my center block
 

here is my center block -- it has several blues, purples, green and sea green as well as yellow. I hope you like it. The block is called Brave World.

Mim

Very pretty, mim!

givio love this block !
vovoa this is really cute!
Lv2sew2011 love the idea of a Christmas/winter theme !
Maryb119 love the black and white with the pops of color!
Mim love these colors and that swirl fabric is so cool!

Wow these are amazing blocks to start with I am excited to get started!!

Okay without further ado here is my block. I found one month of a BOM from Fat quarter Shop from 2012 packet at Goodwill still sealed never made a few months ago called " Cherry Sundae". So I thought what the heck make that up it is supposed be 12.5" unfinished. I usually lean towards paper piecing a center block but I thought this was perfect for this round robin. There was a lot of fabric left boy they were generous when they were cutting this kit. I can send it along if you guys want if not that is okay? I know postage can get up there sometimes on these my the end.
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Wow! That is bright and cheery!

OK I haven't finished it yet but I decided on a block....I think I'm going to make her in Tinkerbell colours

FINALLY - a round robin! I love these and haven't seen one for ages and now see that I'm too late for this one. Please keep my name on a list for next time. Participating in round robins has stretched my skills and creativity while providing just enough sewing for me to accomplish while working.

I think there may be one more spot open Barbara. Givio, did you plan on only 5 people per swap?? Barbara might be the 10th person and that would make 2 round robins.

Mim

The deadline isn't until Friday. You still have time to sign up.

Mim, I either have, or had some of that swirly fabric, but I think it was in a different color. I agree with fq40-- it's really cool! Nice block there. Yes, I think five would be a great amount in a group, giving a nice size border to work with each round. I'm hoping a 10th person will want to sign up.

fq40, for sure send along the scraps! Even a 5" charm size piece is worth sending along. Who knows what we can do with it! I've always liked the red, white, turquoise colors together. At Goodwill! What a find!

ROS, oh, my word, that pattern sets the wheels turning in my brain. lol Give it some good thought, maryb119, you'll be getting it. :-))))

Ok, girls, we had some comments on the thread about the time frame, and I've received some comments by private message. We don't want to stress anyone out. We don't want anyone to run out of time, frantically seam ripping mistakes, be late, feel guilty, and make a problem for the next person in line.... We just want to have fun. :-) So, I think we must adjust the time to give another week or two (or three) where we need it. Please let us all know what you think, make a little vote about it, ok?

For example, each round I could suggest a time, we could talk about it, then commit. I hope we can stay flexible and be accommodating to the others in the group. Of course, we want to budget our time, not be slothful, avoid the pressure of last minute work, and take a care to keep progress moving forward.

Here is the message I'll be sending along with my block. I'll print it out on a piece of paper, and if anyone wants to 'journal' something on the paper, go ahead (not required). I think I'll be sending some fabric too, but didn't decide yet about that.

Well, I've been a tempted lurker for a while now, the last post about possible time adjustment for some of the rounds has put me over the top. I sent a pm.

Thanks, I would like to keep a dog theme please. I already have a critter quilt in the making. Also would like to keep my block kind of girly with pinks and colors that are in the block except the brown....

Well I'm with Kassaunder. The flexible time frame set me over the top also. I'm in and a little nervous since this will be new to me. sending a pm.

This will be my first round robin swap too.

Kassaundra and oldcatlady, Thanks for your interest! My last post asked what people would like to do-- asking them to speak out and make a 'vote' about the time frame. I had a concern for those people who private messaged me, who made comments about the time frame. Thank you for letting us know your thoughts about it. I certainly don't exclude anyone who would like to participate.

There are people that have made a commitment to the Round Robin, and I respect their commitment. They have already agreed to a one month time frame for mailing-- we should give them an opportunity to give input regarding changing what they have already agreed on. My post was a request for input. I'm very sorry if I did not make that clear.

I just would like to be friendly, and offer an activity that's fun for everyone who would like to participate. But the time to do each round seems to be an issue. Let's just work it out together, shall we? :-)

Okay, I will wait and see what is decided then.

I've sent a PM so it looks like I could be #10 on this list and mail to Givio unless this becomes two groups.

My question with a one month turn-around time for each round is what about time in the mail? What if a top takes three weeks to arrive? Does it then need to be mailed the next week?

I am flexible with whatever the group decides. I do agree that we need to set a time frame though.I was in a sort of robin that had 11 people and we were only to keep it for a month from the date received and we had a few individuals that kept them fron 3-6 months it took over 2 1/ 2 yrs to see my quilt return home. I understand that life emergencies happen. If an individual has an event come up and feels they can not meet the time frame we agree on maybe they can foward it on and then return it back to them at the end or not at all depending on their circumstances. Just some ideas.

