I am considering trying a swap or Row/Round Robin and have never done one before. I was curious what experience my fellow quilters have had with these? Good/Bad, were you happy with the experience, what did you learn? Also, any advice for a newbie who is nervous about "taking the plunge?" Thanks in advance! :-)

Lots of fun!!

I had fun doing this years row robin. The only complaint I have was wishing our group would have been alot more chatty. I was hoping to make some new friends. They are all very nice and talented ladied but I didn't really get to much about them. One lady did include a journal with some info and we all wrote something about ourselves. That was nice. I will do it again next time. All our tops are beautiful.

I participate in the secret pal swap every month, its alot of fun and you never know what you'll get. There is a 10.00 spending limit not including postage. Most of us get away with 4.95 flatrate mailers so its not too bad. You dont have to spend 10.00 its just the limit. Alot of us send stuff from our own stash plus some store bought things.

I have been in the doll quilt swap for over a year now, i love it, so much fun and the quilts have all been just darling. Everyone has been so nice. I also have done the block swap, that is fun too, one block a month, easy enough to do. try one, you will like it.

I;m in the secret swap too.Lots of fun.Lots of chatter ,lots of teasing[all in fun].I really enjoy it.

I enjoyed the round robin I was part of last year. Lots of fun and it stretched my skills:)

I've been a bit disappointed in the few swaps I've joined, not to say that they weren't fun.

One block swap I was in, somewhere else not here, one person did not follow the 'rules' of batiks only ... her block was pretty but did not fit in with the rest.

I LOVE doing swaps. You do need to realize that not everyone's work will be up to your quality standards, but when I join a swap I only send my best(which isn't perfect...)

I host a 10.5 layer cake swap.. I have to add that as a host we cannot control the quality -or lack there of - in fabrics that are sent in.. I get, but not limited to- LQS, joannes, hobby Lobby, Mil outlets, & walmart fabrics...

So if you are 'strictly' a LQS fabric quilter please take into consideration that members will send in/use what they can afford if its not LQS stuff..

I love the Secret Pal swap. I have learned a lot about other swappers. We only spend $10. Many make hand made items for their partners. It is so much fun.

swap are only as good as the host.

it is up to the host to properly swap out the blocks, coordinate the people in the swap, and make sure everyone follows the rules.

i've been in some great swaps and i'll always join anything she wishes to host and i've been in some terrible swaps and i'll never work with that host again.

Let's see...The BOM's are fun because the Host posts the block you are to make and it's for yourself....
I joined the Boomerang with 35 other ladies where you swap fabric with them and each of us makes a block out of their fabric...My first 20 blocks I did for others was fun but I think I burnt myself out on the last 15...so it will be awhile for a re join on that one.
My favorite is Doll Quilts been doing that every mth since Feb.
Themed block sets are fun...I've joined Sunbonnet Sue, Funky Chicken, Funky Cats and recently Painted/printed loved that one since it was so diff...
So ck each one out and see what looks interesting and come join in...I'd recommend DollQuilt...

They are lots of fun. And you get to 'meet' lots of fun new quilting friends. Plus you get a treasure to keep.

Not sure I understand that comment. How can a host guarantee that the rules are followed?

I have participated in a few swaps and enjoyed most. However, it is amazing how the rules seem to be interpreted by some participants. Prewashing fabric, size of block, craftsmanship.... AND I am NOT talking about a newbie who is trying her best. In this example, I am talking about someone who whacked off a few hunks of fabric and slapped them together. I was surprised she used thread and not staples. The rules state that we cannot make negative comments in a swap - so at the time, I just took note to never work with that person again. In general, I think the swaps are fun. You tend to get a lot of nice blocks.

As for Robins, I've been in a row robin and a round robin.

On both robins, it was a good challenge because it made me broaden my horizon. The row robin is a little easier because you always work with the same size block (word of advice: always measure the row first!)

The round robin grows as you work on each one in succession. I was in a great group. Everyone did wonderful work and I am soooooo pleased with my top. Other groups were not so lucky for a variety of reasons.
One thing I learned for me: Never send out a center for a robin that you are emotionally attached to. If someone messes up or if your top gets lost, you will be heartbroken.

I love the doll quilt swap and it is not difficult to finish or to become overwhelmed. I am in a boomerang for the first time and am in the small group of only 16. I am really enjoying it to the max, but probably will only do small ones each time as I don't like feeling pressed to finish so many blocks and like to make something special for each swap partner. I am intrigued with the row robins-they look marvelous!

