I have all my squares cut and in baggies finally, I'm ready to mail out the three we have for March this week.

sewbizgirl...like the link you sent. looks very interesting! Thanks for sharing!

Hello Ladies
Happy March!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well spring is gonna be here in 2 weeks. According to the groundhog he said we would have 6 more weeks of winter. well that was 4 weeks ago (feb 2) so I figure we are almost done with all this white stuff! And I'm keeping that varmint to his word!!!

Besides my lawn care company sent me a postcard last week telling me that they would be out to fertilize my lawn. so either I will have more snow or green snow......I will keep you updated!

Well I have officially closed the sign up for our swap. We are at 34 quilters! Yeah looks like a great group! I hope we all have fun!

So here is the official group: (if your name is not here Panic) no just send me a PM and I will panic!

March 19: Jarenie
March 20: mrshalibut
March 29: bjsmith57
March 31: mrs.sherbet

April 2: ahwu
April 9: sewbizgirl

May 14: Karen G
May 19: bullock2us
May 21: maT

June 6: oneteappot
June 10: dottie dodge
June 12: pjjandme
June 28: cindyvb

July 3: Billie Jean
July 9: nls
July 11: Anoka Quilter

Aug 3: KathyM
Aug 20: Quilter day_by_day

Sept 4: trish b
Sept 18: WMUTeach
Sept 21: Jannie
Sept 24: gannyrosie

Oct 9: benndm
Oct 23: barbarakibler

Nov 5: Daisy Dew
Nov 9: havplenty
Nov 24: lstew2212
Nov 28: happylab

Dec 1: nurse bonnie
Dec 8: let's quilt
Dec 23: djmat

Jan 10: DoriDes
Jan 16: mamaskeeto

Feb 3: SheriR
Feb 22: Janice McC

I will send out a new march list of addresses to everyone. Please let me know if you do not get that list by 12 midnight tonight Sunday March 2.

just an FYI one of our April birthday's is april 2nd.

Thanks ladies for your patience. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing here on out!

Barb

I don't think anyone will be upset if you do this... HA! But think about doing it, times 33, plus the extra $ for shipping, times 33... If you are able and want to I say 'go for it', but I am not able to. You are sweet. I'd love to send a big box full of chocolate and goodies to each one of us... in my virtual world! :o

Got my March cards addressed and ready to go out, a week before the birthdays. Thanks, Barbara.

I just send extra charms and a card, hope that is alright.

I got my first squishie Saturday! Thank you bjsmith57! I'm SO NOT waiting for my birthday to open these! I will enjoy them one by one. Yippee!

You are so welcome mrshalibut - - I needed to get a head start on this due to some traveling obligations that I have in March.

WOW can't believe we are starting a new year of candies. I loved all my candies from last year and will get busy cutting everything for this year. I did a PDF of the the swappers like I did last year. It really helped me stay on track on when I mailed. It was great when it was my turn to receive candies I could mark down who I had received from so I could thank everyone properly. I have attached the list to share with everyone. Happy Swapping!!!

Wow... aren't you a doll! I printed your pdf. and will keep it with my candies. Thanks so much for doing this... you've made everything so much easier to keep track of!

I used your .pdf as the basis for a Xcel spreadsheet. Less than 5 minutes later, it was all set up. You saved me some time! Thanks.

Thank you djmat! I received quite a few nice squares for 50!

Barb, is this how we do it? Thank each person as they come in? or should I wait awhile and thank people by the bunch, thereby not taking up as much room on the thread?

Thanks for that list! I loved it last year and was hoping that you would do it again!
Laurel/oneteappot

I stand corrected we have 35 quilters!!!!(no one added I just counted wrong) Yeah a full house.

Awesome ...thanks for doing this again this year. You also saved me scanning through last years messages to see who did it ...really helped me. This year I will be keeping one of these for each birthday girl. I will be able to mark off when she receives her packages...this will help for the contest!!!!


I suggest everyone to print this off and mark when you mail their package ...then your birthday month mark when you receive your package.

Yeah Mamaskeeto!

Barb

Extra goodies are always appreciated but not necessary!