Good idea of forwarding it on if an emergency comes up, frustratedquilter40. 3 to 6 months for one round is way too long to hold up the process. I am OK with a month. I was in a round robin a couple years ago and I added my round right away after I received the quilt. Then the quilt had to wait until it was time to mail it but no one got behind. I agree with setting a time frame. I don't like to wait until the last minute to do something. I don't like the pressure it adds.

fq40, Excellent idea! I would like to agree to the idea that there will be no late mailing-- if the round cannot be completed, mail without it. That's a great idea!
maryb, thanks for your comments.
b.zang, Since you are not in the States, it's a good question about if the quilt top takes extra time to arrive. You might like to 'sew ahead' by watching what is happening through pictures, so you don't have to do it all when the quilt top arrives. If we find in the first round that the mail is very slow to you, we could add time to help you with that. Can we get some discussion about this situation?

Deadline to private message me = July 30.
Let’s go!!
1. Givio
2. Ripped On Scotch
3. maryb119
4. Vovoa
5. TwinRiverFarm
6. frustratedquilter40
7. Lv2sew2011
8. mim
9. GracefulAnn
10. b.zang

We will do two groups. We also have Kassaundra and oldcatlady who will join providing they feel they will have enough time for each round. :-) So! This is great! Please, everyone, add pictures to our thread, make sure you have any instructions and/or extra fabric ready to go with your center square, and make your plan for getting the package in the mail next week. Saturday after midnight/Sunday I'll pass you addresses by private message.

I agree that we need to keep to the schedule. For the two of you on either end of me (mailing to and receiving from), mail typically takes a minimum of 7 days across the border. Those are non-sewing or planning days which can stretch longer at times. We'll have to see what the times are like. Likewise, we don't want tops mailed early and piling up on someone, either.

My experience with round robins is that the center needs to sit on the design wall for a few days as inspiration percolates. Colours are always different from pictures. I always take the top with me when I go shopping for fabric to get the right match. By the way, my LQS is an hour-and-a-half one way. Not a casual trip.

Looking forward to this adventure with you folks. I'm off now for one last bit to make my center. I love seeing all the pictures and watching the quilts grow.

Have fun, can't wait to see the quilts grow... I'll wait for the row robin since I kinda have my heart set on a bookcase quilt for my daughter's boyfriend who is an author

Do we have to stick with 6 inch borders for each round? The last round robin I was in, the first border was 3 inches to frame the center block or we had the option to turn it on point. The second round was again the option to turn on point or 5 inches. The next border was 6 inches, the next one was 7 inches with the final one 8 inches. I think by making to borders wider with each round, the proportion is better. Any thoughts?

This is a great idea! I am good with whatever the majority agrees upon :thumbup:

Here is my center. I love the reds against the white, it makes me very happy and cheerful. I have no problem with any time frames decided upon, and I love the idea of mailing on even if life gets in the way. I was once in a round robin where all five quilts got stuck at the same person for a very long time, and it was disheartening.[ATTACH=CONFIG]554856[/ATTACH]

Very pretty center, TwinRiverFarm. It will be fun to work.on.

TRF, I'd be so happy to see it continue red and white as that's such a classic. But! We will see what others decide to add.
Maryb, I like the pictures shared of past Round Robins, and liked the option of setting the center on point. I'd like to keep it an option, as it might be intimidating to a new quilter, whereas an ordinary border on all sides might feel more in someone's comfort zone. I have no idea how much sewing ability each of us has. I think it's a good idea, and let's keep it in mind. Thanks for sharing it. I also think that various sizes of borders is a nice idea too, although getting larger with each border will also increase the time it will take to make them-- especially because they will already take longer simply because they have a larger length to span.

Well, I'm good with what the majority decides. I also have always started with a 3" boarder and they got larger with each round. But, I am good with either one!

You can go to Archives at the bottom of this page and look in member swaps and round robin section to see pictures of all the finished round robins. I was in IRR 111 group 9 traveling threads. There were 14 groups in this round robin so there are plenty of pictures to see. There is also a list of rules that we followed. I hope that helps.

Not very many centers were set on point. It was just an option...not required at all. Also it was allowed only on the first 2 rounds. After that, we just added borders.

My group is on page 3 and is number 689. There are lots of other round robin groups to look at as well.

Hi everyone! This is my first round robin and I'm very excited. I plan to check out the archives for the old round robins (thanks maryb119). This is my orphan block that I'll be sending. Two pics included. The multiple photo shows the two fabrics I intend to send along and the small pieces at the top are sashings I had added but removed. This is a 12" block and it is hand-pieced. Can't wait to see all the photos![ATTACH=CONFIG]554870[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]554871[/ATTACH]

Beautiful. I love the reds!

