Need Block Exchange Ideas
 

My Bee is about to discuss our 4th block exchange. I wonder if there are any unique ideas out there.
For our first exchange, we gave out individual f8s & said make any block.
For our 2nd, we chose a theme w or w/o fabric.
For our 3rd, everyone got the same print to use.
Looking for 4th plan. We have up to 12 participants.
TY

I just did a spool block exchange with some online and local friends. We used this :
http://annalenaland.com/?s=spool+block

block pattern. Its a free pattern, but I emailed and asked her anyway. She gave me permission and I gave everyone the link to print out their own pattern. Have them make a sample block before making all the blocks to swap. We all had a good time making them. I was disappointed that there were not more pieced thread sections, but they all looked cute pieced.

I'm involved in a block exchange where everyone gets to specify what colors they want used for their blocks, and the block design is completely up to the makers.

How about a kitchen block? Any block that can represent something in the kitchen, in any way.

Examples:
The block named "Broken Dishes"
An applique block with a tea pot
Any block made with fabric that has food on it

I was in an exchange where each participant bought their own focus fabric. They cut 12" squares from it (larger if you want, but a 12" square usually works for a 12" finished block) and gave one to each of the other participants. Everyone made a block of their choice, incorporating the focus fabric, and returned it to the person who chose the fabric. She then ended up with 12 blocks (including her own), all of which contained her chosen fabric.

how about something like a kaleidoscope block and then it could be pretty scrappy

Hi Dottie,
I was thinking a signature blocks would be fun to do and if you used fall fabrics, it would make it a nice hanging for your sewing rooms for fall. That is if each of you made one for each person. Elenore Burns has a free block on her site that would be very easy to make twelve blocks with. (Quilt in a day)

Since you have 12 participants, why don't you have each one take a month -make 12 blocks the same theme that represenys that month....then each person will get one block for each month. I did that with SunBonnet Sue and some of the months themes were very, very cute.

I have been in block exchange for seven years. We pick a block, then decide scrappy or all use same background. We've exchanged nine patches (scrappy), churn dash (aunt gracies), a maple leaf (same background), this year we did a row quilt. Each month we have a color of block light or dark then green, yellow, etc. We then meet and we all have a block completed for each other. The most fun is we hold our own quilt show and share how our quilts from the exchange turned out (if makes get them done) and we share whatever else we did during the year. Last year we had 40 quilts with only 7 members in our group. None of our quilts made from the exchange are ever the same. Next show is Sept 21st.