Good morning, I'm Janice McC. I'm married for over 36 years and have 2 wonderful grown sons. Neither is married but they are happy with their lives. What more can I ask? I am grandmother to 3 dogs and DH and I have 2 dogs who might as well be our children. This is my 5th year in this swap and I love it. Barb is a wonderful host and the candies, well, they speak for themselves. I've got one long term candy project going right now with them. I'm in another swap currently so I've set it aside but once that's over, I hope to finish it up. I'm routinely the last person to receive their candies, a late Feb birthday, so my packages are rolling in daily from last year's swap. So much fun! Thanks, Barb!

I have my fabric now to cut it. Going to finish my BOOM squares and then on to cutting. I love this swap.

Mail out my Feb. candies tomorrow.

I spent a chunk of the weekend cutting for this swap and for the monthly charm swap. Have at least 12-15 sets ready to go, so I feel more prepared! Had an offer on our house, took a lot of wheelin' and dealin' until both parties accepted...then the buyer backed out:(. Which means we won't be getting the house we were hoping to get as they got another offer...back to square 1.

Hi everyone... I was in this swap during the fourth year. I took last year off so I could use up some of my candies. I’ve had 30 packages ready for months. Yesterday I added four more so everything is cut and packaged for this year.

I finished my first quilt on my birthday in 2010. It took me a year. It was a queen-size bedspread of my own design that I hand quilted. The only sewing I had done before that was a seam to make curtains.

I find following a pattern much harder than making what comes out of my head. I love to make show quilts. My ultimate goal is to have a quilt juried into Houston. I may try submitting my current quilt that uses many candy squares and my Valentine Candy block (see tutorials). All I have to do is finish it successfully. That’s a tall order! I keep running into problems.

I like all colors of candy. I keep the swapped candies in a shoebox. A separate shoebox holds the candies that I cut from my leftover fabrics.

I’m looking forward to a fun year with all of you! 🙂

I am Kathy and this is my second year in the swap. I have been married since Sept. 27, 2017, mom to 4 grown men, and grammy to 1.2. My grandson Hyde was born in Feb. 2017 and will have a sibling in Sept. 2018.

My Granny taught me to sew when I was 7 (41 years ago) and it is my passion. I started quilting about 7 years ago and mostly made rag quilts. I love the challenge in it now and make quilts for senior and just about everyone I know or meet. Everything I make I give away.

I love bright and happy candies.

Some names I recognize here, and others are new to me. Glad to meet you all! :-) It's my first time at this swap, but I've participated in other swaps on QB. I led a Round Robin here and had a lot of fun with it.

I'm in my 60's, married, have 3 sons, each with children. I have 5 granddaughters, and 2 grandsons. I stopped coloring my hair and using mascara when I became a grandmother-- not exactly sure why! :-p I live in a little town, my husband likes to garden in our yard, and we both like computers. I used to sew in my 20's, made about 2 dozen quilts that I gave away as gifts, and taught a quilting class through the public school's adult education program. Then I took up basket weaving, then jewelry making, but in 2013 took up quilting again.

I already have a plan for how I want to use candy squares! Lights and darks would be great, but any fabric is fine by me!

Wow! What a fabulous list of swappers we have! It's very exciting.

I live in Granbury, Texas with my wonderful husband. We celebrated 36 years in December. We have four children. (3 married daughters and a son.) we have 8 grandchildren and a cat.

My mother taught me to sew when I was a girl. I remember her clearly saying, "If you want new clothes make them." I've been quilting for 7ish years. It's become quite an obsession. I am working on the Quilt-along from the 2017 birthday candy swap. I told Barb last year I could only join in 2018 if I actually Used some of the candy I've collected. So I hopped into the quilt along and actually stuck with it! In fact I have my binding and backing picked out!! One more block to go.

This will be my Sixth???:O Birthday Candy swap. I'm addicted. In fact I'll open my Birthday cards Saturday!!!!! The same rule goes for 2018. If I want to join 2019 I Must use some of what I have. (You have no idea!) :D

Welcome back Trish b!!!!!

Up to 37 :shock:now....and stopping there. We are officially full.

aborning
Anoka Quilter
Armylady2012
Aurora
barbarakibler23
bjsmith57
crispy_frog
Faintly Artistic
Gaijin
givio
Happylab
Hav4boys
IceLeopard
Jaba
Jane Quilter
Janice McC
Jarenie
JENNR8R
JuanitaBeans
kele
lotttieparker
Lstew2212
lum
miquilt
MizMelly
Oldcatlady
Onaemtnest
Patrick's mom
Pattyjo
Pinkflowers
Rosemary Attaway
SheriR
Sunrise450
Texastam
Travelinggramma
trish b
WMUTeach

Red are the newbies....Welcome!

So start your cutting now!!!

HI ladies, My name is Lisa From Pa, This will be my third time sending Birthday wishes in the shape of 2.5 in blocks. I am married with one child in college and I have two fur babies. 9 YR Old and 1 YR Old German Shepherds. My mother taught me to sew about 20 yrs ago. She likes to sew clothes for my nieces and nephew. I always liked the creative part of sewing which led me to quilting. I love scrappy quilts. So any colors are fine with me. Thank you

I've heard that said, Jane, that if it's still ugly you just haven't cut it up small enough yet. However. . . I just turned up the World's Ugliest Fabric, hiding in one of my boxes. The only way this fabric would not be ugly is if you ran it through the crosscut paper shredder! Only the gods know where it came from, since I *know* I didn't buy it. Grab bag, maybe.

But it's a Hoffman print, so I cut all of it into squares and trashed the bits. I plan to roll the dice for each swapper to see if she escapes being a recipient!

