All quilts home safe!

I've now confirmed that all the little quilts have been received - yay!  I hate worrying that people's work is lost in the post.  I hope to have a Grand Reveal done sometime later this week - it will depend on how tired I am with my first week back at work - though it's a good week to catch up as most of our regular evening activities haven't yet started.

Nearly there - I think

Hi everyone - sorry to be out of touch, I have been away for a couple of weeks. I think that everyone has now mailed their quilts to their new homes, and most of them have been received. I may need to check with a couple of people I haven't heard from, but very soon I expect to be able to do the Grand Reveal (also allowing for time to write the blog post, given that school (and thus my job) starts again tomorrow).  Thanks for your patience - hope you are all enjoying your new little quilts!

Mailing reminder!

Many thanks to all of you who have sent your little quilts to their new homes and let me know about that, and/or let me know about receiving your new quilts. This is the part of the swap that stresses me most - knowing all those lovely things are floating nebulously in the world's postal system and none of us having any control over their safe landings!

Anyway, if you haven't yet sent off your quilt, please try to do so soon (if you are away, please let me know if you haven't done so already so I can make a note) or let me know approximately when you think you'll be able to send - I know there are a few people with complicated mailing circumstances, and that's not a problem, I just don't want to worry about lost quilts.

And to all those of you who have already received your new babies - enjoy!

Oh, and don't forget a line to the maker of your new quilt is always appreciated - if they didn't include their email address, let me know and I'll pass it on to you.

Flying Quilts!

Quilts are beginning to arrive across the world - hurrah! - once they are all settled in their new homes, I will do a "Grand Reveal" - a blog post which shows who made what and who got what.  In the meantime, don't forget to let me know when you mail your quilt(s) out and when you receive your new ones!

Update

Just to say, I have sent mailing info to about half the players so far. However, now I'm bored so I'm going to do the rest tomorrow or Wednesday. If you haven't received mailing info by Wednesday evening, please let me know as that might mean I've sent it to an old email address or accidentally forgotten you.

If you put two quilts into this swap, you will get a separate email for each one - it's easier to keep track of that way.

Sorted!

Well, that wasn't TOO stressful. I have successfully matched up all but one of the quilts with new owners, and everyone who played will be getting at least one quilt swapped out. The unswapped quilt wasn't unloved, but the way the logistics of these things work, sometimes the same small group of people like the same small group of quilts, and swapping out can be very complicated. This time around, I elected to ask a person who made two quilts to keep one of them so that everyone else in the swap could have a quilt swapped out. She'll still going to get one quilt in the swap, which makes me as happy as I can be, when I can't swap all the quilts in the whole swap.

In case you are wondering about the swapping process, here are some of the guidelines I use to help myself match things up:

• Find a new home for the greatest number of quilts possible.
• Try to give people quilts as high on their lists as possible (in all cases, but particularly if someone has made a very popular quilt).
• If a quilt is on someone's preference list, they did like it, so it's better to give someone one lower on their list than to leave a quilt unswapped.
• If the above criteria have been met, try to give everyone quilts by people they haven't had quilts from before (so e.g. if Ann's quilt and Jane's quilt were both in your top tier of preferences, but you had a quilt from Ann last time around, I might give you Jane's this time). 

Anyway, that's just a little insight into the process - it's a lot more complicated than that, and I do appreciate everyone's flexibility in listing loads of choices and being patient!

I'll be emailing people over the next few days with instructions for how and where to mail your quilts. Watch your email!

Lists in

Just to say, I now have in the last three outstanding lists. I hope to get the sorting done today or tomorrow. Then, allowing for any time to contact people if necessary, I should be emailing you all with instructions for where to send your little quilt(s).  Thanks for your patience, everyone!

Still waiting

Hi everyone - sorry for the delay; I am still awaiting three preferences lists. I haven't had time or energy this week (last week of school is always hectic for those who work in one!) to chase missing people up, but I've sent emails today to remind those ladies and hopefully will have their lists soon, so I can start the sort out. I'm on holiday now until school starts again, so as soon as I have the lists, I should be able to get started with the sorting.

