Sustraley -
I'm sorry if you feel this swap has rubbed you the wrong way. I made a tremendous effort to be discrete, protect your privacy and to be as sensitive as possible to your feelings. Since you decided to post on the thread which is certainly your prerogative then I will respond here as well. First off, you were not the only one. There were actually a total of three participants; one who used Batiks but her blocks were not cut correctly. I sent her a very apologetic PM and returned her blocks. She was very understanding. The second swapper sent 6 sets and only 5 of the 6 were Batik so I swapped 5 sets and returned the other set unswapped. She and I are finalizing some details.
You were the third swapper. I will, for everyone's benefit, share the PM I sent you:
"“ As I was going over all the packages and getting ready to swap out all the blocks, I came to your blocks and I have some real concerns.
Only one of the fabrics, the light tan/medium brown fabric used in 2 blocks is Batik.
The other two - the purple dot and the teal print are not Batiks. The thread count is different and there is a definite front and back to the fabric which you don't see in a Batik.
I'm very sorry I have to return your quilt blocks to you unswapped. It's not fair to the other swappers who sent Batiks to not receive Batik blocks in exchange.
Again, my apologies that this didn't work out. I hope you decide to participate in some of our future swaps. There is a new swap every month to the end of the year.
Jane""
I will say, too, that it is hard to tell from your pictures that two of the fabrics are not Batik. They are pretty, but not Batik.
Now I will address the some of the points in your post:
'I thought we all knew that it is a very specific fabric. I guess I don't.' I'm sorry this was a difficult lesson to learn.
'I wanted to use fabrics I already had for this swap. Part of new year's resolution. Certainly understandable! Plenty of us want to use our stash. When a swap is SPECIFIC (and most swaps are specific), the swapper is expected to use what is called for in the instructions.
'I am sure I am not the only one who has been a recipient of something that did not fully follow the guidelines of a swap.' Not any swap that I've run and for a reason. As I mentioned in my PM to you, if swappers send in Batik blocks, they expect to receive Batik blocks in exchange, not something ‘close’. I guarantee you any swapper who sent in Batik blocks and DID NOT receive Batik blocks in exchange would have been absolutely livid and rightly so!
'I think I sent my blocks early enough that they could have been looked at and maybe I could have had the chance to make and send new ones.' Absolutely you did! I, however, was not expecting to receive anything other than Batik blocks so imagine my surprise when I opened your package. I receive lots - and I mean lots of packages in advance, which is okay. I'm the first to admit I don't inspect each and every package I receive in a swap until it's time to do the swap. I expect the swappers to follow the rules and instructions.
'I apologize for the error I made.' No need for apologies on your part. More like ‘lesson learned’. Sadly, some LQS's will 'hide' non-Batik fabrics in with their Batik bundles. As I've said to other swappers, shame on them! because there is a difference.
I'll finish this post be saying this: I have taken upon myself as the host of this swap a responsibility to ALL swappers to do several things, a few of which are:
1. offer a swap that is fun for lots of swappers
2. hold swappers quilt blocks and funds in safekeeping
3. try to the best of my ability to do a swap as equitably as possible
4. enforce the rules when needed which means I have to be the 'bad guy' and no, it's not fun.
God knows I'm not perfect and I certainly don't claim to be either. We all know I've had some faux pas along the way. This particular swap was, by far, the most challenging and I'm still mopping up and making some corrections.
I am truly sorry this swap wasn't a wonderful experience for you. I believe we all need to continually learn in our creative journey. I've been a quilter for nearly 30 years and I'm always learning something new which is as it should be! I dread the day I stop learning!
I hope you decide to join one of our other swaps. I really do. If not, then best wishes to you in your quilting.
Jane