Ah... employee discounts! Watch out. :shock:

Nice blocks, sewbizgirl. Not exactly sure what I'm doing with yours, yet. But thinking about using solid red and solid Kona black. Unless, you'd rather us not use black?!?! Does your son in law know you're making him a quilt or will it be a surprise? Either way, I'm sure he'll be thrilled.



[QUOTE=sewbizgirl;7743376]While I'm waiting fonlr swap fabrics I played a little bit with some blocks for my own quilt. Here are two I've done:

Got that right always have my discount card ready I have enough to start my own Joann's lol Sometimes I don't get any fabric just cause I have so much here already but I am always looking for more.:D

I'm asking for the red, the gray, or the black in the print... anything but white because I will sash it in white. No, my son in law has no clue this quilt is in the works for him. He's going to be so surprised! His birthday isn't til Oct., so I'll have it ready in plenty of time for him. Thanks!

I think that's a common illness among us! :D

Your fabric is beautiful. I have just the right solid color to match can't wait to make it for you

Thanks bootsy. You are going to have so much fun with this swap. This is only my second swap, and last time I only joined one group. I was so excited that I ROARED through all my blocks in like 2 weeks... and then had to just sit on my hands while the rest of group(s) kept making theirs. So, pace yourself! :D

Great looking blocks showbiz, going to have to think on your fabric a bit more

I have The top of the quilt finished for baby Liam, hoping to glue baste the 3 layers together today and quilt it tomorrow. Will need to finish it when we get back from vacation before starting the boom blocks.

Not going to be easy. I am like you gun ho!! I am dying to get yours done just to see how beautiful it will be.:sew:

You lucky few should have your fabrics any day now! :o

Yay... go baby Liam! Is he still in the hospital, Terri?

Yes Sewbiz he is still in the hospital. His momma and daddy are going stir crazy. My nephew is very active and to just sit for 10 days has him crawling the walls but he plans on staying here till they all go home together. Today the doc said Liam was a rockstar but it would be awhile till he can go home. Yesterday's doc said soon. The waiting and watching is nerve wrecking. I sent them a text asking if they'd like a pizza or some Chinese take out b4 we leave on Friday. Haven't heard bac yet. They are staying at the Ronald McDonald house and can not say enough good about them. One night an actual chef came in and made dinner

I'm so glad to hear that Liam is hanging in so well. I'm keeping them all in my prayers.

My niece was born early and w/ cardiac issues and my brother (and then wife) had to stay at the Ronald McDonald house and they had nothing but great things to report about their stay.

Go Go Little Liam! Sending warm hugs and prayers your way

Thanks everyone he is such a sweetie. Kids were bumped from the Ronald McDonald house, they are staying in Liam's room. One sleeps on a cot other in rocking chair. They can still eat, shower and use laundry at the R M house.

Terri, lots of hospitals have long term waiting areas that have loungers that can fold out flat for sleeping. The nurses are happy to give family pillows and blankets to use on the loungers. Instead of the rocking chair, one of those loungers would be a lot more comfortable. Tell them to ask... I've spent many a night on one at the VA hospital, what with all my hubby's surgeries. I also learned where all the free coffee was in the hospital, and where to take a shower.

Thanks Showbiz I will let them know

My prays are with you. My girlfriends grandson was just born 5 months early and is still in hospital. He has had 2 surgeries since birth in October. They are fighters. Just hang in there I know how hard this can be. Liam and Jason will both be ok after a time. Just know we are all there with you.

Thanks bootsy.

I just saw your chickens. Pretty neat I never thought there was such a thing. They were sooooo cute. Do they give you a hard time to dress??

Anybody get their fabric yet? Today might be the day.... :p

Perfect match for SBG.

A few (newbie) Boom questions:

1) Seam pressing. Any rules? I typically press to the side. If anyone wants their seams pressed open, please let me know.
2) Thread color/brand. Any specific rules? I usually use Gutermann 100% cotton in neutrals such as tan or gray.
3) How do we avoid duplicate blocks within the group or is that not a concern? For example, I am making a paper pinwheel block for All2piece's GD. When/where do we post photos of our blocks?

Thanks!

Terriamn - I received the basketball and skiing sports fabric for your grandson's quilt. Fun stuff! Neither of my bags had a color marked and I'm just wanting to double check that with you in case you meant to mark a color (or you now wish you had marked a color preference). Just let me know, otherwise I will just pick from the colors you have listed. Thanks!

Is there a way to edit your post??!?!?!?!

I wanted to add to my previous post to say that duplicate blocks are not at all an issue for me in regard to the blocks being made with my fabric. I was just curious how that situation was managed as I see how it could be an issue for others in the group. Or maybe it's not a concern because the chances of it happening are so small?

Janice - I received my package w/ 21 bags, so I'm off and running. Everyone's fabric looks great. Can't wait to get started. But I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I go, so please bear with me. Thanks!

FABRIC ARRIVING! Woo hoo.... jlt, that looks like a great red for that fabric! Thanks!

As for your questions, you can make and press a block any way you want, as long as you have 1/4" seams and the block finishes out at 12.5". Press seams any way you normally do.

I think thread is up to you, too. Anything you would normally use for quilting.