Thanks for your patience.

Preference Lists

I've had a bit of a chance to catch up this weekend, and have recorded the info from all the people who have sent their lists in. So far it's looking pretty good, but it's hard to tell for sure. I am still waiting for lists from five people, so until I get those, I won't be able to start the actual allocation process; if I don't hear from them within another day or two, I'll send an email reminder. However, this is a very busy time for me (last week of school), so it will still take a while to get things sorted out, even if all the lists come in tomorrow morning. Bear with me - it's worth it in the end, as the wait enables me to give as many people as possible a quilt high up on their lists!

That's it!

OK, so that's it - all the late night, last minute entries are added, so there are 39 quilts total in this round of the swap, with 33 players (I think. It's possible I can't count).

A few quilts don't quite meet the rules (a little too small, not quite square) but because I'm nice, I've allowed them in anyway.

If you've not played before/don't remember what happens next, here's what to do:

•   Please send me your preference lists when you get a chance. Please try to include 10-12 choices of quilts you'd like to receive on your list (though of course, if you really don't like as many as that, you can put fewer). I will do my best to match you with a quilt high on your list. You can rank them strictly if you like (1, 2, 3) or in tiers (my three favourites are x, y z; next are a, b,c; finally I also like p, q, r) or even say things like "I really like most of these, and would be happy to get any of them except I'd rather not get my own back or have quilts x and q because they just aren't my style/I'm not a huge fan of bright orange".
• It would be helpful if you'd include your address in your preference list, if you aren't sure if I have it.  If you played in round 9, I have it (unless you've moved, of course).
• Once I get all the preferences lists back, I'll try to sort it all out so quilts go to people who want them, and people get quilts they like.
• It's possible that your quilt won't appear on any choice lists. This has happened before. This does not mean your quilt isn't nice!  Sometimes there are other reasons - I've had this happen, for instance, if a quilt was a very particular style (e.g. Sunbonnet Sue) which didn't happen to appeal to most of the players in a given round; if a quilt was holiday themed (e.g. Christmas) but the swap finished at a time away from the Christmas holidays; if a quilt was photographed in a way which didn't really show it to advantage; if a quilt was quite plain/simple when there were a lot of showy pieces. If no one selects your quilt, or if only a few people do and I can't make the swapping work out, I will contact you to let you know that you will be keeping your own quilt. 
• Sometimes, if there are a handful of quilts I can't match up, I'll check with those people if they'd rather keep their own quilts or try to do a mini-match among the handful of unmatched ones.

I'll be emailing the group soon with similar instructions, but first, I have to update my mailing list to remove those people who didn't get a chance to make a quilt this time around...

Any questions, just ask.

Still more to come!

Just wanted to say, I have at least 5 more quilts to post (maybe another one coming in, or who knows, several - after all, the 11th isn't over in some parts of the world!) - so don't rush to make a list just yet.  Although my toothache is much better today (a big thank you to those who wished me well) it's still late and although I'm a night owl by nature, I really do need to get some sleep, as I have to work tomorrow...  Hope to get the rest of the photos up tomorrow night, and then instructions about What To Do Next.

More to come...

Deadline is tomorrow, and I know some of you are planning to send photos tomorrow - that's fine. I also have a large handful of photos I haven't uploaded yet - it's on my list and I was originally intending to do it tonight, but I have a dreadful toothache, so I'm going to attempt to get some sleep instead. If it wakes me up at 3am again and I can't get back to sleep, who knows, I may come down and upload quilt photos!

Deadline Extension

Hi everyone, sorry to be a bit out of touch, but I've been kind of snowed under with one thing and another. And from the fact that I've had only a couple of handfuls of quilts in, I think everyone else has been, too...

Therefore, I'm going to extend the deadline. I was going to add another week, but I see that would take me to the 4th of July, which is a big holiday for many of us, and a holiday weekend, so I'm actually going to add two weeks and make the final deadline Monday, 11 July. I promise it won't be changed again after that; apologies to those of you who sent quilt photos early; I hope you won't mind too much - I hope the wider selection of quilts to choose from will make up for the added delay.

