The past couple booms I've loved doing OHIO star blocks because I can use almost every bit of their fabric as the focus and it comes out nice and clean looking. My goal is to try and use the majority of their fabric as I am not a scrap keeper.

Another favorite was Jacobs Ladder which also highlighted their fabrics.

There have been times when "ooopppssss" happens to others and I know they have asked the original sender if they can send a little bit more. Janice would know if that has been a problem but I don't think it was ever abused...that I recall.

Some fabrics will "speak" to me or the sender will say they have a specific theme in mind (like for teen girl, young boy, baby, man, etc) and I will do something different for their fabric.

There doesn't seem to be as much applique or embroidery as there has been in the past but I also like doing / receiving them.

My goal for making and receiving blocks is to highlight their fabric and to have my fabric highlighted also.

Hope this helps.

that helps me a bunch, Moonwork/Lisa! Thank you!!

No agonizing allowed! :) With a little preplanning, an F8 is enough for most blocks as you will be using some of your own fabrics as well. Mostly, making a F8 work just depends the order and placement of the cuts, versus just cutting and hoping there's enough. And if you make a mistake, find another block that will work with what you've already done. There have been times when a Boomer has made just one or two blocks styles per swap. It certainly speeds up the process, that's for sure. I don't do that as I like to mull each fabric (a bit of agonizing is involved with some fabrics that don't immediately "speak" to me) and find one that suits the fabric. It's totally personal preference.

What say you veteran Boomers???

I agree w/ moonwork also. and Janice

I love this swap b/c I get really, really, really bored doing the same block over and over, and my love is in design. I usually do different blocks for nearly everyone. I do repeat some blocks that I love how they turned out and think they will work w/ the other person's fabric.

I also try to use as much of the sender's fabric as I can, or fussy cut it for the most impact.

If I have a pattern in mind that I think is close fabric wise, I get out the graph paper 1 box per inch and draw out the 10 x 18 rectangle and draw out the shapes I need inside (w/ pencil b/c sometimes there is erasing involved) to see if it will work or what layout is most efficient for fabric use.

If my heart is set on a design I don't have enough of the senders fabric for I pm the sender describe the block I want to do see if they love the idea enough to send a little more fabric.

That Cleopatra's Fan is a stunning pattern that was mentioned as one that is going to be attempted but as I mull the fabrics and the intentions, I find myself trying to make the blocks more personalized based on what I know from hints posted on BOOM 16 and now this board. Like that fish-themed quilt... I found a great fish-on-a-dish pattern that I think would be fun and allow the key fabric to be featured prominently. Picking the blocks is so much fun right now but I do want to make you all happy that I am participating, too. I'm such a kid, lol. Tough to be a newbie and a perfectionist on a deadline. I will wait for the fabrics to speak to me, too. No decisions I make now are final until I get that fabric in my hands and see all the rest of the reasons for the quilt fabric selection from the BOOMers.

What does BOOM stand for?

Moon nice finish our 2 moons/Lisa's seem to be rock solid finishing boom quilts some of the rest of us seem to marinade on them longer hahahaha

Ibex94 Try not to stress to much it's amazing the variety of blocks that can be made from an F8 and bits of fabric from you.

First start browsing all of your block sources does anything look appealing to you? Is there a block or two you like the look of or want to try? Is there a 12 inch block that you already like to make? Once you get your squishy see if any of the fabric "speaks" to you do those blocks you picked out want to be made from them do the color requests work for those blocks? Some people make pretty much the same block for everybody....there is no rue that says you cant. If you make 20 of the same block, they are going to look different and they are going to 20 different people.

My first boom I spent weeks stressing over it then once the fabrics were here I calmed down. If you have questions or doubts you can always ask the group or pm the fabric owner. your concerns.

You will do fine I'm glad you are joining us.

Kassundra -- love the graph paper idea and it is good to know that revealing the pattern is not a big problem if we need more fabric. I want to use as much of the fabric being sent as possible f'sure without needing more :-).

Boomerang, as in throw the fabric to Janice and it returns to you like a boomerang.

Hi, ibex. What I usually do when deciding to make a new block that I haven't done before with a F8 is to make one for myself using some of my focus fabric. If it doesn't work out, then I haven't wasted someone's F8. If it does work, I have an extra block to go with the rest of mine when I get them back. (Now is a good time to try out your chosen pattern with a F8.)
You can make any block that you want as long as the F8 works for it. You can make all of your blocks from one pattern or you can do a different pattern for each block. It's totally your choice. I do try to keep each persons requests in mind when I make their block, 'specially if there's a theme and/or colors they're asking for.
Just relax and have fun with it. If you have any questions, just ask. There's always someone who'll come back to you very soon. And we do have the best hostess out there. She'll work with you in any way she can.
Just keep in mind that you can cut more from a 18" X 11" F8 than a 9" X 22" piece. Your pattern choices will be limited with the narrow piece. Main thing is...just have fun!

Thanks Billie! Good to know being nervous/anxious/concerned/stressed, is normal for a first time BOOMer. There are tons of squares I want to make. There are some paper piecing stars I want to test out, too, for some of these fabrics. I'm determined to learn as much as I can at this stage of the game. I suspect I may decide to do tried-and-true blocks if I can't get enough of them done in the first month after I get the squishies.