SWAP CLOSED!

I've had a few enquiries about joining this swap lately, so I'll just make it clear that Round 3 has finished - there may be a Round 4, but not just yet. I'd look for info in October or November...

Most quilts home safe...

I have heard from most of you now that you have received your new quilts (yeah!) - all quilts have either been mailed (or in one case, swapped in person at the FoQ - at least I assume that swap did take place). According to my records, the following people may not yet have received their quilts - please let me know if you have, so I can tick it off my list.

• Margeeth
• Pippa (swapped?)
• Lynda (swapped?)
• Penny
• Kathy
• Patsy

Likewise, if you aren't on the list, but haven't received a quilt, please let me know -I think I've got it all straight, but would hate for anyone to fall through the cracks.

Out of touch, perhaps!

Just a quick note to say I have no internet connection at home at the moment, and it could be 3-5 working days before I do - let's hope not. Anyway, I will be checking in, using the library and other alternatives, but it won't be as regularly and my responses won't be as quick. So don't worry, if you don't hear from me!

Quilts on the way...

Hello again all - according to my notes, all the quilts have now been posted (and some received) to their new owners (except one, which is going to pass from artist to owner in person at Festival of Quilts) - please don't forget to let me know when you receive your quilt - and if you need a contact email for your partner to send a thank you, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide one. A lot of you have blogs (links in the sidebar), so can be contacted that way.

Hope you all enjoy your new pieces of art!

Mailing reminder

Many of you have already been in touch about mailing your quilts to your partners (you know who you are) - if you have not yet let me know can you please email me as soon as possible with information about when your quilt went/is going in the mail. Next week I'll be starting to chase you up personally. Everyone except Marta (whose partner is away on holiday) should now have the address to which they are meant to be sending their quilts - if you do not have the address, let me know straightaway and I will send it again!

Question about secrecy!

Me again - my posts are like buses these days - none for ages, then loads come at once!

Anyway, it's just come up in conversation that some people might have expected this swap to remain "secret" until quilts were actually received in the post. As I knicked the swap format from the yahoo group quiltswap, I had never intended to do it that way, but had simply intended to post a list of who got what quilt, once I had matched them up (which is what I did). I've just re-checked my guidelines/rules for the swap and it doesn't specify which way it would be (whew!), so I don't feel too bad about doing it this way, though my apologies if it surprised you, if you were thinking you'd not know what quilt you'd be receiving until it showed up.

More to the point, a question - when this swap runs again, which would you prefer? Would you rather know once a decision has been made, which quilt you'll be lucky enough to receive or would you rather wait until it arrived on your doorstep? Please vote in the poll in the sidebar - anyone can vote, whether or not you took part in this swap and whether or not you plan to take part in any future ones. Just curious what most people would prefer!

Addresses sent - mostly

I have now emailed everyone with the details of who they should sent their quilt to, with the exception of the following people, where I am waiting to hear back from your partner to confirm their postal address:

• Ramona
• Sherry
• Margaret S-G
• Julie
• Rae
• Marta
• Kathy

If your name is not on the above list and you have not received an email from me, let me know and I will try again.

Results!

This was actually much easier than I expected as you all are sensible enough to have different taste in quilts! As I said before, I won't go into detailed statistics, as that doesn't seem fair and anyway, it's too tedious, but I was able to give everyone at least one choice (several people made more than one quilt) which was high up in their list. I think the lowest was 5th or 6th for those only receiving one quilt back from this swap and for those receiving more than one, at least one was in the top 4 or 5 (that said, not everyone ranked their list - a few sent them to me in numerical order).

I have checked and double checked this list - both against my spreadsheets and against the emails you sent me and I am fairly sure I didn't make any mistakes, or assign two quilts to anyone (except those who made two) or leave anyone off (including myself, as I didn't really have a written list) so I do hope you are all happy. I will be sending you, shortly, information about mailing addresses - perhaps not tonight for everyone, as I'm not sure I have everyone's details to hand and a few people may be away.

So, here we go.