If you haven't made a little quilt yet - get sewing!

Deadline reminder!

Just a reminder that the deadline is fast approaching for photos of finished quilts - it's the end of the month, 27th June. It's possible I may stretch this another week, especially as I have another deadline at the end of June and may need an extra week myself... Watch this space.

Also watch this space for some photos of quilts in so far, probably will start this week to post those that I do have.

ALQS10 logo (in memorium)

For this round of the ALQS, I have chosen to create the logo from a quilt made by my online friend Mary Jane Cardwell, who played in several rounds of the ALQS. As many of you will know, Mary Jane sadly died of cancer a few months ago; it seemed fitting to me to remember her by using her quilt in this fashion. The lucky owner of this quilt (Barbara S) will, I hope, not mind her little quilt being used as our logo this time around!

Please feel free to use this logo to promote the ALQS on your own blog (or wherever).

ALQS Round 10 - It's Official! (Finally)

ALQS10 will be a miniquilt swap, for a small SQUARE quilt within a range of sizes - between 10" square and 16" square. (Approx 25cm-40cm.) No exceptions, though I will give you a cm or so wiggle room in your squareness. Because it's round 10, I was originally going to suggest a 10" square, but this is very small for some people to work, so I decided not to insist on it.

You may choose to make a traditional style quilt or an art quilt, or something somewhere in between, as long as it fits the size requirements. You may make a quilt specifically for this swap or you may use a quilt that you have made previously, so long as it fits the size requirements.  As usual, you may make two unrelated quilts (which will count as two choices for swapping) if you like. No one player will be allowed to enter more than two swapping choices in this round of the swap.

If you are interested in taking part in this round of Another Little Quilt Swap, please read the following details very carefully before you go any further.  Details of how to register an interest follow the initial brief. Any questions or clarifications, I will do my best to respond to as quickly as possible and update the blog accordingly. If you have taken part in recent rounds of this swap, you will be familiar with the way it works, as I haven't changed it, other than the size, which varies from swap to swap, but do read the rules anyway to refresh your memory.

Requirements:

1. Quilt type.  Round 10  will allow all quilt types - traditional, modern, contemporary, art and any other designation you can think of.   In terms of how arty an art quilt might be and still qualify for the swap, the only things I insist on are: at least some fabric must be used in the construction of the piece, and it must follow the traditional front/filling/backing rule. Therefore, a quilt which used plastic and paper collage and then was batted, backed & quilted would be fine; a "quilt" which was made only from layered paper would not.
2. Electronic access. It is not vital to have a blog in order to play during this round (though it's nice if you do) but you absolutely MUST be able to communicate via email and to send me electronic photos of your quilt by some means. There can be no exceptions to this rule (explanation below in the description of how the swap will work), though if can you successfully communicate through a friend or relative, that's fine - I've had that in previous rounds and it's worked out well.
3. International posting. You must be able and willing to post internationally in order to play. This does not mean you will HAVE to do so, but you must be willing to, as partners will not be assigned in advance. If this is such a potential problem that it will prevent you from playing, please email me and we'll talk. I'd hate for someone not to be able to play because of it, but I'd rather sort it out in advance.

How it will work:

• No pre-assigned partners. Instead of being assigned a partner in advance, you may make any style, theme or colour of quilt that you like. You may also, if you wish, and if it fits the specs below, use a quilt which you have made in the past.
• Virtually unlimited signups/no signup deadline. Because of the way the swapping will work, I can take as many people as want to make quilts. In past swaps this has always been self-limiting, but I will reserve the right to put a cap on players if it becomes too big (with plenty of warning).  Also, due to the way the swapping will work, you can join right up until the last minute, though on the whole, I hope most people will at least make an expression of interest (see below) relatively early in the swap.
• No guilt/no droupout problems. I will maintain a list of those who are interested in playing along, but you will not officially be signed up to participate until I have photos of your quilt in my email inbox. This means that if you are unable for whatever reason to finish your quilt before the deadline, no one will be left without a quilt, it simply means you won't get the chance to choose a quilt for yourself.  
• Admire lovely quilts. As the quilt photos arrive, I will post them in batches on the blog with the descriptions, though not the names of the makers. I am not trying to keep this a complete secret, though, so if you wish to talk about (and show photos of) your quilt on your own blog, that's fine.
• Choose your own quilt! After the deadline, when I have received photos of all the finished quilts and posted them online, you will have the chance to send a list of the 10-12 quilts you would love to have. This will be difficult, as if the previous rounds are anything to go by, you will want to have at least 90 per cent of the quilts made! I hope this will help solve any potential problems with people getting something not really to their taste (seemed to work fairly well the last few rounds). 
• Quilty surprise?  I will not be announcing who gets what quilt until the quilts are received, but if you really want to know which one is coming to you once they have been assigned, I will send you that information prviately by email.

