How to Host a Swap...Without Going Insane

One of our swap participants asked that I blog about the actual process of managing the swap. It seems complicated, but really it's very straitforward, and anyone can do it. So...here's how it worked...

1. 
   
   I co-hosted the swap with my sister-in-law, Wendy. This was nice because it cut down on the work for one person. She coordinated all the sign-ups and sent instructions to everyone. I received all the fabrics, distributed them, and will mail them out.
   


2. 
   
   We had 20 participants (including ourselves) who each sent 20 4 inch squares of 10 different patterns (total of 200 squares from each person). Each person will get 200 squares back, but with 200 different patterns. So, just remember that the amount of fabric people send will be the same amount that they get back.
   


3. 
   
   This meant that I was collecting 4,000 pieces of fabric which seems overwhelming, but really, it was just a matter of storing them until I was ready to distribute. Whenever I got a package in the mail, I'd mark the person down, and stash their squares in my very sophisticated storage system...
   
   
   
   

   



4. 
   
   Once I received everyone's squares, I started the process of distributing them into 20 different stacks. Starting with the first pattern...
   
   

   



5. 
   
   And going through all 200 different patterns...I'm sure there are lots of ways to do this, but by doing it all at once, and one pattern at a time, I could be sure that each person got every single pattern. This took a LOT longer than I thought it would. About 4 hours. But I got to touch every single piece of beatiful fabric, so that made it worth it :)
   
   
   

   



6. 
   
   We also asked each swapper to send a self-addressed stamped envelope with their fabrics. This made it MUCH easier to package the squares up to send out.

And tomorrow I will head to the post office!

So that's pretty much it! Not so scary, huh? This was my first swap to host and it has been a great experience! I highly recommend it!

And then there were 4,000!

It's official...I have 4,000 squares of novelty fabric in my house! Here are the last three sets...Hopefully I'll have everything divided up and ready to ship on Monday. Also, I had a request to do a blog post about the process of hosting a swap in a semi-organized fashion. Stay tuned.

On to the important stuff...

Gina from TX sent these in...aren't those lips cool?

(Public Service Announcement: My camera is off. way off. It needs to go to the camera graveyard. That cute froggie is actually on HOT PINK fabric.)

Anna from WA sent these...*Gasp*

And lastly...here are my picks. This was my first time to shop specifically for novelty fabrics and it was SO MUCH FUN! When else do you have a reason to buy singing pigs or wiener dogs?

So that's it...now on to make some sense out of this craziness!

Two More!

Deb sent these all the way from New Zealand...if I HAD to pick a favorite, it'd be those sheep!

And Donna sent these from PA...that red cardinal is most definitely my favorite!

And lastly, I have been resisting the urge to buy my own I-SPY fabrics until everything came in so that I could be sure I wouldn't buy a duplicate pattern. But today it happened...I reached my limit on self-control and I caved. I'll wait to post pictures, but get ready for some wiener dogs in sweaters!

We're getting closer!

Dianah from CA sent these...

and her mom, Liz, sent these...and I really want to go to their fabric shop because some of these prints are amazing!

Next up...Gail from MO sent these...love those frogs!

And Deanna from FL sent these...I spy flamingos!

And last, but not least, Annie from TX sent these...those hearts totally remind me of my childhood for some reason...

ALSO - Hosting does not come without it's rewards! Gail sent us some cute fabric and Whitney sent us some jellybeans! Those are Wendy's jellybeans in the picture...mine were eaten a long time ago. I'm pretty proud of myself for NOT eating Wendy's and never telling her that they were sent. Not that I thought about doing that...

I now have 2,000 squares of fabric in my house...

And we're only HALF way there! Jeepers! Yikes! Holy fabric squares, Batman!

Bethany from NE and Andi from AZ sent the next two sets, and I'm embarrassed to say that in the excitement of ripping packages open and gazing upon piles and piles of adorable novelty prints, I totally lost track of which set came from Bethany and which came from Andi. Sorry, ladies. Fabric does funny things to me. I have so many favorites among these that I don't even know where to begin...

