2015/16 birthday swap...candy style 2.5"
 

2.5 Candy Birthday swap is now open for sign ups and will remain open until we get 35 people to join or February 19th.

Hello and welcome to the 2.5" Candy Birthday Swap. Candy squares are 2.5" 100% cotton squares that you would be happy to put in your own quilt.

This is how this swap will work:



1. VERY IMPORTANT this is a year long commitment.

2. PM me your name address, EMAIL, and your birthday (month and day)
NEWBIES (new to this swap) YOU MUST get a recommendation from a past hostess or from ANYONE that was in a previous birthday swap. Absolutely NO FLAKERS here!!!

3. Get your packages of 50 unique 2.5" candy squares ready to be mailed.

4. Starting for March (on feb 20) I will send everyone a list of who is celebrating a birthday that month so you can send out their "candy present". I will send out the list on the 20th of each month.

5. Birthday person please keep track of who you received your candy from, please let me know if you have not received a package from someone. Please post a THANK YOU to EVERYONE that has sent you a package on our thread. Pictures are a nice touch.

6. I will have a contest the day after each birthday....feel free to play as often as you want the only rule is the birthday person MUST have received your package IN TIME for their birthday.

7. Sit back and wait for your birthday then go to your mailbox and enjoy little packages all month long! :) :)

8. Please post on the thread when you have mailed your birthday package and of course wish them a Happy Birthday.

I am going to limit this to the first 35 people and only addresses in the USA (for postage sake Sorry).

The general swap rules apply: RULES FOR SWAPS AND SIMILAR ACTIVITIES - Updated 8 December 2010

In addition the following rules apply:

1. Please make sure to acknowledge everything you receive by posting to this thread. It would be faaaaaaaaaaaboulous if you also include photo(s).
2. Any participant who fails to send all parcels expected in any given month will be immediately and permanently dropped from the mailing list.
3. If that participant has already received parcels for her/his own birth month, that participant will also receive a Negative Feedback annotation.

Any questions please feel free to post them in this thread...because someone else probably has the same ones!
This is our third year for this swap .....the first and second year went well and many friends were made. :)

Looking forward to another year of fun, friends and of course cute little candy squares!!!

Barb :)

Welcoming back for another year of fun:

Bjsmith57
sewbizgirl
maT
dottie dodge
Anoka Quilter
Trish b
WMUTeach
barbarakibler23
Daisy Dew
Happy Lab
let's quilt
Sheri R

Welcome again ladies.....start inviting your friends!

I would love to join you all and celebrate our birthdays with candy! Sewbizgirl, thank you for asking me!!

Me, please! We've already chatted via PM, but I'll send my address and all as soon as I'm at the computer this evening. :) Can't see how to do it via my phone. Thanks!

I'm so excited for another Birthday Candy year!!! Barb is so good at keeping us all in line AND connected to the group. I found a fun collection in December! I better get cutting! I'm super glad to have my AccuGO this time around!! <3 this group.

Please add me to the birthday group! This looks like fun.

Yay... we love new people! This will be my second year in this swap and it is loads of fun. Not only on your birthday, but it's fun to prepare a great package for everyone else too, to help them celebrate their birthdays. We also share good patterns for our squares, so if you know of any good ones, please share! Also share photos of any quilts, bags or whatevers you have already made with 2.5" squares. Good inspiration!

Barbara Kibbler is the Hostess with the Mostess and her contests are the bomb! You are going to love this swap.

I'm ready to begin! All my candies are ready to go!!!

Welcome newbies this is my second year. Barb makes this so fun and easy. Looking forward to another fun year.

bjsmith57

Okay, I'm back at the computer now. PM sent. :) My squares are cut and ready to go. I'm so excited! :D

looking forward to my second year too ! already have many "candies" cut

Well things look like they are progressing nicely here!