Up to the individual person. [

=sewbizgirl;6605903]I don't think anyone will be upset if you do this... HA! But think about doing it, times 33, plus the extra $ for shipping, times 33... If you are able and want to I say 'go for it', but I am not able to. You are sweet. I'd love to send a big box full of chocolate and goodies to each one of us... in my virtual world! :o

Got my March cards addressed and ready to go out, a week before the birthdays. Thanks, Barbara.[/QUOTE]

Yes Mrshalibut....
I like postings everyday if possible. Makes it easier for me plus the person who sent it doesn't have to wonder if her package has made it safely.
Barb :)

This year I would like to add a little twist....During your birthday month please introduce yourself...
tell us about your family
if you work and where
why you started quilting
projects you are currently working on
and what you are most proud of. (quilting and life wise)
and anything else you want us to know...

So take it away March birthday babies............Jarenie, mrshalibut, bjsmith57 and mrs.sherbert
also where did your board name come from...you ladies have some pretty cool names (wish I could change mine to something cool)


Barbara

I have a question... when mailing the candies in a birthday card, do you just put a regular stamp on it or two stamps? I weighed my cards and they would actually take $.70 for first class shipping. Have the rest of you just been using the one regular stamp-- $.49? No problems?

Thank you djmat I received your lovely squares in the mail. The colors are awesome.

Hello everyone I am the March 29[SUP]th[/SUP] Birthday Baby. My full name is Mrs. Billie J. Smith, I have been married to my wonderful husband for 37 years on March 26[SUP]th. [/SUP] Yes, I do get (2) two gifts in March:o
We have 2 grown children who reside on the East Coast along with 2 grandchildren.
I wanted to start quilting because I always admired quilts from a distance; and thought I would give it a try – since I have a little more time now (i.e. especially in the summer when it is 100 degrees plus in Arizona). I am currently employed with the State of Arizona as a Program Manager.
I am currently working on a quilt entitled Three in one; after I complete this quilt I plan to begin trying my hand at making some of the different blocks. I have only been quilting since August 2013; I have been spending alot of time reading quilt books from the library and online blogs.
I am most proud of making myself step out of the box and try quilting; I have not sewed in 10+ years but it is all coming back to me. I plan on continuing to research and hopefully get more and more skilled at quilting. I did attend the Quilt show here in Phoenix, AZ in early February; and there were some lovely quilts on display.

I look forward to getting to know everyone and enjoying the friendships that I will make through this board.

P.S. My board name is my first initial, middle initial and the last 2 digits of my birth year (I needed something easy to remember)
Have a good evening everyone,
Billie

Hey, Billie, it would be wonderful if you posted a pic of your Three in One quilt when you finish it, love to see it! There are a several web sites for cool blocks, one is called Quilter's Cache, you've probably heard of it. Making blocks for a quilt is so much fun, especially when you use family fabric, then family members beg for the quilt with a piece of their shirt/skirt, etc. on it!

Hi Billie,
It's nice to have a fairly new quilter in our midst... I would like to recommend a great site to you. Have you heard of the Missouri Star Quilting Company, home of Jenny Doan? Jenny has made so many wonderful online tutorials for easy quilts made with precuts (or cut your own...). Her videos are so much fun to watch. As a new quilter you can really pick up some good shortcuts and tricks.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MissouriQuiltCo

Have a great anniversary and birthday... I have your candy squares ready, but I'm going to aim for a little closer to your birthday for mailing.

Mammaskeeto,thank you for supplying this list for us,it will really help me a lot,Thanks

Sorry I spelled mama skeet wrong!

I'm still not doing well, mamasketo sorry!

Just came back from post office and mailed all four March birthdays,they should all get them the 8th. I know it's early but I'm afraid I might forget.

I mailed to all the March babies too.
Cindy

Still hoping for an answer to my question... Those who have mailed and those who did this swap last year, did you have any problem using just one stamp on your cards? Is that enough?

Sewbiz, One stamp is not enough. Mine routinely cost at least .63 cents. I folded an 8.5"x11" paper in half and used that as my Birthday Card. When you open it up you can fit six piles of eight "candies" with a few more on top to make 50. That will slip into a 5-3/4" x 8-3/4" envelope. The more flat you can make it the less they charge you at the PO. I had to retrieve two of my sets from last year and pay over a dollar extra postage. They were in business envelopes and more fat. Crazy huh. If you're really curious, package one up and go into the PO so they can tell you.