Mel from MO sent these...lots of fun boy prints in this group...

Jenna from IL sent these cuties...love that bacon & egg print!

And my lovely cousin Monica from TX sent these...which marked her first trip to her local fabric shop! Good job, Monica! Those chili peppers totally make me think of you!

And last but not least my lovely sister-in-law and most-favorite co-host, Wendy, of "Sewing in the Wendy City" fame sent these beauts...surf boards are definitely my faves...

And that wraps up all the squares that are currently in my house. Here's to the next 2,000!

Horses and Hippos and Dice...OH MY!

I've received one package in the mail every day since Friday with I-SPY fabric...how fun is that?

Katherine from Washington sent these...

Whitney from Ohio sent these...

and Natalie from DC sent these...

I know it's impossible to choose, but which ones are your favorites? I have a special place in my heart for chocolate chip cookies.

I Spy a Swap - Set #1

Shirley from Missouri sent these. Aren't they cute? My camera is dying, so the colors aren't totally accurate...the horseshoes & buttons are actually on green backgrounds.

I-Spy Swap Mailing Status

If you're participating in the I-SPY a Swap, please leave me a comment when you have mailed your fabrics. Also, please try to have your fabrics in the mail by August 1st. Thanks!

Here's a list of what has been received so far...

1. Shirley from MO
2. Natalie from DC
3. Whitney from OH
4. Katherine from WA
5. Andi from AZ
6. Mel from MO
7. Bethany from NE
8. Monica from TX (hey cuz!)
9. Wendy from TX (the best co-host ever)
10. Jenna from IL
11. Dianah from CA
12. Liz from CA
13. Gail from MO
14. Deanna from FL
15. Annie from TX
16. Donna from PA
17. Deb from New Zealand
18. Gina from TX
19. Anna from WA
20. Meredith from...my house!

I SPY a Swap!

My sister-in-law and I are co-hosting a swap called....

{drum roll}

I-SPY a swap!

The details:

• The first 18 people are in. Go to Wendy's blog to sign up...


• Each person will send (20) 4" squares from each of 10 novelty fabrics (a total of 200 squares) to me by August 1st.
  
• You will receive (200) 4" novelty squares (enough for 2 small I-SPY quilts or 1 large one). We’re hoping to send packages out by August 15th, but that depends on how long it takes everything to come to us.
  
• Live outside the U.S.? No problem! Just try to get your fabrics to us a little earlier.


• We'll post a list of participants' blogs on each of our blogs, so hopefully you'll go visit everyone's sites and leave some bloggy love, make some friends, and generally fill the world with peace and happiness.


• Just because we like you, we’ll even draw up and post some patterns you could use for arranging the squares in order to get a certain sized quilt.

A few thoughts & guidelines on the fabrics…

• Most fabric stores have a dedicated novelty fabric section. Generally these are fabrics with objects…animals, food, people, etc. It may help to think in terms of things you could use for the I-spy game. (I spy the letter G, I spy a sushi roll, I spy a monkey eating a banana, etc.)


• In order to avoid duplicate patterns, go on a mission for some really obscure, hard-to-find prints that aren’t available at the chain retailers.


• No team prints or licensed characters (SpongeBob, Dora, etc.) So, for example, a print with basketballs would be great, but a Dallas Mavericks print is not. Or a print with ducks wearing hats is great, but Donald Duck is not.


• The object in the fabric should be distinguishable in a 3.5x3.5 square (which will be its finished size). Keep this in mind when choosing fabrics. Either go with small prints or be ready to fussy-cut.


• You can get (20) 4" squares out of a 1/4 yard cut of fabric or out of a fat quarter. So you'll need to purchase at least 2-1/2 yards of fabric.

What is an I-Spy quilt? It's a quilt made with novelty fabrics. And it's a wonderful toy to play I-spy with. Great for traveling with kids or rest time or when you need something to occupy little ones. How to play? Take turns spotting something in the quilt, maybe "I spy, with my little eye, a frog in a tutu!" And then the first person to point out the tutu frog on the quilt goes next. And so on. Hours and hours of fun!