Quilt no 1 (Falling Leaves), made by Wil in the Netherlands, will be going to Emma in Australia.
Quilt no 2 (Three Flowers in a Vase), also made by Wil, will be going to Rho in America .
Quilt no 3 (Untitled - orange leaf on blue background), made by Margeeth in the Netherlands, will be going to Ramona in America.
Quilt no 4 (Untitled - fractured technique in yellows and blues), made by Ramona, will be going to Rae in Australia.
Quilt no 5 (Untitled - 3D Hydrangeas), made by Sherry in Canada, will be going to Patsy (also in Canada).
Quilt no 6 (Sturt's Desert Pea - Stained Glass) , made by Margaret J in Australia, will be going to Lisa S in America.
Quilt no 7 (Orca), made by Margaret S-G in the US, will be going to Deana (also in the US).
Quilt no 8 (Untitled - Kantha style with organza scraps), made by Penny in Australia, will be going to Pippa in England.
Quilt no 9 (Monoprint with squares), made by Kate in England, will be going to Sharon in Canada.
Quilt no 10 (Cloudhill), made by Lisa R in Australia, will be going to Kate in England.
Quilt no 11 (Meander), made by Julie in England, will be going to Ildi in Hungary.
Quilt no 12 (What lies beneath), made by Pippa in England, will be going to Penny in Australia.
Quilt no 13 (Cupcakes and carrots), also made by Pippa, will be going to Lisa R in Australia.
Quilt no 14 (Reminder of Spring), made by Rae in Australia, will be going to Marta in Hungary.
Quilt no 15 (Ice Cream), made by Marta in Hungary, will be going to Marloes in the Netherlands.
Quilt no 16 (Lacy Fan), made by Ildi in Hungary, will be going to Margaret J in Australia.
Quilt no 17 (Untitled - newsprint people), made by Marloes in the Netherlands, will be going to Julie in England.
Quilt no 18 (Untitled - paper pieced batiks), made by Lisa S in the US, will be going to Jovi in Lithuania.
Quilt no 19 (Italy through window shades), made by Deana in the US, will be going to Margaret S-G (also in America).
Quilt no 20 (Inch by Inch), made by Emma in Australia, will be going to Wil in the Netherlands.
Quilt no 21 (Untitled - with crazy piecing, beading, embroidery, etc), made by Sharon in Canada, will be going to Kathy in America.
Quilt no 22 (Quilt for Van Gogh), made by Patsy in Canada, will be going to Wil in the Netherlands.
Quilt no 23 (Chestnut), made by Jovita in Lithuania, will be going to Lynda in the UK.
Quilt no 24 (Untitled - Crow silhouette), made by Lynda, will be going to Pippa (also in the UK).
Quilt no 25 (Autumn Woods - pair), made by Kathy in the US, will be going to Sherry in Canada.
Quilt no 26 (The Disappearance of Water on our Land), made by Vero in Chile, will be going to Margeeth in the Netherlands.
Quilt no 27 (A Sunny Pre-Hurricane Day in Houston), made by Rho in the US, will be going to Vero in Chile.

Thanks once again to all those who took part - and yes, it does seem likely we will do this again - this format seems to have eliminated some of the problems of past swaps, and given that it was NOT a huge nightmare to pair up quilts in the end, I'm inclined to try again - perhaps opening it up to all manner of quilts as I know I'm not the only one who likes both arty and traditional!

Ready to roll...

Well, all the lists are in, so now it's only (if "only" is the word to use in this situation) a matter of working out who gets what. I hope I'll be able to do it tonight, but I might get bogged down... I'm sure that however it all works out, you ladies will all be getting a lovely quilt (or two in some cases) in the post before the end of August!

Trivia...

OK, I'm not going to get into lots and lots of detail, because I don't think that's appropriate, but I am starting to compile the preference lists - I have all but about four of them in already - and it looks hopeful. All the quilts have appeared on at least one list (hoorah!) Nearly all of them have been in people's top 3 or 4 choices (hoorah!). Not everyone wants only the same three quilts (hoorah!). I'm sure it's going to take some manouevering to get everyone the best possible choice, but I am, as I said before, hopeful. Honestly, I can't really do anything until I've had the other few preference lists in except speculate - and of course, covet!

Oh, and in case you are curious, so far the three most frequently chosen quilts are: no 24, no 23 and no 12 - but honestly, it's quite an even spread, so don't worry too much if you didn't make one of those three...