Duplicates do happen sometimes, but aren't usually identical because we each choose fabrics to go with the focus fabric, and the likelihood of them being identical is extremely small. It is good to look at the gallery and see what's already been made and posted for each fabric. I don't think anyone would deliberately make the same block as anyone else.

The link to the gallery is given in the first post of each Boom thread. Right now only our fabrics are there. As we make blocks and post our photos of them (not required, btw), Janice will 'grab' them and put them up in the gallery. She will post a separate gallery for March group and April group. We post our photos right here in our thread, and Janice picks them up. You can keep your blocks a secret, but then they may be duplicated. :D Plus, we all love to see them as they are made.

Hope that answers your questions.

Got my fabric today. I conducted another workshop today at the Ag Center for the pillowcase dresses. Right now I'm so tired I could drop and sleep on the floor. I did open my pkg., but I really haven't gone through them yet. I'll be bright-eyed and bushy tailed first thing in the morning though.

You may edit your post only within the first 20 minutes. To do so, look at the bottom of the post and I believe it's a pencil with an eraser. Click that and your post should pop up and you may edit it. If you miss the 20 minute window, just make a new post. No problem.

Regarding duplicate blocks, Boomers USUALLY, not always, post pictures of the blocks they make as they make them. I then TRY to pick up those pix within a few days and post them in the gallery. If everyone checks the gallery and is keeping up with the posts, seldom is there a duplication. However, it happens and I don't think anyone regards it as a big deal as the fabrics you will be adding are different than the ones the other swappers add.

For everyone, please remember that moving pix to the gallery is a multi-step process and is something I do when I have the time. I cannot always do it right away and sometimes it's longer than a few days. That's one reason it behooves you all to check this board regularly, even frequently. Please do not rely on the gallery alone to see if the block you wish to make has already been made. Check the threads.

AND as long as I'm on the subject of pix...SHRINK YOUR PIX! NO 3 megabyte photos please. SHRINK them to 200 kb or less. That will help the QB pages load more quickly when we get photo heavy, which is about to happen. ALSO, it keeps me from having to do it to move them to the gallery. If gigantic files are posted, I probably won't move them to the gallery right away (ever?) as it takes me extra time. We will have over 500 pix posted here and I really don't want to have to tell you the time involved in the gallery. It's my choice to work the gallery but I depend upon you to make it feasible. So please everyone, help me out by posting small pix.

More info than you all wanted but there it is. And as many of you know, I seldom say something in 10 words when I can say it in 20.

JLT, great questions...please make your block as YOU would prefer to make it.

Press as you wish. I also press to the side except when there's going to be a huge amount of bulk.

Thread color: Try to make it blend in but you do not need to change threads within a single block. I think that's overkill. Most neutrals will blend but a red on a white block, or white on a mostly black block would be something to avoid.

Photos: you may post them here, or you may also post to an album you make through the QB but if you'd like to see your pix in the gallery which a lot of people use, you will have to post here. See my previous post on photo size. IT IS IMPORTANT.

Edited to add for everyone, BLOCKS ARE TO MEASURE 12 1/2 INCHES SQUARE. I do expect everyone to measure. It's not an option!

Hope that helps.

Jlt, if no color is marked just pick colors that go with fabric as long as it's not black, white or pink. Thanks for asking.

Libster I want to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow, what is your secret ������

LOL I'm so darn tired tonight that I'll probably sleep like the dead! I normally sleep about 6 hours a night, after that, I'm good to go again.

Just wanted to let you know I got the package today. Already got started.

They do hate being dressed, fortunately we don't have to do it often. Usually once dressed they stay that way until it warms enough to undress.

JLT, how exciting! Yea!! for the pinwheel! She likes blocks that "show" movement. Thanks very much.
As others have said, press the fabric as you see fit as you sew.
Neutral or matching threads work best, whichever you have loaded on your machine. I would hate for you to have to load a bobbin with, say... aqua, if you only have a small bit to sew with that color. I use 100% cotton or cotton/poly all purpose thread.
Duplicate blocks within a quilt aren't normally an issue because the fabric speaks to each of us differently. Even then, I have different fabric in my stash than someone else. Sometimes people send two fabrics out in a package to make their blocks. That's the rare occasion when duplicate blocks might happen, and the photos help prevent it. It wouldn't bother me at all to receive multiple blocks of the same pattern.
Sometimes we create the same block for several of the swappers, i.e., Box Kite or Pinwheel for multiple people. Each block looks different depending on that swapper's fabric.

Janice does an excellent job keeping us straight. It is very time consuming to transfer all the photos to a second site. I really appreciate the galleries she puts together. With approximately 40 blocks to swap between these 2 BOOMs I know I'll have to refer to the galleries now and again.
I have trouble resizing photos to fit this board. Sometimes I have to use my camera, sometimes my tablet, and I may even try my new phone this time. Just do your best, and post the blocks as you finish them to this forum so we can all see.

Sorry if this post is too long. Can't wait to see the new creations! Cheers!

All2pieces I have to take picture with my phone, send it to my I Pad and post from there. For some reason I can't post pictures from my phone

Libster I went to bed at 11:30 woke up at 1, laid in bed till 2 and finally said to heck with it. Got up showered, dressed and now watching the minutes drag by waiting for hubby to get up