First of all, Welcome to all the new Birthday Candy girls. You are going to have so much fun!
Last year, the shipping costed me from $0.80 to over $1.25. Since I packed them the same way, I realy think it depends on my post ladies's mood. (Same lady, same packaging - go figure). This year, I am sening the cadies in regular business envelope. I am packing mine in two overlaping rolls of 25. They are clear wrpped on top of a cardboard. I also include a card. Just stopped by the post office, my post lady said the weight cost $0.70. She recomended adding $0.20 since it is none document inside and it is a bit thick. On the safe side, I am sticking two regular stamps on them. Hope this help.

Thank you for the postage replies. It's a hassle to go to the post office and I avoid it whenever possible and ship from home. The USPS site said $.70 for the first class weight. I don't want anything being returned to me so I'll be sure to put enough postage on them. Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the welcome, ahwu. I am already having fun... I have all my candies for all 34 of you cut and sorted. Just waiting for your birthdays! My fingertips are so dried out from handling all the little fabric bits! Can't wait to mail the first two, early next week.

Thank you Cindy Barrett (cindyvb?) for your lovely squares! I received them yesterday. I love opening them early and setting them out. I'm getting so excited about all the possibilities!

Hello Ladies...Happy Friday!

Just a reminder when sending your package make sure you put your board name inside the package so the birthday girl knows who to thank.

Also...looks like the postage subject has been handled. Last year I put mine on a large Photo card (like the kind you send out for Christmas) I laid them in 5 long rows of 10. the Thickness is where the cost will go up so be mind full of that when you are packaging them. I believe the postage was 70 cents. I am sure it was not just one stamp. I know going to the post office can sometimes be a difficult task. But if you have all your envelopes ready you could take them to the post office (just once) weigh them and then buy your postage and have them ready to pop in the mail at the appropriate time. :) they should all weigh the same....but I know that mine sometimes were different amount....don't know why.

Enjoy your weekend. My husband is away. so I have so going out with the girls in store for this weekend. Yeah!

Barb

thanks for the bio Billie...nice to meet you and welcome to the world of quilting. I am rather new also been quilting for about 4 years.

I will be visiting Arizona this summer...Scottsdale...really excited to go. I have never been there before. :)

Barb

Thank you Cindy Barrett (cindyvb?) for your colorful squares. I received them on yesterday.

Barb - you will fall in love with Scottsdale:)

oh FUN!!! I received three packages of BIRTHDAY candy today.

bjsmith57 sent such a cute care with hers. How did she know I LOVE shoes!
let's quilt also sent a cute card. I feel so special.
I also received a package from Cindynvb. The candy you sent is sooo pretty.

I am still working on a bio as per requested to do!

OH I wanted to let you know what was spent on postage, since that seems to be a question right now.
let'squilt - $2.32, Bjsmith57 - $2.32, and Cindynvb - $.91

I am a Stay at Home mama of three crazy kids ages G-9, B-7, and B-5. My husband is in the Air Force and right now we are stationed in chilly Minot AFB, ND. Our baby EnglishMastiff, Tork, will be 1yrold soon and is officially 130lbs!!

I don't know why I started quilting. But... I do remember my grandma's and my mom and her sisters always sewing something... I guess it's just something I naturally love too! Right now I mostly alter military uniforms but in my spare time I have been working on quilts for a new business with my sister and cousin. The idea is that for every baby quilt we sell we also give one away to an orphanage. Our selected orphanage is in Korea! (My cousin was adopted from Korea.) We aren't fully open because we want to get a good inventory first. It's been fun to sew new patterns! The picture I'm posting is a baby quilt I made for a friend recently. I used "candy" mom gave my 9yrold.

I have a personal tradition of making a new bed quilt while my husband is deployed. I'll soon start a Hoopsister's Mystery Quilt with my mom, SheriR. (Our 4th year of doing their mystery, so another tradition!)

I really don't care how much you all spend to ship it to me, just excited to see what you send in December!

I'm sure we'll have it all worked out by then!