Postage Stamp Swap

When I heard Mary (@mary_thecuriousquilter) was hosting a charm square swap I jumped in with both feet and my considerable collection of 2.5" squares of fabric. I've had some really good luck and some really bad luck with swaps in the past. I went into this one with high hopes and I was not disappointed. 

The first step, for me, was sorting through my collection of 2.5" squares. I have been cutting these little pieces of fun for quite a while now. This is what the collection looked like before I started sorting.

This is what it looked like after I had pulled 600 charms out for swap partners. Look at all that room for new fabrics!

I sorted them into two newbie packs (50 charms each) and five swap partner packs (100 charms each) and waited for the call to sign up. I was ready when the partner email went out. 

How does one package those charms? Well, this is what I went with. I'd read that many quilt bee block swaps use Glad Press-n Seal to wrap the blocks so they fit into a letter-size envelope. 

Fold it all up and those charms are less likely to shift about during shipping. 

Slip into a note, seal and mail. Then, wait for what seems forever for the charms from your partners to find their way to you. It felt like forever. 

Here are the 500 new charm squares I received in the swap. So many fun, new prints! I need to start working on a postage stamp quilt since I'm fairly certain I have enough to make a rather large quilt.  

Want to learn more about how these swaps work? Check out The Curious Quilter Blog to learn more. 

I'll talk about how much something like this costs in another post. I was going to include that info but I've already talked enough for one post. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Creative Grids 6.5" Square Ruler
Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Fiskars 8-inch scissors

6" x 9" envelopes

Postage Stamp Quilt Swap

I've been trimming some of my smaller scraps into 2.5" squares for a while now. Here is my collection of little squares. I learned about a charm square swap hosted by the Curious Quilter on Instagram. This is often where I learn about all sorts of fun swaps.

Here is the empty space left behind after I sorted out several stacks to swap. I am hoping to get back quite a collection of new fabrics.

Here are my swap stacks. Two identical sets (left top and middle), three unique sets (right top, middle and bottom), and two for newbies (these are shorter stacks of 50 charms). I've signed up and now I wait for my partner info. So much fun!

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Creative Grids 6.5" Square Ruler
Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
6" x 9" envelopes

Charity Quilting: Postage Stamp

This quilt top was made and donated to Annapolis Quilts for Kids. 

It's been sitting here waiting to get quilted for a month or more.  I finally got around to it and I love the finished quilt.

Waldo approves.  Some day I'll put together my own postage stamp quilt.  Or just some scrap vomit quilt with these scraps I seem to be collecting.

Because I was in a quilting mood but not a fancy mood I just did a small meander to get it all quilted.  The meander may be humble but it is good at its job and I love it for that.

You may be wondering why there is a flower just hanging out in the middle of the quilt. I found a bad seam after I had quilted half the quilt.  While I tried to stitch over it, I just didn't think it was good enough so I cut out an applique flower with the Accuquilt Go! and quilted it right onto the top.  It isn't perfect but it will hold up better than it would have without that flower.  

I love scrappy and this quilt is no exception.  I went with the scrappy binding on this one.  I wish it was scrappier!

All folded up and ready to go in a couple weeks.  I'm going to try to stay focused and get a couple more quilted before the next meeting on October 18th.  

Do you quilt for charity?  I'd love to hear about it.