Lol, Lorilynn, that "mystery quilt everyone is talking about" is going to be the April swap here in the seeds-n-stitches group. I recently participated in one and am now so hooked on the matter that I thought I should bring the concept here to the group! We'll all be making a lap quilt to keep for ourselves in April. Keep that excitement flowing! I've got the quilt designed and am now in the process of putting one together and ironing out the bugs. So keep watching for it, okay?
Dan

Lorilynn, it sounds like you have a lot of interests. Is foundation piecing the same as paper piecing? I took a paper piecing class a year ago, but the wallhanging isn't finished yet. We have several people set up to host for the next few months, but you are welcome to host the next time you see a schedule posted here. Dan and Linda usually announce when we are in need of hosts.

Hi Lorilynn, thanks for sharing that info about older machines with us. My mom has an older Singer machine with sewing table that it folds down into, but lives to far out of town to have it maintenanced, and the cheaper made new Brother machine broke it's belt early on and she has had trouble trying to replace it. I have a simple Singer Machine that my parents gave me for Christmas a little over a decade ago and I love it. My computer desk is my sewing desk/crafting table/and my son's homework desk. So 4 evenings out of the week I do not have the use of it as my son is doing his homework. The rest of the week when I use it I have a 2ft x 3ft work space on the top of the desk. So can't have my sewing machine out when I am cutting fabric. And the only other available space I have to work is on top of my bed where I hand quilt. I would love to have a quilting machine, but sadly do not have the space in our current home for it. In our next home though I will have a whole room for my quilting which gives me something to look forward to in my older years. Well am glad to hear as well that you knit. I just started teaching myself to knit last week and have mastered casting on and garter stitch, and my purling needs some more work. Just bought a 2nd set of knitting needles today to use to learn how to purl well. You do bring up a good point about possibly swapping larger blocks so people can cut them to their own desired sizes and I like the idea of swapping florals - I love florals. Some of our members do have pet exposure to their fabrics and I being allergic to cats have to pre-wash any fabric I get from our swaps, so if it is already cut to 2 1/2 inch sizes then I would have to wash it before use and then it would fray in the wash and basically be unusable, just got to thinking about that this evening. So I think it might be better to swap larger sized blocks that we can each wash and then cut to size after we get them in the mail.

Dan you LOL you keep changing the size of the center panel, I am so not cutting any fabric yet, though I do have a piece that I am PLANNING to use as the center panel. If I can work from my stash for the mystery quilt in April then that would be good, if I can't get it from my stash I may have to sit out that month. Am trying to be frugal right now, and have lots of quilt, crochet and now knitting projects going on right now that I want to finish this year so my time will be limited for additional projects. I have gotten the strips cut out for my grandma's quilt and now today have decided that the squares that will connect the strips will be white with embroidery on them - so that will take a little more time than I had originally planned, but it is for my grandmother and she is so worth the time. Well off to read a good book.

Best to you,
Sandra

I am alittle nervous, am thinking what have I gotten myself into, I am not sure that I am ready for making a mystery quilt even if it's just a lap quilt......it makes my heart beat heavy and my palms get sweat....LOL.... I have't done anything on my own yet and Mama and Gramma are both gone???OH I hope I can handle the things this group is into....

Well Serenity I am not sure LOL that I am ready for a mystery quilt either. A part of me wants to attempt it and the other part of me wants to sit back and watch and see what results others in the group end up with when they are finished making their mystery quilts. I like to have a plan. The mention of mystery quilt brings to mind my college days of Descriptive Geometry Board Drafting class - I love all my drafting classes except for that one - made an A but just did not like getting fed written instructions and then having to create an image without knowing what the end product was actually suppose to look like. Quilting has always been a stress reliever for me, the thought of making a mystery quilt brings to mind stress because I can't plan. LOL Yes Dan you are so driving me nuts with the mention of this mystery quilt and yes I know you are enjoying this. :-)

Serenity it's ok to sit some swaps out during the year if you want to, each of us just kind of picks and chooses which swaps we want to participate in during the year. And yes the mystery quilt you can't do much pre-planing for so if you are a planner like me or if you are just new to quilting I can so understand how the thought of that mystery quilt project could be a little overwhelming. I may be sitting out April, haven't fully yet decided about the April swap yet. We totally welcome you to our group swaps but if you ever feel the need or desire to sit out a swap it is totally ok too. Ok I'm gonna' shut up now and go read my book or knit or just go to bed.