Looking forward to another fun year!

ok so I am giving this a try this year already started cutting so I wont fall behind I have not done this one before should be interesting

I would love to do this but am I understanding that I can't unless I am invited by someone else, I have not been very active on the Quilting board prior to this because I was a full time single parent with a daughter in college, I was also a full time night nurse and a full time student as well, but now I am ready to advance, my daughter has graduated, I have become some what retired and I am ready to commit, so if someone would invite me I think I really could do and enjoy this. Am I to understand that every month we will send 50 2.5 squares to the birthday person, and then on our birthdays we will receive many packages of 2.5 squares?

This will be my first year! And I already have 5 bags cut and ready to mail have plenty of scraps to cut if needing more right now. I've been in many swaps here on the board and finish what I start. I am not a quitter. And ready to get started.

Well give Barb a PM note and jump in! We are a group of I KNOW I can - and we get it done cause it's just so much fun. I get a chuckle when I see some of the candy - some passed thru my hands in the 70's, and on up to today! It's a fun time.

I would like to join this swap.Haven't been in this one before.I have done the 2.5 swap with SheriR if you need a reference.Just ready to send 15 pkgs to SheriR. this week.
Rosemary Attaway(board name)

Barb ~ plz add me to the group for my third round. Awesome to see lots of newbies. You will love this swap.....the swappers......and our awesome hostess!!!

This is my second year and the first year was a lot of fun,really a lot of fun in Dec. for my birthday month!
So come on people join on up and join the fun!!!

Thanks Daisy have sent Barb a PM, just waiting for a reply to see if I am excepted into the group being a newbie.

I hope you will allow me to join again this year, last year was so much fun! I have all new fabric (bought 100% quilter's cotton for 50% off today!). I can begin cutting this weekend if you have room for me in 2015.
Sending PM now.
hugs,
dj

Welcome back Nurse bonnie and DJmat! Another round of fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rosemary.....please send me a PM with your information so I can get your registered for our swap.

Well we are up to 22 swappers already!

Looking forward to doing this swap. These little candies should come in handy for me when making the mug rugs and mini wall hangings. I need to start cutting some squares today. Thanks for inviting me to join all of you

Thanks for allowing me to join everyone, I am going full force but now realize got to get more fabric, I wanted to take advantage of the many inches of snow we have here in Jersey to get cutting the squares that we need for the year, (have already cut and bagged 15 sets) lol now need new blades and more fabric. Don't know what I will do having to wait till Sept to get my candies but guess I will have to join another swap.look forward to meeting everyone over the next year.:wave:

Maybe some of the seasoned quilters on here can help me with what you have done in other years with your candies, I have to admit I don't use many because they r such a pain to cut, thanks.

TPr and all our new swappers, you'll have such a fun time doing this swap. It's exciting to see everyone receive their "Birthday Candy" each month and it's even more exciting when your own birthday rolls around! (Like mine just did!) it really is helpful to get all the cutting done now. Then each month you just pop them in a card and mail out when Barb sends the addresse out! I even keep a sheet of .70 cent stamps. If I lay them flat in my card I don't have to spend more than that on each card. Not bad I think!

I know Barb won't mind me posting my current swap. http://www.quiltingboard.com/member-...p-t259668.html We swap sets of 50 different 2.5" Candies too. I've averaged four swaps a year. I feel it allows the time many of us need to gather the new fabrics each swap. Anyone is welcome to join! We always have a wonderful group of swappers!

Welcome Tpr9258,

If you skim through the past year's swap, you will see some pics and some links to things we have used our candies for. I used mine to make an Arkansas Crossroads quilt:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/members...51-479312.html

We like to share links for quilts that use our candy-sized squares, and there are many links in last year's thread. Happy hunting!

I will be back with a whole new set of candy squares. It took me a while to think of using my June Taylor strip ruler to cut candy. I'm kind of slow thinking sometimes. I have 50 new fat quarters ready to cut up and share.

