Welcome all quilters who like BOMs, MYSTERY, and SWAPS. If you love BOMs and MYSTERY but not so much SWAPS, this will work for you too. I have the itch to design and swap again and wanted to invite quilters from around the world to participate. Here is what I have in mind:
I will be designing a ROW QUILT. It will be queen-sized, but make any size you want because row quilts are easy to adapt.
A new FREE row pattern will be released at the first of each month (via email PDF format). Participants will make as many blocks as they wish to swap from that pattern and post them to the group blog by the
last day of the month. If you are not much of a swapper, just make one to swap and make the rest for yourself. Anyone who posts swap blocks will be in on that
month's swap. Non bloggers can email me their photos for me to post.
Make as many blocks as you want up to a maximum that will be listed. If you make two, you swap
two. If you make 5, you swap 5. If the row requires 8 blocks and you only
make two to swap, then you will have to make the other 6 blocks on your own to
have enough for the row.
Block patterns may include paper piecing, some appliqué,
or regular rotary or strip piecing methods.
Here are some row quilts I have designed in the past:
Americana
Be Thankful - Autumn
Spring
a
neighborhood with quilts hanging on the clothes line, flowers,
butterflies, sunbonnet sues, a picket fence with a fancy gate, watering
cans, birdhouses, and umbrellas.
Additional Rules:
- Participants will suggest a theme for the row
quilt. I will choose one that inspires me and design the quilt based on that theme.
- You must
participate in the SWAP the prior month to get the next pattern for FREE. The cost for non-swap
participants will be $6.75 a month payable via paypal. Once the quilt project is finished the pattern will become available for sale, so participate now and
get it for FREE.
- You can make EXTRA blocks for a drawing; you will get one entry per extra block. Just specify how many blocks are for the swap and how many are for the drawing. If enough people participate in making "drawing blocks", someone may have enough for a separate quilt just out of the winning blocks.
- All participants will be asked to follow the fabric/color guidelines for each month's instructions so the blocks will look good together after we swap them.
- Late comers are welcome but they will need to
purchase the patterns they missed or come up with their own rows.
Who do you swap with?
As quilters post their completed
blocks I will number each block in the order they are blogged. So when
it is time to decide which blocks go to Jane Doe, and if Jane made 3
blocks, I will draw out three numbers to determine which ones she gets.
If Deana made 6 blocks I will draw the next 6 numbers for her.
Basically, it will be random. I will doctor up the randomness if needed
such as:
- If you choose to make three identical swap blocks
in the same fabrics, I will have you send them to three different people
so one person will not have identical blocks in a row. It is faster and
easier to strip sew identical blocks so I anticipate most swappers will
do this.
- If you choose to make three blocks that are not
identical in fabric then I may have you send them to only one/maybe 2 people ,as needed, to save on
postage.
Basically, you could get some blocks from the same
person but most likely you will receive blocks from different people.
On the first of each month I will determine as randomly as possible
where each block is sent and email everyone a list with addresses.
On
the first of the month I will blog about a "maximum" number of blocks
you can make. It will probably be the number of blocks in the row
(likely not more then 8).
Participants
will be required to use high quality fabric (no Walmart) and to match
the color scheme. You can tell the quality by how good it feels and by
the price. Most good quality fabric is around $10 a yard. I hope
participants will purchase enough fabric so they can put bits of the
same fabric in each row to blend the whole quilt together.
Deana’s
Designs is not liable for blocks that get lost in the mail. Participate at your own risk.
INTERESTED IN JOINING?
Leave a comment with your email address or email me at mamiebudgeese@hotmail.com. In the subject line put "BOM swap mystery" so I know you are not a spammer. Also, list your "theme" idea.
I am leaning toward starting either September 1st or October 1st to allow time to recruit swappers. We need a pretty good sized group for this to work. I anticipate the swap to go for 6-7 months.
Grab a button and let your friends and internet groups know.
Below are photos of other quilts I have designed to give you an idea of my design abilities. This BOM swap will not be an art quilt or extremely difficult project like the photo below. Think intermediate or a beginner who is particular.
The quilt below is made with folded inserts.
Hexagons in Rotation
And another one in different colors...
Lacy Daisies WITH HAND EMBROIDERY