Best to you,
Sandra

Sandra, you're overthinking the mystery quilt. Relax, lol! Serenity, take a few deep breaths and relax, you're be fine here. You might get to push your limits occasionally, but that's how we all learn, right?
One good thing about it though is this. You really don't have to do each instruction I post the week I post it. All of the instructions will be in just one thread (unless there's so much conversation we wind up in multiple threads), the mystery is going to come from the fact that I'll not be posting all of the instructions all at once. You can follow along and do the instructions when they're posted, or you can wait and do the whole thing towards the end of the month once everything has been posted.
And remember, you won't be sending anything to anyone that month. April is going to be a "you sew it, you keep it" kind of month, which we haven't done before.

quiltingfox, it is good to prewash or preshrink quilting fabric anyway. Sometimes I am lazy and just mist and steam iron small scraps of fabric. I try to plan ahead and prewash fabric length. If it is a large piece, I use my serger to finish the ends before throwing it in the machine. Pinking with a pinking shears or pinking rotary blade would work.

I have a cat and a dog, but I am allergic to smoke. I can understand. Allergies and asthma can be frustrating. Bella the cat doesn't bother the quilting fabric, but if I am cutting out wool it is another story altogether. She was a feral rescue found in the winter in a friend's car. Her mother and litter mate had died from the cold. They were calling her Grisabella from Cats, but I am not a ADWeber fan. She snuck around and hid for a few days - but used the litter box, so I didn't mind. One day, she was napping on the shelf on top and a folded length of Italian wool waiting for me to lose enough weight to feel like making a skirt or trousers. She let me pet her for the first time. I decided to reserve enough fabric for a knee length skirt and made a pillow top for her from her favorite wool. The wool is a black/grey/charcoal fine plaid that doesn't show her black and white tuxedo hair. I decided that Bella, Italian for beautiful, was a good name for a cat who likes Italian wool. Of course, this was before the whole Twilight craze. Years ago, I had a cat named Phillippe who had a thing for silk - especially silk charmeuse. Anytime my fabric trunk was opened, he would burrow about to find some silk to lay on. I made him a satin blanket, but he still wanted the real thing so I made him a little "crazy quilt" with a silk scraps. I adopted Winston the pug a year ago. He prefers cooking to gardening or sewing. He doesn't bother the fabric, but loves to sleep on my hand knit mohair throw at the bottom of the bed. I try to make comfortable special places for my pets to rest because I don't like them on certain furniture , kitchen counters, etc.

I think foundation piecing is the same as paper piecing. The pattern says to trace it on freezer paper first. The pattern pieces are numbered as is the sewing order. You sew, flip and trim each piece. It looks like a complicated pattern, but I am sure that I can do it one piece at a time. I googled to see if I could find a picture and found some free paper pieced flowers and pictures of paper pieced (and possibly applique) quilts. I thought people may like them.

free paper pieced flowers

http://www.quiltdesignnw.com/GSFSP_Bonus_Pattern.htm

other paper pieced flowers (no affiliation)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62627891/calla-lily-paper-pieced-quilt-block
http://www.cotton-picking.com/DesignersWorkshop.htm
http://www.keepsakequilting.com/products/U9/U9.L12/Landscape-and-Wall-Quilts.htm

I didn't see the exact pattern I have, but you get the idea.

I haven't done a mystery quilt, but have seen some online. I think one group was called "ClueSew". You can always wait to see what the mystery looks like then make it if you like it? Maybe it would be a project for those "I bought them and don't know what to do with them" fabrics?

Please remember to mail to your partner by February 11th. As we have newbies in our group this month Sharon and Linda will be mailing after the 11th.

Michelle I mailed your fabric quarters to you today with a delivery confirmation #. I just emailed you the delivery confirmation #.

Serenity_lane_ga mails to Sharon first
then Sharon mails to Serenity_lane_ga

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra
Michelle mails to Bev
Sandra mails to Michelle - mailed

Best to you,
Sandra

We are having snow flurries now, so I am waiting to mail my package until tomorrow. I hope that Linda likes the fabrics that I chose.

