Quilt Block Exchange
 

I belong to a quilting group of 7 and I am trying to start a quilt block exchange and I need some guidance as to how to start it. Does each person make 7 themed blocks ?

It depends on what your group wants to have in the end. Years back my group of eight each chose a quilt pattern and size we liked. We put our names in a hat and the first name pulled was the one we each made blocks for during that month. I still have my queen sized scrappy that came from this swap.

Another way to do it. A leader or the group, chooses the blocks that will go in the quilt and the color tones. Then each member makes a block for herself and 1 for each member of the group. All should be the same color/style. The member would send all but hers to the leader along with a post-paid envelope for the leader. At the end of the quilt-along, the leader will send back to her one of everybody else's blocks that will be hers at the end of the sew along. Since you have an odd number of people, you may want to add several that each person could do to make a decent sized quilt, or make 2 blocks a month or whatever the group will want to do.

I participated in a swap years ago that was fun. We were supposed to end up with 12 blocks. We put a yard of focus fabric in a clean pizza box. Each month when we met, we’d swap boxes around and take a different box than we’d had before. We couldn’t sneak peeks in our boxes during the year, although some tried really hard to look! At the end of the year, we got our own box back with our completed 12” blocks. There were a few glitches, but mostly fun! The biggest glitch was folks not getting all their blocks. I only got 8, but that was ok. I made mine into a baby quilt and made the 9th block with my nephew’s name on it.

In my quilt group one pattern is chosen. Everyone uses the same pattern. The number of blocks needed depends on the size of the block and the number of participants. If participants want more blocks it is up to them to make more. With a group of your size you may need to require each participant to make 3, blocks or 4 blocks.

Some times we have color suggestions some times not. This year we are encourage to make our blocks in colors that reflect our favorite colors.

Another group I am aware of that is small (less than 10 ) that has participants choose the own colors. They put a prescribed amount of each fabric of their choice in a grocery bag. The bags are then passed through the group and each participant makes a block using the fabrics in the bag. The original owner of the bag then finished he quilt using the blocks provided by her or may be his friends. They have also done this in a round-robin format.

Check out the Boomerang swaps on this board. They are a good blueprint for your swap. We give each participant a fat eighth of our focus fabric and everyone adds their own fabric and makes whatever kind of block they like. Then the blocks are returned to their original owner. You can get a fantastic sampler quilt made from the blocks you get back.

Seven blocks isn't much for a quilt. How about doing two each, so you will each end up with 14 blocks to play with?