Preferences Received

Hello all, I am back - no internet at the cottage (which was fine, but unexpected, so I hope no one worried they didn't hear back from me!) - and am gradually wading through my inbox. I have received preference lists from quite a few people and will get back to you in the next few days to confirm I have yours. And then, I get to start trying to match them all up - hopefully that task won't take TOO long and I'll be able to ensure everyone is happy. Though I guarantee everyone won't get their first choice, as there are a number of people with duplicate first choices (not always the same one, either!)

OK, that's it - now what?

Well, folks, that's it.

So, we have 27 quilts submitted to the swap, which is not too bad. Not quite as many as I'd hoped for, but I know it's been a busy few months for quite a few of us - myself included!

Here's what you do now. Sometime between Thursday 23 July and 3 August, you should send me a list of the 10-15 quilts you would most like to own - ranked in order of preference (i.e. 1=most like to own, 2=second most, and so on). All the quilts are numbered, so just use the number. (e.g. 1=no 24; 2=no 15; and so on). After I get all the lists back, I will try to sort out who gets what. I can't promise you will all get your first choice. In fact, I should think I can guarantee that we won't all get our first preferences! But I will do my best to acheive a nice balance and hopefully we will all get something we really like. Frankly, I'm not sure there's a quilt shown I would be sorry to own, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Some of you may be on holiday during this choosing period - it IS summer, after all - but don't worry, I won't assign quilts until I get lists from all the participants. If this means that the choosing period extends beyond 3 August, so be it - but I will update the blog accordingly so you will know what's going on.

Hope that's clear! If not, just ask.

Oh, and just a note - I will be away from home from tomorrow afternoon (Thursday, 23 July) to Saturday afternoon, 1 August. We will have a laptop with us and internet access, but I probably won't be quite as readily available, so don't panic if you don't hear back from me straight away.

Quilt no. 27

A Sunny Pre-Hurricane Day in Houston; 13.5x16"

My little quilt is entitled " A Sunny Pre.Hurrican.Day. In. Houston". I used 100% cottons. It's a sunny landscape scene showing a sunny July day in Houston, before the hurricanes begin. I used 2 strands of beads to put some sparkle in the sky. I used pre-made iron on appliques for the little girl in pink, the beetles and the spotted dog on the grassy knowl. The butterfly in the sky is a fussy cut out. The backing is the same as the grass fabric and I've also added hanging sleeves at the corners for the convenience of hanging if desired.

Quilt no. 26

The Disappearance of Water On Our Land; size 14.x16.5"
(obviously, this quilt has yet to be bound; the binding will be in sky blue)

Cotton fabrics , beads ,cotton yarn , flower application with Heat and Bond and machine quilting with free motion . This is the first time I have done art quilting .

Quilt no. 25

Autumn Woods; 24x16" (12x16" each)


This is my first attempt at an art quilt and was inspired by the background leaf fabric. The little animals are made from Fimo and attached with permanent glue.

Quilt no. 24

Untitled; size 18x18"

To make this piece, I sandwiched a piece of cotton duck with recycled blanket and medium weight calico. I originally intended to create an abstract piece and for want of a better idea, machine stitched some wavy lines and a circle. Gesso was applied with scrim and molding paste was added in places on top. The raised circles above the wavy lines were made by pushing the lid of an ink bottle into the wet molding paste. This was followed by layers of several different colour acrylics. When I had finished I felt it looked vaguely like a fiery landscape scene. I decided it needed a focal point and was just going to work some hand stitching on the surface. But anything for an easy life, I thought I would try a Thermofax screen print of a silhouette of something, possibly a flock of birds going along the top. After much thought the print turned into just the one crow as I was reminded of various country sayings that my uncle, a farmer, used to constantly regale us with as children, and the crow plus red thread one seemed perfect. I used heavy body black acrylic for the print. Because of the raised edges of the circle the print just skimmed the surface so I had to fill the dipped parts in using a brush. The wording was printed on to dressmaking tissue paper using a laser printer and adhered to a scrap piece of gesso and painted cotton duck with Polymer Medium before being attached to the surface of the hanging. The entire surface was then given a further two coats of Polymer Medium.

Quilt no. 23

Chestnut; size 37x39cm

This quilt was inspired by chestnut blossoms. All spring I was watching and admiring the blooming process, then one day I saw my rust-dyed fabric stash. “CHESTNUT” I thought…. I used my own rust-dyed cotton/linen and machine appliquéd fabrics, and then stitched by machine.

