I have participated in a lot of block swaps, round & row robins, etc over the yrs. One thing I have learned is to choose a fairly simple block when it is my turn to have the others make blocks for me, such as in a birthday block exchange. You will be more apt to get back blocks that you are happy with than if you expect everyone to make a complicated/time consuming block. Also, I must admit that I'm fussy who I exchange blocks with. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I don't believe it is right to send out very poorly made blocks made with the cheapest fabric they can find. Believe me, this is not always done by beginners either as I have received some gorgeous blocks from people who have not been quilting more than just a few months as well as some horrible ones made by people who have been quilting for yrs. I too prefer not to receive blocks that reek of smoke or are covered w/pet hair. I think it is just plain good manners not to send stuff like that. Right now I'm not joining in on block swaps because I'm grounded from starting anything new until I get more of my older projects done, but I will join in some time in the future. And yes, it is difficult being both the grounder & the groundee! The 2 sides to my personality fight with each other over this all the time! LOL