Pamela Artman

I was in a block swap on another site and one of the women who swapped, did a very poor job with her blocks. The fabrics were really bad and the sewing was just awful. The ladies decided not to say anything and I thought maybe I could take it apart and resew parts and have a usable block, but the pieces were cut wrong and the fabric so cheap that it wasn't possible, so I just tossed the whole block. The next time we swapped, the woman in charge of the swap decided to send back the blocks made poorly by the one lady. She decided it wasn't fair to the rest of us to trade beautifully made blocks for poorly made ones. The rest of the women supported her decision, but regretfully, her feelings were so hurt that she quilt the site. It's a hard call... and I'm still not sure it was the right one. I think it might have been better to toss one block with each swap and not hurt someone. The last swap we did was a jewel box with jewel tone fabrics on a black background. I was disappointed in some of the blocks because some women did not understand what jewel tones were and used pastel yellow, pale green and baby blue. But when they were all sewn together, they made a really pretty quilt. The swaps are fun, and I guess you have to weigh the fun against the possible disappointment in the quality of fabric or workmanship.

pieces

Same thing happened to me. I swapped blocks of good quality fabric. My blocks were squared to the correct size. I used the colors required for the block, light/med/dark. The blocks I received were not usable. Some blocks weren't even the right size, too small. The fabrics were so thin I could see through them. Some blocks didn't even have the dark/light 4 patch right. Out of 14 blocks there were only a few I could use.
I ended up making most of the blocks myself for the quilt top. That was my first and last swap. Maybe you should mention the poor quality of the blocks to whomever hosted the swap.(?)
Definitly a lesson learned.

Dagny

There is some guidance on this subject on the general Rules for Swaps link that appears at the beginning of the block swap section:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-20154-1.htm

You might find something helpful there.

sandpat

Hmmm...Its a hard thing, but I'd have to say that I wouldn't say anything. Swaps to me are more about the social experience and making friends and having fun than they are about what you get back. I've done lots of swaps on this board and also do the Round Robins and the Doll quilt swaps. Do I LOVE everything that I get back?...no, of course not..but when the quilts are done...its amazing how wonderful those "less than perfect" blocks/fabrics/borders/etc. add to the beauty of the final product. The best part are the friendships made. Its something to consider.

bj

I loved the only swap (birthday) I participated in. The only thing I found a little disconcerting was people dropping out after they'd received their blocks. But there are so many kind people on the site, others were found to step in and take their place. It meant making a few more blocks than anticipated, but that was fun too. It was a lot of fun to get the squishies in the mail and almost all of the blocks were excellent. I appreciated that I got blocks with techniques that I don't know how to do. In a block swap you always have to take into account the skill level of others. In a charm swap, not so much. But I wouldn't say anything to the other person. That may be the best they can afford, or they may not be that knowledgeable about fabric quality.

texas granny

You could set up some rulers for your swap. Lile it should all be of quilt shop fabric. That way you want get $2.00 walmart for $10.00 quilt shop fabric.

bearisgray

I can relate to your disappointment.

I'm not sure how to deal with the one-on-one trade. I definitely would not deal with that entity again - But the rest of us would also like to avoid trading with that entity.

If you were doing I Spy type squares, some fabrics really should be fussy cut to get the maximum picture value from the fabrics. I realize that it takes more fabric that way.

So the question is - and there is no way to know the answer - did the sender really not know any better - or was the sender knowingly sending - what's a nice word for "crap"


If I understand the group swap guidelines correctly, they basically say if one gets disappointing things back in a swap, "It's put up and shut up"

But it seems reasonable to me to expect that if the swap says blue and yellow, to get back blue and yellow, not blue and pink.

It also seems reasonable that if the guidelines say 12.5 unfinished, that it be somewhere in the vicinity - not more than 1/4 inch one way or another. (My personal standard is plus or minus 1/8 inch)

I have come to expect some of what I consider "duds" in the charm swaps. I think some of the swappers just cut the fabrics with absolutely no awareness of what the individual squares look like. Whether this is due to frugality (cheapness) or inexperience is hard to determine from this end.

I won't even use some of them for a charity quilt - especially for a kid. If a kid needs a charity quilt, I think that kid should have at least one thing that's nice in his/her life.

Off my soap box.

Grammy2_be

Thanks for the feedback. I have had great swapping experiences and my heart told me let it go and you all are confirming that. I will still do swaps it's fun to get to share with others all over the country.

mamaw

Personally, I learned from another forum to just get what I want for fabrics myself and stay away from swaps and those things. It is unfortunate; but some gals out there just aren't trustworthy and I learned it the hard way. Sorry it had to happen to you.
Please know this is not intended to disrespect the honest gals on here who participate....just my personal experience.
Happy Quilting!!

debbieumphress

I agree with Sandpat, swapping is a social thing too. You of course, want to make each item to the best of your ability. After all is said and done, know that someone at least tried. We won't know if it is there best or not, and have to remember, we also don't know their circumstances. This may be the best they could do and they are proud too. The swaps are meant to meet and makes friends, if we are lucky. I have definitely met friends, some do good, others...not so....But I let it go and look forward to the next one. Hope this helps.