I forgot. Took part in the Boomerang last year and it was so much fun. It takes a bit more fabric in the beginning but it is fun to see what everyone makes with your fabric.

I have participated in quite a few doll quilt swaps, and I have some real treasures hanging in my sewing space. It's fun for me to try new techniques on a smaller scale and I love getting a surprise in the mail. They have been great fun

I love the monthly Secret Pal swaps. I have participated in it for several months and it's like Christmas every month!

I've only done one and I didn't enjoy it at all. And I'm still waiting on 2 blocks that were supposed to be in the mail by Sept. 4. I wasn't happy with the quality of some of the blocks and, thankfully, I have enough of the fabric I sent out to make enough replacement blocks to make a decent sized quilt. I won't do another one. I was really excited at the beginning of the swap but it went rapidly downhill after that.

I appreciate the head's up, considering I recently admitted in a post that I am something of a fabric snob. I don't worry about other people's fabric though, people buy what they can afford and like. My snobbery is fairly contained to my own stash. I am not the fabric police haha!!!

I participated in my first two last year. Swapped table runners. Despite making a runner in the person's favorite colors and motif, I never heard from her or even received an acknowledgment of her receiving the runner. Left me with sour taste in my mouth and disinclined to participate again.

The other one I did was a pincushion swap, which was much more enjoyable. Got a nice pincushion, and the receiver liked the unique one I made for her. So, mixed experiences.

I realize we all have different tastes, levels of skill, and busy lives, but I thought it rude to not even acknowledge receiving. Hope your experience is a positive one!

Did my 1st Row Robin this year. Really enjoyed it. I am a novice "piecer", but no one objected to my amateur efforts, just lots of encouragement. Will certainly do it again.

I have been in several swaps here, monthly block, boomerang, I spy, doll quilt, secret pal. I really like them all I've had good experiences here. With that said I was/am in a row robin not on here somewhere else, it has been over a year and still at least 4 of the 7 quilts have never made it past one person. She still has them as far as I know, no one can get a hold of her. So I really would like to get my quilt back. I hope to maybe join another one on here next time. I can't give up after only one try, I liked it to much.

The only finished swap I have been in is the Doll Quilt swap. And what fun it is-lots of encouragement from all players! I have done a couple I spy and cut square swaps to expand my collection for a few projects.

I'm not crazy about them. I'm still waiting for blocks from 3 years ago from a swap in another group. Wouldn't have minded so much if it were only 1 or 2 blocks but it was an entire year's worth. She still posts with longer explanations of why she still hasn't done these. I'm not holding my breath. Another swap presented me with all sorts of sizes. Only one or two the correct one. I didn't expect perfection. Skill levels vary and all that can be expected is a person's best efforts, but like one of the earlier contributers to this thread, only a couple of the participants seemed to know how to use a ruler. I gave all of that swap away to a dog project ufo orphanage. They were way too much trouble to fix.

I've got too much of my own stuff to do and with the cost of postage these days, I'd rather spend my extra pennies on batting and thread.

Wewlcome and don't be afraid. It is lots of fun and it gives you a chance to get acquainted with people that you would never have a change to meet via the exchange.
Give it a try one time and if you don't like it you don't have to join in ever again....but you will 'cause you will enjoy it!

Absolutely join in the fun. I've made some wonderful friends on this board by participating. My two favorites are the Secret Pal Swap and the Doll Quilt Swap.

Hi Sheila, I do the secret pal swap and love it. I started this past July. I have been making many great friends. We chat back and forth all month long about anything and everything. We support each other good times and bad times. I'm so glad that I joined and find it to be a wonderful experience. I hope you consider joining us. If you are interested in joining send me a pm and I will let you know when the next sign up is.

Robyn

p.s. I see my friend Krystyna posted right before I did.

I do the Secret Pal Swap also...Love it, you can make some new friends and alot of them are very funny..with every swap you will have some people that don't follow the rules..but most are very faithful..I really think that you should try a few and see how it goes..I did some on another link and didn't like the way they handled their swaps. But on this board the people are very friendly and seem to follow thru the swap..Please try us.