We understand snow flurries, so by all means stay safe and don't drive to the post office until you have good weather. Please do post though when you mail things so your partner will know when to expect things.

Best to you,
Sandra

I received my package today from Michelle. I love the fabrics! I don't have a lot of big print in my meager stash, and I look forward to working with them. And thanks for the other goodies too. It will warm your heart to know I am re-gifting the stick on characters to a little nine year old girl I mentor each week at school. She loves art and will find different uses for them. I know she'll get a bang out of them when I enclose them in her Valentine card. Thanks!

Sharon,
I mailed your package out yesterday!!
I am in Georgia so it might be there tomorrow or friday the Lady @ the post office said!!
I can't wait for you to get it I hope you like it!!!
Amy :)

hello
please pass them on, I just kinda put them in there becouse I didnt have any confettii, to kinda be silly.
I do things like that, I like people to open their envies and say " what in the world???"
michelle

Linda, how are you doing? Haven't heard much from you this month. I could use some tea and cookies, sending big chocolate hearts your way.

Please remember to mail to your partner by February 11th. As we have newbies in our group this month Sharon and Linda will be mailing after the 11th.

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - mailed
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - waiting on snow weather to clear before mailing
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - ? have you mailed yet Bev??
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - mailed

Yes, where is Linda? I could use a glass of ice tea and some chocolate chip cookies later this afternoon. :-) I am off to knit a scarf and then go to town. So will try to check back in later this afternoon. Hope you all are having a great day! :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Please remember to mail to your partner by February 11th. As we have newbies in our group this month Sharon and Linda will be mailing after the 11th.

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - mailed
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - waiting on snow weather to clear before mailing
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received - that was fast!
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - mailed

Beverly the fabric you sent is beautiful!!! I love them all!!! Thank you bunches!!! Definitely makes me think of springtime. :-)

Best to you and many thanks,
Sandra

I love to sew while is snows and we're expecting 6 - 18" in the next 24 hours, depending on whom you listen to. I will complete the potholders and start my daughters placemats and wallhanging. Her birthday is the 19th and she likes presents...even though she'll be 32!

Bev snow sounds wonderful. :-) I bet you daughter is going to love what you are making for her. I still love to get gifts from my mom! Cold and rainy here today. Hoping we get a few freezes before this winter is over so that bugs and mosquitos won't be so bad this summer. We did not get any snow this year and doesn't look like we will get any ... suppose to be in the 70's next week. I did not cover up my succulents this winter and am in zone 8, I kind of thought I would let mother nature thin out my pots but with the warm winter we are having that so is not happening. Well I am washing/drying some WOW (white on white) fabric to use for a Jewel Box quilt. Hoping later this afternoon to draw out some pattern pieces for my grandmother's quilt and for the Jewel Box quilt. I am practicing knitting making a winter scarf, about 2/3 done. It's Friday and my son wants his Valentine surprise this afternoon when he gets home from school. Well hope everyone has a good afternoon. :-)

Hi Amy, I'll watch for my package. It did not come today.
I to hope this will help you get through the winter. Even if you do have all those boys to look after. I had 5 younger brothers so I kind of know what it is like. I only have 2 children, 1 of each, but they have blessed me with 7 grandsons. I don't get to see them but 3 or 4 times a year because we do not live close.
hazelnutbunny belongs to our group also and she is having a baby soon. She is sitting this month out.
Amy-what is your favorite colors and flowers?
Better get back to work cutting for future quilts.
Have a great day everyone!
gmom-Sharon

Sharon,
It is different having ALL these boys because I had 2 boys and a girl.....and now they have given me All my wonderful boys....we are blessed to live very close to them all.....I love green and pink and i think my favorite flower would have to be Bouganvilla, Mandevilla and Sweet Peas but I really love all flowers and plants they just make me happy......I hope you get your package soon...... stay warm......Amy :)

Hi Sharon, when is hazelnutbunny due to have her baby and is she having a boy or a girl?

Best to you,
Sandra

Please remember to mail to your partner by February 11th. As we have newbies in our group this month Sharon and Linda will be mailing after the 11th.