Quilt no. 22

Quilt for Van Gogh; 19 x 22"

The quilt is made of up to 9 layers of rayon and one of gold lame fabric, stitched and cut to make a chenille effect. There are a few beads appliqued on the stars. I left the edges a little ragged quite deliberately, considering the state of Van Gogh's mind. I hope his ghost would appreciate my quilt.

More photos to come

Hi all - I still have a few more photos to upload and at least one to come in to me - all will be up and ready to be coveted by the time I go on holiday on Thursday - along with instructions about what happens next. Quite a good handful of people have had to withdraw, but of course, because of the way the swap is set up, no one is going to be disappointed because of that (except inasmuch as it would have been nice to have them playing along). I can't imagine we'll be disappointed ourselves with the choices we have, even if it's only 2 dozen or so instead of 3 or 4!

Quilt no. 21

untitled; 15.5x17"

This piece just started with a piece of fabric and kept building and adding until I was happy with the look. My favorite part would have to be the embellishments handsewn on using old buttons of my grandmother's.

Quilt no. 20

Inch by Inch; 21x18" (total height with tassel 26.5")

The quilt top is made of black, chocolate and cream velvet and cream satin, and backed with chocolate quilters' cotton. I faced rather than bound it to keep the front simple. The chocolate is easier to see in person. The 25 inchies are made from quilters' fabrics, edged with rayon satin-stitch, quilted and then embellished with a selection of seed and bugle beads, crystals, ribbon, jewellery findings, feature beads and two hand-made tassels. The inchies are attached using permanent glue (and the hanging ones by beading thread) but although the whole thing is technically washable, it probably would be best not to!

Quilt no.19

Italy through window shades; 16x16"

This little quilt is made almost entirely out of batiks and my own hand dyed and hand painted fabrics. It is my interpretation of a photograph I found and Ricky Tims "Convergence" ideas. I sampled drawings with both vertical and horizontal strips but fell in love with the horizontal ones because it adds so much height to the tall building. It gives me the feeling of being in a basement looking out a window through blinds. This quilt is almost entirely paper-pieced with strips sewn between the horizontal strips. I quilted stone shapes in the left building and a sun in the upper left corner -- its rays fill the sky across the quilt. A quilt sleeve is sewn onto the back for hanging.

Tiny extension

Just a note for those of you struggling to finish by Monday, I will accept photos of quilts until 5pm my time (that's 12 noon, east coast US) on Wednesday, 22 July. I am so busy at the moment, that I will probably not be able to finish putting up all the quilts until that evening anyway, so if a day or so makes a difference to you, this is your chance!

Quilt no. 18

Untitled, 22x22"

The quilt is made of beautiful batiks and marbles, the center blocks and corner blocks are Carol Doak paper-piece design. It is quilted in teal and purple thread, some with the walking foot and parts are freemotion (I am fairly new at free motion, did alot of ripping out of stitches, and hope it is liked despite my mediocre quilting) The backing is a gorgeous batik and there is a hanging sleeve.

Quilt no. 17

Untitled; 21x22"

It was painted, screenprinted and stamped. Some fabrics are commercial fabrics. Then different tulle was added and organza. After machine quilting some organza was removed.

Quilt no. 16

Lacy Fan; 60x40cm

The background is made of two pieces of hand-dyed fabrics: sewing, cutting, re-sewing, re-cutting ... ad libitum. The quilt sandwich was then quilted, fastening painted Tyvek pieces at the tip of each section. The fan shape was painted with black acrylic, followed by a layer of acrylic wax. Finally, viscose band was sewn to mark the fan sections, and a tassel added to the bottom.

Quilt no. 15

Ice Cream; approx 40x60cm.

Most of the quilt is done by curved piecing on a foundation, using tweezers. Some sections are snippets of fabrics, covered with organza, and then stitched by machine. The irregular blocks are then pieced, and embellished with needle-punched wool tops, angelina and silk tops and some beading. It is hand quilted.

Quilt no. 14

Reminder of Spring; 17x19"

The background of the piece is a stitched cotton quilt sandwich, with a treated paper frame around a panel of embellished silk, threads and organza. This is decorated with an embellished thread flower on sequin waste.

Quilt no. 13

Cupcakes and Carrots; 16x16"

This piece is screenprinted, discharged, re-printed and stamped (it is washable).