Details:

• Sizes. All quilts should be between 10"x 10" and 16"x16" (approx 25x25cm to approx 40x40cm). All quilts must be square (ish). 
• Multiples. Because of the way I will swap these quilts, you may, if you like, submit TWO quilts to this swap. (But no more.) Both, of course, must meet the requirements, and I would prefer them to be substantially different to one another. This would then get you two choices of quilts later on.
• Materials. If you are making a traditional quilt, this question may not come up, though I will say that because these quilts are aimed at decoration rather than use, you don't have to follow the standard rules about using only quilting cottons, etc. If you are making an art quilt, you can use whatever you like, though you must include at least some fabric, and must follow a basic 3-layer quilt structure as stated above. If you want to include non-cotton fabrics, paper, metal, plastic, whatever - go for it. Any any embellishments you care to add are ok, too. You will be required to send a brief description of materials and techniques with the photos of your finished piece, so that the other players are aware in advance and can avoid anything they don't want! Please let me know if you use any plant materials in your quilt (like leaves or branches) as we often have Australian participants and they can't receive these items in the post, so would need to exclude those pieces from their choices.
• Techniques. Again, unlimited, though you must include stitch in some form as this is a quilt swap. If you are making a traditional quilt you may piece by machine or hand, or a combination of both and likewise, you may quilt in either way - or both - or you can tie your quilt. You may use piecing and applique in any of their forms (including fused applique); you may use glue, rivets, burning, melting, painting, dyeing, stamping, embossing, embellishments in any form you can think of and really, whatever you like. As stated above, you will be required to send a brief description of materials and techniques with the photos of your finished piece, so anyone who wants to avoid certain techniques or materials can simply not put your piece on her (or his) list. Please bear in mind that although these pieces certainly don't need to be washed, they should be sturdy enough to last for years on that wall where they will be on show!
• Quality. I know I don't really have to say this, but the aim here is to make a nice quilt, which someone will want to own.  This swap is open to people of all levels of quilting abilitiy, but I ask that you do your best work and take some time over the product. Remember that people will be choosing your quilt (or not!) based on your photos, so if your quilt isn't well made, it might not get picked. This doesn't mean your quilt has to be complicated or elaborate, just make it something that you would like to own yourself!  In most rounds, all the quilts submitted were within the top 10 on at least one list and most were on a number of lists. In one round, we did end up with a few quilts which weren't on enough lists to allow me to successfully allocate them all to new homes; I hope that this won't happen again, but bear in mind that it is always possible. It doesn't mean that people don't like your quilt, but if we have 60 quilts, it is often the case that some of the simpler ones get overlooked in favour of the more showy ones. There's not much I can do about that except encourage people to include a broad variety of pieces in their preference lists.
• Timeline.  I like to allow plenty of time to work as I know we all have busy lives. However, I'd like to get this all wrapped up before I am worrying about things like my summer holidays, so I'm putting the deadline for photos to me as Monday, 27 June 2016. This gives you 4 months to work on your piece - should be plenty for a small square, right? I'll post lots of reminders about the deadline as well, so you really have no excuse!  (lol)

How to play:

1. Email me. (to katelnorth at yahoo dot com). This email is not a committment, it's an "expression of interest". This will give me a rough idea who might be playing and how many people I might expect to see quilts from. It will also mean I can send some reminders when the deadline begins to get near so that you don't miss out if you wanted to be in. Send me your name and your blog/flickr account/instagram ID, etc.  if you have one. Put ALQS10 in the subject line if possible - this just makes it easier for me. If you are new to this swap, please feel free to let me know about groups you belong to or swaps you've done, but this is not a requirement; I'm just nosy and like to see people's work. I am going to maintain a list at the side of the blog called an "artist pool" which is a list of people who may be making quilts for this swap. It's not a guarantee, though, as some may have to drop out before the deadline.
2. Make a quilt! Work on your quilt. Follow the guidelines above. Finish your quilt by the deadline.
3. Send me photos. When you are finished, send me at least two photographs of your quilt. One must show the whole quilt. One must show some detail. You can send more than one detail photo if you like. These should be good photos, where you can see the quilt properly and get a proper idea of what it really looks like. Remember, these photos are what people will be using to decide if they want to receive your quilt or not, so while it should be honest, it should also be flattering, so try to make sure it's not out of focus or taken in really bad light.  Sometimes in the past  I have had to chase a lot of people for their detail photos and I'm going to be mean this year. If you don't send me a full size photo of the quilt and at least one detail photo, I am not going to include your quilt.
4. And a description. With your photos, you should send a brief description of your quilt , including the  name if it has one and perhaps some notes on what materials and techniques you have used. Please make sure to say what size it is. When I post the photos on the blog (which I will do in batches, not in one great lump at the end) I will include that info with them, so people can see what they would be getting.
5. Sign up officially. Once I have received the photos of your FINISHED quilt(s), you will be officially signed up, which means that you will be able to send me a list your preferences for which quilt(s) you'd like to receive yourself. This also means that even if you have been late in a swap before you are still allowed to play because you have to show your finished work before you are officially on the list of people who can choose a quilt...
6. Get a quilt. After all the quilts have been made and photos posted and everyone who has made a quilt has sent me their lists, I will collate the lists and work out who gets what. It's been my experience that you do get a quilt on your list (which is why the list is 10-12) though obviously, not everyone gets their first pick. Some priority may be given to the makers of the most popular quilts (so if your quilt is the number one choice for half the swappers, you will be more likely to get your own first pick), but on the whole, I will simply move things around until they are as balanced as possible. This will take some time, I imagine! You will then have to mail your quilt to whoever is going to receive it. Which is why you have to be willing to post internationally.

Another round?

So, whaddya think, everyone - ready for another round of the ALQS?  I've been thinking about starting another round for a while now, and think I'm just about ready to commit to it... so watch this space for an official announcement within the next few weeks...

Reveal soon...I promise

All quilts now home safe and sound and everyone happy (I hope). I know the Grand Reveal is a long time coming, but I have been monumentally busy between the end of school/planning for a different role in September and being away every weekend looking at universities with my eldest. Hoping to get to it this week.  Thanks for being patient (or at least, for appearing patient, even if you are feeling impatient inside)!

(And if you think you saw a reveal published - and now you don't - don't worry, you aren't losing your mind - it wasn't finished  but for some reason blogger published it anyway, rather than saving it as a draft.  Hoping to finish it tonight or tomorrow!)

Quilts home safe...

Hi everyone - I've now heard about all the quilts being received safely except one, where the recipient is away from home until the end of June and has someone checking on their mail in that period. That quilt was mailed later anyway as the recipient was going to be away) and I'm sure it will also make it safely, but I won't know for sure for another week or two. I'm going to start to put together the grand reveal, but I do want to wait to post it until after Hilde is home and has a chance to be surprised by her quilt!

If you have not yet had a chance to email your partner to let her know personally that you have received her quilt, why not take this chance to do so? I can send you the relevant email address if it wasn't included in your package, and I know it means a lot to people to hear in person from the person who is getting their quilt baby...

Quilts received?

Many thanks to all of you who have let me know you have received your new little quilts. I know a few are still either in transit or have been sent to folks who have been away, and most of you I have heard from, but if you have received your quilt and haven't let me know, please can you do so. If you haven't yet had yours and haven't been in touch, feel free to let me know that, as well, though I'll be chasing up individually within the next week, anyway.