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - mailed
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - waiting on snow weather to clear before mailing - please post and let us know when you mail things
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Amy, Your package came on Saturday. THANK YOU !!!
There is something very strange about this package, but I can't say until Amt gets here package. Nothing bad only good. She included 4 pink fat quarters, 2 firgueines, and a Heart Lollipop Bouquet. Nice package! Thanks again.
How old are your boys?
Have a great Valintines Day Everyone!
gmom

If you have not mailed your package to your partner please do so. That way everyone gets their package before the end of the month. Granted Linda does not mail until newbie Lorilynngardens mails to her and the last we heard that is pending weather. So please mail at your earliest convenience and be safe on the road to the post office.

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - received
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga - mailed ?

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - please post here when you mail things or email Linda, thanks :-)
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

Does anyone know of any good sites that has printable free knitting patterns?

Rainy and cold here, perfect day to work on some of my indoor knitting and quilting projects, may even do some reading. Hope everyone is enjoying their week and has a Happy Valentine's Day. :-)

Best to you and many thanks,
Sandra

hello
I got my envie from sandra this weekend
she sent me.....
a 4 pack of prity purple fat quarters
and 7 packs of seeds, will get the daylilys out in my WS house asap.
thanks I love them
michelle
ps and a crochet book mark paturn

I am glad you like what I sent you Michelle! :-) Here is a pic of the fabric I received from Bev - thank you bunches:

{{gwi:1238003}}

Here is our swapping so far:

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - received
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga - mailed ?

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - please post here when you mail things or email Linda, thanks :-)
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

Best to you and many thanks,
Sandra

Sharon,
My boys are 6 David will be 7 in April, Tristen is 4, but will be 5 in April, then Gabriel is 4 also, but will be 5 in June, and the we have Rylee and he is 3 just turned in December, Last but certainly not least the BOSS, Jacob or better known as JJ he will be 1 in March, and we don't stop there we are expecting little Emmett on April 2nd. All Boys!!! And I tell you that they are changing their age because if they knew I told you they would be correcting me....LOL.... and I thought I loved MY kids.....little did I know....I completely understand when people used to say "If I had known what Grankids where like I would have had them first"....LOL....I AM Blessed!!!!!!
Have A Wonderful V'day!!!

gmom,

Sorry I forgot to mention that you recieved you package!
Glad you got it and you liked it!!!!
Something wrong??? Good???
Amy :)

Hi Amy, please post and let us know when you get your package from Sharon. :-) Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Ok I sure will!!!
Thanks Sandra!!!

You are most welcome Amy. :-)

Here is how our swapping is going so far:

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - received
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga - mailed ?

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - please post here when you mail things or email Linda, thanks :-)
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

Hope everyone is having a great week! :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Amy, Your package is in the mail. She said 2-3 days. My luck it will be on Monday. You will understand the Strange and Good when you open it.
Have a great day.
gmom

Here is how our swapping is going so far:

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - received
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga - mailed

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - please post here when you mail things or email Linda, thanks :-)
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

Hope everyone is having a great week! :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Ok Gmom I will be looking for it around Monday
Hmmmm my curiosity wondering what's up with the package?? LOL Can't wait to see it :)

Good Evening All,
You know gmom.....I have been thinking I hope something of one of my boys
didn't drop in the envie on accident on the way to the PO.......LOL, you never know around here!!!
I am just wondering what it could be??? LOL Can't wait!!!
Stay Warm Everyone,
serenity_lane_ga

no package yet.."watching tumble weeds roll past my mailbox"

Ok Linda, I have not heard anything either. There are still a few more days in February so it is possible that she still may mail things. Please let us know if you get anything in the mail.

Have been cleaning house today as family is going to visit this weekend. :-) Fixing to start working on my Grandma's quilt cutting 7.5" x 7.5" squares to connect all the strips for her quilt top. I want to stencil and embroidery the squares. Need to get embroidery floss the next time I am in Hobby Lobby. Well off to get something accomplished.

