I'm all better! I was a day or so delayed in getting home due to getting sick as a dog... but I got in last night. Memphis had lots of snow and ice last weekend and many pipes froze and broke. (Southerners don't know how to prepare for 'real' winter!) Due to all the broken water pipes, Memphis had a city-wide boil water notice on. I didn't get the memo. I had been drinking tap water, as I usually do. I'm sure that's what did it.
Anyway, hubby and I just came from the post office where we dropped off all your packages. I don't know if they will actually move before Monday or Tuesday, due to the holiday, but here's hoping they get to you soon.
I have to say that Pirate ship ROCKS. They had a new, lower rate on priority. There is something called "Priority cubic" where they measure the packaging and figure out the postage cubic-ly rather than by weight. It comes out much cheaper unless you are mailing a really long distance. It's not a new class, most people just don't know about it. Go to Pirate Ship and make a free account! It's just like using USPS online, only they have first class and UPS too. So convenient and definitely the cheapest way to go. If you sent me way too much money, you will find a refund in your shipment. If it was just a few bucks over, I added it to the ink fund.
So, a couple of things about the blocks:
One set of blocks I had returned to the maker to re-do ended up lost in a postal center for a long time-- over a month! I panicked and remade those 7 blocks as close a replica of the originals as I could. I wanted to have replacements in case we never got the blocks back. But then they finally got delivered. So I sent the extra ones I made to the respective people, in with their other blocks. If you have an extra block in your package, it was one of those blocks. You can use them or toss them.
Next time we will NOT be allowing fold-top baggies. While they may be great for sandwiches, they do not keep other contents from falling out of them over and over. Also, plan to use at least sandwich sized bags. The little snack bags are just too small. Once you cram a finished block in them, they are impossible to close. Sandwich or quart bags with a zipper top and no slider are just about perfect for our needs.
Surprisingly, many of you didn't identify yourself as the maker of the blocks! I intercepted as many as I could find and inserted a name in the baggie. But I shouldn't have to do that. Every baggie has a note from the owner. Just turn the note over and write your name on it and stick it back in the bag. How hard can that be? If you find an unnamed block that I missed, you will have to identify it in the gallery to learn who made it.
I think most quilters own a 12.5" square Plexiglas ruler, but if you don't, start watching for one on sale before the next boom! (JoAnn's...). They really are a must. No block should be mailed before it's checked under that ruler, measuring from a corner and not the center. Anything measuring less than 12.5" needs to have the seams altered a bit to get the block to size. Anything less than 12 3/8" will probably be returned to you for fixing. Nearly everyone made the right sized blocks this time... BRAVO YOU!! Only a few problems this time and I am so grateful for your efforts.
So all in all I consider this Boom a huge success! The blocks are terrific and unique. The quilts will be amazing. Don't forget to come back to this thread and post your pics of your finished quilts and I will add them to our gallery. Can't wait to see!
HAPPY NEW YEAR, Everyone!