Sewbizgirl, I love the looks of this quilt & recognize some of my own fabric! Thanks for posting!

http://www.quiltingboard.com/members...951-479312.JPG

Sewbizgirl, I LOVE THAT QUILT!!

OMG that's one beautiful quilt!! Great job...I need to start cutting...like now!

Hi ladies

Sounds like we have some excited newbies here. Yeah!

Thanks SheriR, Djmat, and Sewbizgirl for sharing ideas and photo's. I will try and post some photo's myself but for some reason it doesn't seem to work for me. ( I know it is operator error)

Welcome back Karen G! Glad you have decided to join us again!

****Important****

Start in March and every month I will expect everyone to chime in with at least a HI so I know people are around and seeing the messages. Some of you (and me like to chat) others just like to visit. Just need to know you are out there... please check in ON THIS THREAD at least ONCE a month by the 5th of the month. Also remember that I do a contests usually a day or two after a birthday...:)

We are up to 25 swappers. :)

Barb:)

Did you know you can get 56 2.5" squares from a fat quarter! hmmmm

thats a lot of cutting!:shock:

Love the quilt! :)

I've got all of my sets cut and packaged up for the whole year, plus some extras. Between this swap and the March "candy" swap, for the first time ever, I'm officially out of scraps! :shock: :D Can't wait to start mailing. :thumbup:

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Hi everyone. I'm excited to be here with all of you again, this is my second year. Welcome all you newcomers, we have fun and September is a great month to bee receiving candies. I have lots of new scraps lately just waiting for the cutter. Did you know that you get 48 squares from 3 strips width of fabric by 2.5 inches. Thats 35 for the swap plus some extras. Ialways stack them 4 high and can quickly lots that way.

One method for this swap cutting:
Cut off selvage of 5 ironed fat quarters of the same color & lay on top of each other (darkest shade on bottom to lightest on top)
Right handed cutters: Match right side edges & bottom edges just a little over the cutting mat measuring lines to rid the charms of any frayed fabric from manufacturer or local quilt shop. Opposite directions for left handed cutters.

Rotary cut 15"x15" square using long ruler; Caution-do not move the stack or you will need to line it up again!
(Discard any thin edge selvage into a bag or box)
Cut 2.5" strips across, then 2.5" strips upward
Set stacks aside so you can use the mat again. Line up the next 5 fat quarters & repeat procedure.
Makes 36 charms stacks (35 to send & one to keep!) 10 stacks cut like this & you're finished cutting.
Stack by color code:
White, Grey, Black
Red, Orange, Pink, Purple
Blue, Aqua, Green
Yellow, Cream, Tan, Brown
NOTES: Cut Browns 1st. Build stacks up to the Whites using 2-3 fabrics of each color to make 50+ for each swapper.
Add in a couple of fussy cuts (I spy prints) to delight the birthday girl!
Use the background color to determine what color stack the fabric belongs in. If it is a busy print, use dominant color. This helps other swappers pull out the colors they need for projects and keeps you on track when you need to be away from the cutting project.
Save leftover fabric for scrappy quilting & other projects!
Save selvages for stuffing a washable dog pillow project, SPCA loves these!
Hope this helps. Sorry, didn't mean to write a book.
hugs,
dj

Thanks for the comments on my quilt, but I'm ashamed to say it's still just a top! I will be learning to use a friend's long arm machine soon and was saving some of my bigger tops for the long arm. I'm so excited about learning! Will show you the quilt again when it really IS a quilt!

One tip about mailing the 'candies'... if you can keep the envelopes to 1/4" thick you will pay less in first class postage. If you take the candies out of their packages and spread them out in the card so it is less thick, you will only pay $.70 to mail them in a birthday card. It's the cheapest way. (See photo below.)

Got my first dozen cards all stuffed with their candy, all ready to go! That should see me through 3-4 months, depending on how the birthdays fall this year. Ready to roll, ladies!