Best to you all,
Sandra

Here is how our swapping is going so far:

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - received
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga - mailed

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - mailed
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!! :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Hello Everyone I know it's late and most will see this tomorrow.....My sweet Hubby took me to dinner and a movie since he was working on my Anniversary......anyhow, I recieved my package today it came after we left for town...LOL...so I just opened it and this is what I got... Red heart kind of floral small print, Green Shamrock Small clover print, Purple/Lavender small flower print, and the last print is Purple with windows that have different Spices or Herbs in them it's Really Pretty!!! There were 2 Magazines 1 on Quilting and the other on Gardening, there were seeds, Blue Flax, Moss Rose and Hardneck Garlic.....also Confettit hat fell out every where....LOL!!! Oh and the strange thing is that we both went out and bought the same bouquet of lollipops?? to send to each other?? that's kind of funny!! oh well Great Minds think alike....right!!! The Purple flowered fabric and the Purple with windows,spices and herbs I have already decided that I am going to make a cushion for my grandmothers kitchen stool that now sits in my kitchen, with those 2 pieces of fabric. Thank you, Gmom for eveything!!!

Amy, You are welcome! Great minds do think alike. Glad you like the package.
gmom

Dan, Linda, I am not sure how soon I need to start a new thread like a 2nd thread for this month's swap posts. If you know of when I should do this please let me know.

Here is how our swapping is going so far:

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - received
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga - received

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - mailed
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

I want to encourage everyone to do a GardenWeb Rate & Review post once you have received your package from your partner. I put a link at the bottom of this post for the GW R&R's page. Some of our members do not yet have a Rate & Review post so this would probably help them with their trading here on GW. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!! :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb Rate & Review

Sandra, Why would you need to start a 2nd thread? A thread can hold 150 posts. We start a new one each month for the new exchange.

Bev

Sandra, this will make the 102nd post, and like Bev says, you can have 150 per thread. This swap is just about over, so I don't see the need to start another thread unless everyone suddenly gets extremely chatty.

On another subject, there is a pretty good sale going on over at fabric.com right now. You get free shipping on orders over $35 all the time, and they've got fabric on sale at less than $5 a yard. I bought a bunch of panels last night.

Everyone have themselves a great weekend! I've got the next 4 days off from work, and other than an appointment at the vet for Miss Stella and some grocery shopping in the morning, I've got them all to myself! I'm hoping to get some sewing done. We'll see!

Dan

Hi Bev and Dan thanks for letting me know it will hold 150 posts - that's what I was trying to figure out. So looks like I won't be needing to start a 2nd thread. 2 of my nephews are spending the night with my son tonight. It's like having 3 loveable tornadoes in my house. Got them all in their pj's, but these 3 small children don't seem near ready to go to bed yet. Looks like it is going to be a late night. Will check back on the swap tomorrow evening after the tornadoes have gone home.

Best to you,
Sandra

Sandra, what fun to have a household of little ones. I miss those days. If each of my kids had a friend over, we'd go from 4 to 8 monsters and it was a blast!

Sandra and Bev,
All mine are grown as I have told you before, So we went last night from 0 to 2 angels/mini monsters (grandsons), then today from 2/5 of the same now the are finally dwindling down thank goodness we are getting alittle to old or they are alittle out of our league lol.....oh my tired and ready to relax and do something I like to do now!!!
Have a good Evening Everyone!!!

I enjoyed getting to visit with my family. After a full 24 hours of 3 to 4 kids non-stop I am a little exhausted. The tornadoes have gone home, the toys have been picked up, and am now enjoying some me time embroidering squares for my Grandma's quilt top. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and has a great week! :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Please join us for our March Seeds-N-Stitches Swap at the link below.

Best to you,
Sandra

Here is a link that might be useful: March Seeds-N-Stitches Swap

Here is how our swapping is going so far:

Serenity_lane_ga (Amy) mails to Sharon first - received
then Sharon mails to (Amy) Serenity_lane_ga - received

Lorilynngardens mails to Linda first - mailed / NOT received
then Linda mails to Lorrilynngardens

Bev mails to Sandra - received
Michelle mails to Bev - received
Sandra mails to Michelle - received

I want to encourage everyone to do a GardenWeb Rate & Review post once you have received your package from your partner. Hope everyone has a great week.

Best to you,
Sandra

This swap is now officially closed.

Best to you,
Sandra