I was in a swap several years ago (not on this board) and one girl kept all the quilts she received. We tried to contact her and sent her letters etc. Never heard anything. One girl had all moda fabric in her swap so she lost a lot. However rhe second one I joined I have the quilt.. It traveled around the world and I am thirlled with it. Two of the ladies were from Australia and New Zealand.

totally disappointed! Host wouldn't even reply to me about things, blocks came with holes in them, colors were not what they were supposed to be....do it at your own risk and don't expect much...never tried a round robin. Also postage cost more than it was worth!!!!

I have done several. (10 or so over 10 yrs) Yes, realize blocks will be of verious sizes,of all kinds of fabrics, not everyone seems to be able to follow directions, blocks might have holes, blocks put together the wrong way, you might never get some blocks, colors are wrong etc.

I like the projects I made with the blocks. I enjoy getting to know the people that are participating and the communication as people are making the blocks. I do worry if people will like my blocks and if I can make the death line.

Right now I am in one swap Final Dresden Seasonal Swap-Winter ( http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-152159-1.htm ), first with this board. I think because the board is very large it is harder to keep in touch during the process. The host, Deb, for this swap is very helpful and responds back to posts or pm. I put a pictures down below of the Dresden block I am working on. I had made a Dresden block before but wanted to do one with points and joining the swap was motivational and helpful to work on perfecting the technique.

Below is also a picture of a quilt made from two swaps over two years from another board. The board was much smaller so I felt I got to know the people. When I put the quilt top together I removed the labels from the people who made them from the different blocks. It brought back many memories.

I'd like to enjoy a secret pal swap. How do you get into one?
Mikki

how do you joint a swap? I am very new at this!
sandra

Go to the home page and click on Member Swaps Round/Row Robins. Click on the various choices and read through some of the posts. I did this with the "Winter Dresden" swap. Mostly to see if my own skill would equal the others. After seeing the Dresden above I'm excited all over again that I joined it. I try to only send what I would want myself and I had never done a Dresden so I've already learned a new technique.

My daughter and I joined this board just a couple of months ago and I somehow wandered into LuvToQuilt's 10.5" swaps, then Yosamitesa's 6.5" novelty swaps. Both ladies are SO PRO!!! You can do Up to six sets so the investment is only what you choose. I'd encourage anyone to join.

I'd say.... Do your research on a sewing project and try one month a fabric swap. Start small and expect only the best from YOU :)

I have only done one block swap. Very dissappointing.
Blocks were made of cheap fabric. Most blocks were not the required size, suppose to be 6 1/2 inch square (6 1/4 mostly)
The block required light, med, dark fabrics correctly placed. Some quilters didn't follow the color placement which was clearly labeled on the pattern. Out of 14 blocks I could only
use 9. I've not done another block swap.
I joined for a round robin and machine embroidered four blocks for the center of the quilt. Sent them out to the quilter. One year later I still hadn't received the quilt top. I finally called her and she sent my center blocks back.
I guess swapping just isn't for me. :D

I love them....they are a blast! Of course, I am the type that tends to make lemonade when served with bad lemons, so I don't mind what I get back. The social aspect of the swap is what I have fun with.

I'm not sure there will be another IRR offered on this board. There have been 3---I hosted one and it broke my heart that of the 60 quilts that started, there were 2 that never made it home. As a host....we cannot control what other people do! That alone is the reason that I will not host another. I cannot deal with the feelings of disappointment and frustration that I had...innocent members were being hurt by someone else and I couldn't do a thing about it. That is the chance you take doing a round robin...but if you form an individual one with a group of people you feel comfortable with...they are sooo great!

Swaps are lots of fun....just go for it!

The few block swaps I have joined, the majority of the blocks were made from cheap fabric and you could tell not much thought went in the sewing. I mean bright pink thread to sew dark fabric pieces? The thread is usually thick so the seam won't press flat. Why do quilters that sign up for swaps use thread and fabric they want to get rid of? It's so obvious. The blocks I did receive that were nice I used them in a quilt, the others went in the trash. I wasn't about to keep them around to be disappointed looking at them. If I see those block makers in the list of future swaps I don't participate. I always send a small gift to the swappers that follow the swap intention, it does take time and thought to make a nice one to send to someone and I appreciate the effort for the block to be as nice as possible. Just my thoughts on block swaps.

I love the secret pal swap. I have done others and the secret is to not expect all perfect blocks or all done according to directions.. but these are very few/ I sign up for 2 sets and then I know I will get plenty of nice blocks. I hope you decide to give them a try... most fit in a flat rate envelope so you are spending $5 to send and $5 to get your blocks back....