she can't because those missing four little blocks are still at my house - I was the pony express yesterday!!!!

Next - Pauline. She provided the SAME background for all her blocks which makes for a different look.  This is going to be a FABULOUS quilt when she gets it together. My money is on Pauline to get it done first!!!!!   Her theme - A day in the garden.

Pauline's blocks - 

My big block - water lilies

My little blocks - lady bugs and bees

Pauline - can't wait to see this one finished. It is going to be stunning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Again - such an appropriate theme choice since Pauline has the MOST amazing garden ever!!!!!!


Then it was Carol's turn - her theme - Country Living. Again very appropriate since Carol lives in the country and not just any old country - but WAY NORTH country. OK - not that north, but to me - it is WAY NORTH.

Carol's blocks

Ooops - I am missing BOTH the big block (which is a wolf) and the little blocks (which are trilliums)


Sharron's was next. Oh boy - this was quite the quilt. Her theme was Memories of Quilter's MisBeeHaven. Oh boy - so now to pick a memory and find a way to translate that to fabric.............   I think we all had fun with Sharron's and it brought back a LOT of memories.

Sharron's blocks

Now Sharron had made a clothesline and we were each supposed to make a small quilt to hang on the line. Here is her clothesline with some of the quilts. Mary made all the little people - there is one (all colour coded of course) for each of us. They are just laying on top of the blocks so it will be up to Sharron to figure out what to do with them.

The clothesline block - with the quilts and the people. Hmmm - I seem to have NOT got a picture of my little quilt. I will have to get that from Sharron. Anyway  - it is the second from the right. I made a replica of a quilt that I had done before - I used 3/4" strips. The center is checkerboard and there is even a border. Ended up being 5 inches square. Shoot - I can't believe I did not get a picture. DUH!!!!!

Here are the "people" - these are mini Flat Stanley's of US

Some of Sharron's blocks were interactive. One night Sharron, Flo and myself were playing Scrabble. At one point, Flo played the word RADIO, but wasn't sure that was the word she wanted so she had NOT finalized her turn yet.

Radio or 

Finally out of exasperation, Sharron jumped up and grabbed some letters from Flo's tile rack and threw them on the board to spell VIDEO instead and Flo got a LOT more points because of that. (Don't ask why Sharron was peeking at Flo's tile rack and yes - there is an E under that I - I forgot to flip it up for the picture.

Video?????

My big block for Sharron - we went to the lake one day in the car. Then Sharron decided to walk back and I said I would walk with her. Sharron had running shoes and I had my green flip flops. Oh boy - Sharron walks fast and I thought I was going to die on the highway!!!!!!

In April, we played a geography game (thanks to Ronda for suggesting it) and it was Earth Hour. Here are some of our answers to the game. 

Sharron - this quilt will bring back so many memories every time you look at it. GREAT THEME.

Next is Lynn's. There seemed to be a bit of confusion with this one. It started off - a day on the farm and morphed into a day in the country. But it all worked out. Again Lynn lives in the country (or near to it) and loves all things country/farm related.

Lynn's blocks

My big block - two cows

Little blocks - NINE mail boxes so we could each write our name on one. 

And lastly is my quilt. There wasn't room to put all the blocks on the design wall at the retreat, so here is the picture at my house.

My blocks

I made the "energetic" block (thanks again to Ruth for suggesting that word) and I made the long black one on the left which is the URL for my blog. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this quilt. It is exactly what I wanted back and so interesting to see what others do for you. Oh yes - my theme was "All about me in WORDS". I am tempted to just figure out what I need to fill in the blanks and get sewing. Oh boy - wouldn't that surprise a few people!!!!!


There you have it. Once again a FABULOUS FABULOUS FABULOUS exchange. I want to thank all the ladies who participated. I love what you did for me and what you did for everyone else. I think this was our best exchange yet. I would be very afraid to do another one - I mean how can we top this.

I have my small book with all the things I did this year. There are FIVE categories in it - Finished projects, things I did for a guild outreach program, customer quilts, borders/backings/bindings and EXCHANGES/blocks of the month. This last category is going to be BLANK next year. I will show you and do a tally at the end of the year, but this category ate up a LOT of time this past year and yes while I did win a block of the month in June and got this great quilt from this exchange - I really find that these type of blocks are VERY time consuming. You have to create or find the appropriate pattern, then the fabric and thread - then prepare and finally do the block. So my goal for 2013 is to have NOTHING on that EXCHANGE/BLOCK of the MONTH page. And hopefully the other categories will have more on them.


So a couple of blocks to finish off for this exchange and then I still have ONE more exchange where I owe THREE blocks and then I will be finished. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And if you want to host your own exchange here are my top ten suggestions that have worked well for us..............

1. Choose your theme wisely. Make sure that it is a broad enough topic that the participants will be able to get enough material (not fabric material) to make the blocks but common enough that people will be able to come up with ideas/patterns to complete the blocks
2. Include suggestions for blocks
3. Pick a colour scheme or include the background if that is important to you
4. Make sure the rules are outlined - size of blocks, when the due dates are, etc.
5. If you can't get the block done - put a picture of the block/pattern in the box and pass it on
6. Make sure you know who is in your group - if you don't like the workmanship of someone - then maybe best to NOT ask them to be in your group
7. Get together every once in a while and review what the others have done. This helps with inspiration, motivation and just an excuse to have a get together
8. Plan a final date for the reveal - this is the FUN part
9. Respect the others in the group - follow their theme, colour scheme, block size, background or whatever -
10. DO NOT ask me to participate in your group - because I will NOT accept.





Hope you enjoyed the show.

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!