The comments seem to be options with border sizes, ok with one month of sewing time, extended time in case of length of mailing time, definitely no several-months of time, and no-late-just-send-as-is. The first month we can take a look at how long the mailing time is with our international participants letting us know when they get their blocks. We can figure out how much time might be needed after that. Let's decide definitely that there will be no compromise about being on time to mail. All must mail on the week that I'll list to mail. If life gets in the way, or you can't get to the post office, ask someone to help you out-- get the quilt top in the mail without your border if that's the case. (If that happens, the person you mail to will do the border you were supposed to finish, etc, and the top will come back to the owner of the center a smaller size.)
Kassaundra and oldcatlady, As you know that today is the deadline, please review everyone's comments, decide for sure if you want to join, then confirm that by sending me a private message. If I don't hear from you before 12:00pm eastern standard time, I'll assume that you will sit this one out.

This is going to be my instructions with my center as I think expanding centers are more esthetically pleasing. They "grow" the quilt.
Givio, I think the amount of time for the outer rows will be the same as if everyone does a 6" border, as the center being added to won't be quite so big, so a smaller perimeter.

Sounds good to me. Please let me know where and when to mail.

GracefulAnn, That's a great center. I like how it already has a feeling of borders added, like TRT's red center seems too.

Thanks Givio. I swear it lays flat!

GA, Sure it does! :-) I'm really pleased with the hand work. That's so special.

Group of the first five people that signed up =
Givio mails to Ripped On Scotch
Ripped On Scotch mails to maryb119
Maryb119 mails to Vovoa
Vovoa mails to TwinRiverFarm
TwinRiverFarm mails to givio.

Group of the second five people that signed up =
frustrated quilter40 mails to Lv2sew2011
Lv2sew2011 mails to mim
Mim mails to GracefulAnn
GracefulAnn mails to b.zang
b.zang mails to frustratedquilter40.

Mail your 12” center block, your simple and limited instructions (or no instructions), and any fabric to be included (or no fabric) the first week of August. (It means the postmark on your package must be before August 7). It might be good to use a trackable method of mailing. You could tell your recipient the tracking number by private message.

Everybody can write the date they mail their package on the front of the package, maybe lower left (in case the post mark is not clear). We can mention by posting on the thread when we receive the package and how many days it took to get to us. This will give us an idea of the average mailing time that we need. When everyone has their package (probably the international packages will arrive last), from that date we will sew for the allotted number of weeks, and then mail during the next week.

For the first round we will sew for 3 weeks, and then mail during the next week. It will result in the quilt top being 24” (24 ½” raw edge to raw edge). You can do whichever you like—a straight border, or put the center on point by adding four triangles around it. Measure the top edge of the quilt top, the center of it, and the bottom edge horizontally. Repeat measuring vertically. We want everyone to get the correct size, and the quilt top should be flat.

If we all sew the quilt top to the same size each round, then we will all be getting and giving the same. It doesn’t seem fair for anyone to work to sew a lot on the quilt tops of the others in the group, and then end up receiving something smaller! So, lets all sew to the correct size posted.

The second round will be similar to the first-- straight borders, or on point, whichever each person chooses to sew is fine. The center block can be turned once, or twice, or not at all. The end result of the second round will be 36” (36 ½” raw). For this round we will sew for 4 weeks, and then mail during the next week.

The third round we’ll think about as we go through the first two rounds, and decide together for size and number of weeks to sew. I'll just post them after listening to your input. After the first round, I’ve added a week of time for the second round. After the first two rounds, we might have a better idea about our schedules/commitments, and how long it took us to do each of the first two rounds. I don’t want to make a list of how much time for the later rounds now, then end up with us sitting around twiddling our thumbs later.

The same for the fourth and fifth rounds-- we can decide after we get closer to making them.

I’m game for the rounds being more than 6” each, because with five people in each group the quilt top ends up 60” when using only 6” borders. But let’s try to keep the total size of the quilt top under 80”. Any larger than that can be very difficult to quilt when using a domestic sewing machine-- and that might be how someone is planning to quilt it. Well! Even with 80” I will struggle on my machine! :-)

Sending private messages now with addresses....

Here's my top. The picture doesn't show the colours as they really are, nor does it let you see the reflective value of some fabrics. I had a circus in my mind when I chose this pattern. I also wanted something with lots of colour choices for those of you adding to it. I guess, you can also see that it's slightly larger than 12". I hope this doesn't cause problems, and if the next person wants to make a smaller border to bring the size into line with the instructions, that's perfectly fine with me.