jaba

The patterns in the book must make 9" blocks, is that right?

joanelizbay

Bee...please post a picture!!! I always have trouble deciding how to use the blocks, with or without sashing, etc...I love seeing what others have done with theirs!

Janice McC

If those corner squares are 2 3/4 unfinished, the block must be 9 finished by my calculations. Anyone else agree?

Janice McC

Good afternoon swappers!
These last few days have seen the groups emerge larger than I anticipated so any sign-ups from here on out will be on a waiting list as we'd have to wait weeks to get enough for a 3rd group and my estimated timeline would be blown to smithereens.

There are 2 groups, a 4 month and a 2 month, both with 20 people each. I know this is a larger number than was anticipated but breaking each group into 10 isn't an answer so 20 it is and I'm capping it here. If anyone has signed up and is unhappy with the group size, please EMAIL me as soon as possible to let me know and I'll withdraw your name and make room for any late sign-ups. And really, particularly those in both groups, please be sure of your commitment and your ability to fulfill it. If unsure, please let me know sooner rather than later. I don't want to turn anyone away only to have someone quit after we get started.

I'll keep sign-ups open, wait-listing people from this post time on, and officially close them on Sunday. That means Monday, I'll email everyone, post groups and dates, and you may begin mailing me your F8s. Reminder! We use Fat 8ths, 18x11 inch pieces of fabric (or thereabouts due to shrinkage), NOT 9x22 inch pieces. Please remember to prewash, press and wrap them individually in the absolute flattest way possible to ship - no bulky large ziplock bags with plastic zippers. Many of you will be in both groups and shipping 40 F8s in one flat rate package will be a challenge. However, if everyone respects the small packages request, it can probably be done or you'll have to ship each group separately. Remember, even if groups have to be shipped separately, mailing costs remain lower than individually mailing 40 f8s and then 40 completed blocks. Those in a single group will have no trouble shipping in a single package but please respect the small ziplock bag request too.

Anyone with any questions, please email me at [email protected]. I'll be in touch here through the weekend with updates, if any, and will email everyone on Monday with groups. And don't forget to let me know if the groups are too large for you or you wish to drop a group for any reason at all. Absolutely no hard feelings and better now than later! And as of now, any sign-ups will be wait-listed.

Whew...we're almost ready to begin!

Janice McC

moonrise

40 total people? "Whew" is definitely the word! LOL! I better get my sewing machine oiled up! I'll have to fill in my oriental F8s with some of my Phantom of the Opera fabrics, since I don't have quite enough, but that'll work out just fine.

Question: Will those of us in both groups be receiving two packages instead of one, since the "fast" group will have a sooner mailing date? If so, we'd need to send double the return postage, right? (Hope that makes sense.)

jclinganrey

Yes, the Missouri block I posted is 9x9, so would need to adjust accordingly. But, hey, this group is so blasted smart, I don't anticipate a problem!

Jane

Janice McC

Yes, the question makes sense and is a great question! Thanks. Well, first of all, those of you in a single group, you need to send 19 fabrics as you are the 20th. Those in two groups will need to send 38. (Thank you to Groovy Pieces for emailing me about how many to cut. Serendipity at work!) As for when to mail, I'd like to get ALL F8s here within 3 weeks but 2 weeks would be better. We have Gaijin in Japan sending and it will definitely take her more time to ship but as she's always on top of things, I suspect she'll get it done fast. So, that being said, ALL f8s should be in my hands on June 23rd, regardless of the group. The clock starts running the day I ship to you, which, hopefully should be by June 25th. You know I like to turn everything around FAST but with many people having two groups, the chance of a foul-up on my part increases if I go too fast. Now, for those of you in two groups, if you want me to mail your groups separately, then yes, mail me two prepaid USPS padded flat rate envelopes OR double postage in cash, $6 for each. If you want to combine shipping for both groups, then I will hold your f8s for the second group. AGAIN, I cannot stress this enough, if the packages are too full, separate shipping may be required. You all will probably know before I do as you'll be sending me 38 F8s. To date, I've squeezed 31 completed blocks into one envelope and that was without everyone TRYING to make their individual packages small. If everyone works at it, I think it will work.

In fact, the first person who gets their fabric cut and ready to mail in a single usps padded flat rate envelope, EMAIL me before you ship and we'll run an experiment. Remember to EMAIL me at [email protected] for details.

Don't forget, these numbers remain tentative until I see if anyone wants to make any changes. I won't allow the groups to be any larger than 20 but it's possible the number could drop once the word gets out. On Monday, the numbers will be final. I will be emailing everyone on Monday and posting groups.

joanelizbay

I just buy the legal size envelope. Only costs about 15 cents more.

Libster

The padded flat rate envelope will hold 38 F8s easily. Mine are ironed flat and individually wrapped in saran wrap. All are in a one gallon ziplock bag. Makes for a very neat envelope.

joanelizbay

Got mine packaged with no problem...38 of the suckers!