Now that is funny! I hope I get a hoffman sample.....

Are the notifications by PM or email? I've looked, but don't see it mentioned.

I love those fabrics. Hope I am a recipient.

HI I am Trish(Patricia) and this is my 4th year in this swap. I am 74 and a life long sewer. I made my first quilt for my youngest daughters birth. Mostly I made clothing, toys, crafts of many kinds till 1976 when I took up quilting again. I have three daughters, 3 grandsons, 2 greatgrandsons and I am a widow. For the last 9 years my younger brother has shared my home and kept me company. The girls all live nearby and we have lots of fun together.
I was a square dancer for over 22 years and then the knees gave out. Now I belong to Gone To Pieces Quilt Guild, I follow a couple of quilt alongs and have fun with all of you. I love bright colors and most of my projects are bright and cheerful. My candie squares are being used for a Round The World quilt which is about half done. I probably have enough squares for three or four quilts. Like every quilt I have ever seen and plan on making many more.

Hi Trish...would love to see a photo of .....Round the world quilt.

Hi Trish. I would love to see the photo, also, of your scrappy Around the World quilt.

I don't care how much the rates are. It's still a small price to pay for a year of fun and for the huge number of scrappy squares we get to collect for that price.

Do you have a lovely stash of candy? Check out the new Mystery Quilt #18 by paintmejudy. Instructions start today and feature lots of 2.5" squares!!

I am busy cutting my 2.5 candies for this swap and I was wondering, What is the size of the postage stamp block? I always like to cut and sort my scraps into blocks.

Lstew, I've seen PSQs in 1.5, 2 & 2.5". I've finished a flimsy 2" (1.5" finished):
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Now, I'm collecting 1.5" squares for a 1" finished color wash PSQ.
hugs,
dj

I like your quilt DJ

Halp ! I haven't seen anywhere *how* to package/mail My candies! Is there a specific way to indicate who they're from? Should they be in a plastic bag inside the envelope? Plain manila envelope? Bubble padded? Tyvek? I want to get the first few ready to go!

dear Ice, I sent you a PM on this. Let me know if you need more info. Jane

Beautiful quilt. I would love to make a quilt like this one day. I think I am going to cut the left overs into 2 inch squares and discard the rest of the scraps.

I am new to the swap also can I get a PM also.

I go to the dollar tree and purchase the .50 birthday cards. I then lay my candies in plastic wrap on top of the open card to one side, making sure they fit the card so I put the card in the envelope.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]588425[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]588426[/ATTACH]

LStew would it be ok to use snack or sandwich size baggies or do we have to use the plastic wrap. Do we need to put our name on the bags?

This is just how I have done my squares in the past. I've had squares mailed to me many different ways. Do what works best for you. I have had them mailed to me in sandwich bags and snack bags. I have always listed me name and board name on the package and on the card I send.

I buy 6" x 9" envelopes from an office supply store or Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use cheap manilla file folders as a base and cut them with my rotary cutter to 5.5" x 8.5" to fit inside the envelopes. I can get three of this size per manilla folder. I stack the candies evenly on the base. I get four stacks with eight per stack and two stacks with nine per stack to equal 50 candies. I cover the candies with plastic wrap and put them in the envelope with a greeting.

Doing it this way guarantees that it weighs less than two ounces. If it weighs a fraction over two ounces, the postage would cost more. If in doubt, doublecheck the weight with a digital kitchen scale. Stacking the candies too high could also make the postage cost more.

The envelope needs to have your "Board" name on the outside as well as your name and return address. Most people wait until their birthday to open the envelopes. If you only put your "Board" name inside the envelope, they wouldn't know who sent it unless they opened it.

I put my "Board" name on the front in the top left corner, but I put my return address on the back. Some people take pictures of the envelopes, and I don't want my name and address posted here.

Great tutorial on packing your candies ladies. Thanks to Jenn and Lstew.

All I can say is make it as thin as possible. This is where the post office can get you. So I make sure that all the air is out of the plastic wrap before I close the envelope.

I make sure that there is no extra air trapped inside of my packages by sticking a pin in the plastic wrap (or baggie) after I have placed it in the envelope. I can easily press all of the air out then.

I'm doing my packaging a little different this year, I'm using business envelopes, and instead of a birthday card, I'm printing a pattern with birthday greetings on an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper, and folding it around the stacked candies. Less than 2 oz, AND less than the 1/4" inch thickness that the post office requires for it to go through the machine at the 2 oz rate. I also had a good time embellishing the envelopes.....!

Love the ideas for packaging the candies ladies! Thanks for sharing!

I make up all my envelopes at once and stack them with a weight on top to press out the air. They stay that way until I need to mail them. Keeps them pretty flat. :)

Now that is smart Jenn.....


MizMelly..... Sounds like you have a good plan.

Oldcatlady.....I also make up my envelopes at one time......but the weights are a good idea!

Thank you everyone for the info on the packaging I will see which works for me.

Assuming all goes well, with 37 participants, we should all receive...1,850 charms! (I guess that assumes we cut a set for ourselves!) What size quilt would that make?

There are a few new mailing tips here since I've been coming around! Thank you everyone!

Here are my last two years of Birthday Candy sent. One was in a 5x7 envelope. One I used half a manilla folder because my hand made card was to tall for a business envelope. (My error:D) I put some fun pattern I've found under it and SEW a baggies around it. And excess air escapes through the thread holes. I'm not fond of using plastic wrap. I find it sticks to the fabric and causes me stress. :D I'll have all 2018 cards and Candy packages ready before March mailing and be ready for the year!

That is such a great idea, two surprises in one. I love new patterns.