Need help, I've been wanting to do this for a long time but always too late iam on my phone ,so I will use friends laptop to do my form, but I see everyone saying they are doing their boxs now don't we have to wait to see what our partner like to have,I never done this before I hope ido the sign up right ,I don't want everyone to be mad at me if I don't do the pm right or the form

Also my time is 330 am but on the post it says1230 so iguess I need to watch the deadline time

Havplenty, will miss you and will keep your sister in law covered in prayer.
Louise you will also be missed. Praying for you to get that perfect job and fast!
Stitchingpost, many of us stockpile little goodies to save up for swaps. Once we get our partners then we put in things that are tailor made for her or him.

*sigh* I promised myself I was going to go on a fabric fast but ... the red dot section .... and just about everything else at Joann's was on sale this weekend AND DH is a veteran so we went to not one, but two Joann's yesterday. So ... NOW I am on a fabric fast. I'm going to start blogging about sewing through all my fabric before I die ... inspired by my upcoming 60th birthday.

stitchingpost you can go into your settings (see top of page) and change your time zone so the time will post correctly for you.

and no one will be mad at you as this is a fun group of people. whatever questions you have just ask and there are many here who will help you. there are many things that can go in a package that are general things such as note pads or note cards, pens, sewing/hand needles, thread, notions, hand lotion, antibacterial hand cleaners, quilt magazines, etc. that don't necessarily need to be personalized. then there are things that we do personalize such as fat quarter colors, a special notion (i.e. purple thang), something your secret pal may collect (i.e. giraffes, glittered monkeys, shoes), a certain genre of book (i.e. romance, mystery), specific candy.

think of your package as putting something together that you would like. check out the link that i provided to cas49or and starting at about page 30 or so, take a look at the packages others have sent to get a sense of what is included in one. that should help you with deciding what to include in your package.

welcome aboard. and most of all have fun. there are no first timer gitters/worries here. just ask the ones who were first timers last month who are playing along this month. we are here to have fun.

mary

p.s. for the template, copy the template on pg 1 over to your word processing software to complete it and save it to your computer. then open a pm to lori (click on her name on pg 1 and private message will pop up. click on it.) and copy your completed template into the private message to lori and send it to here. that's all you need to do to get started.

krystyna i have so many things lying around that i feel compelled to put together a package to rehome it all. i don't have the mental space to make anything but i have enough other stuff that i can put together a decent package and i think i will only do 1 this month though 3 is not sounding too bad. i still have some time to think about it.

and about sewing through your stash, i am on a buying moratorium absolutely. i have NO more space to store anything, my car trunk is completed filled and i am riding around with a stuffed bag in my back seat, with nowhere to put it either. darn those estate sales, just darn them.:)

i just found a stack of sewing machine needles i bought for this swap buried under a stack of remnants i forgot i bought that was next to a clothesbasket full of another estate/garage sale stash i bought. hmmmm.... yep moratorium in order here.:D i can't sew fast enough though i am trying.:D

As long as there are no people in any of the piles or baskets,you're ok Hav:p

Mary, I was just about to write to you about your dilemma ... mine is similar -- want a laundry basket? Good luck finding one that isn't filled with fabric and lace -- when my husband said, "You have a package ..."

Here's what I just posted in the May thread ...
I just received a box ... I can hardly write .... I am ... I don't know what I am ... for once I am speechless!
When I recover, I will write a more sensible note, but for now, everyone who added to my wonderful 60th birthday surprise ... I'M FEELIN' THE LOVE!!! Saying thank you just doesn't say enough. You guys are the BEST.
And now I guess I'm going to have to take very good care of myself so I can sew my way through all of it.
Oh my goodness. Thank you, thank you, thank you ... and I haven't even gone past the cards!!!!
This is the biggest and best surprise I have ever received. OK. I have to stop now before I start blubbering.

As for Brenda, who pulled this all together ... I just told her that I think she has now earned her halo so she can go out and be very bad. I have never experienced such an incredible act of kindness.

OK. Gotta breathe deeply and recover from the shock and awe or I will never sew through it all. I can't believe this. You are all so wonderful. Names and pix to follow. I promise!

*clunk* (that was me passing out on the floor...)

I have so much fabric I will never be able to get it all sewn together. I refuse to even enter a fabric store right now but I would screach to a halt for just one really good estate sale for sure! I am having withdrawals I guess. My 94 year old mom is taking more and more of my sewing time...Oh well, I guess at 70 I am really lucky to have her even though she is so unlike the mother I knew. It is hard to realize she doesn't have the same wants and needs she had. I bought her a new handbag that she would have "killed" for and she gave it to a therapy nurse. I have to get used to the fact she is more like a child now. .. she is a sweet one most of the time. Gotta love her!

A lot of us are kind of compulsive shoppers (who me, I resemble that remark:)), so if I'm in a store and I see something quilty or sewy, even if I might not need it or use it, I'll pick it up if the cost is good. That way, I've got a good set aside of things to use for SP packages. You can throw in stuff like tissue packages in hand made holders, hand sanitizers, hand lotion etc.

You can use either the priority mail envelopes or medium rate flat boxes, have to send with delivery confirmation.

Lots of us love old or newer quilt magazines, so I usually throw a few of those in. I also have a lot of quilting books, all of which I've read, not all of which I want to keep, those are great too. Most of us will read them even if not keep them and then if you like you can pass them on.

IF you are crafty and feel like it you can include something you make. Some have sent jams, etc, tho I worry about breakage the way the PO throws packages around, but so far no one has had that happen.

You can enclose fabric yardage, fat quarters, small kits like pillow cases or handbag ones, patterns, free handouts from JoAnn's or other sources, thread, machine or hand needles...well those are the kinds of things I generally buy on sale or thru e-bay...I bought my last needles so long ago I don't even remember when it was...

The main things I try to personalize are the candy requests, special requests (the one thing I'd like to have), hand made things, allergan problems (I once had a SP who was allergic to cats, so after checking with her thru Lori, I bought all new things and didn't bring them in our house, so far as I know it worked fine!)..
relax and have fun that's the main thing. I suspect you'll get as addicted as the rest of us...

ok so the never buy fabric again statement was a bit hasty. i do not have all that i need for the projects that i am working on but i have to tame what is here now. i haven't seen any little ole ladies hidden under any piles yet.:)


krystyna i have 5, count them, 5 laundry baskets full of something other than laundry. the laundry sits elsewhere waiting on me to finish folding it.

i did however stop at big lots and bought some of those bags that compress things once you suck the air out of them. i hope these help me to tame the beast. lol:D