Got mine today! Woo hoo! Thanks to all the swappers and to our hostess! :)

I'm trying to leave feedback for everyone who swapped with me, but I'm not finding a "bonniekeller81" on the member list, and I don't see that she's posted in this thread. I even searched under just "bonnie", but didn't find her ID in all 6 pages that came up. Maybe "search" is broken?

I just received my fabrics. Thanks to everyone for the great fabrics and of course, huge thanks to Rena for hosting.

I opened my fabric and noticed that some of the fabrics had not been washed. I went back and checked the rules and the rules don't mention washing. Is the washing requirement something we used to do or is that only my other swap group?

bkay

Got mine today too...thank you Rena and swappers. Can't wait to look at all the neat prints.

Ensuing happy dance now!!!! Charms arrived today & are so cute!!! Thanks to all of you for swapping!
hugs,
dj

Oh,no, got duplicate pack from Bullock in Idaho! Oh, well, guess I'll redirect into two projects!

I don't think she has an official profile - she is Bullock2us's mother - so you can leave feedback there if you want to. Or PM her.

I tried to not give more than one duplicate per person unless they requested more, or I know they use duplicates. People wanting duplicates and those only swapping 8 bags kinda skewed the amount of bags available. I kept working the groups to try to not give out too many duplicates. I also ended up with quite a few in the group for myself. Hope no one is too disappointed. For what seems to be a rather simple, mathematically, swap, it seems to take more time than I once thought. I have written Owlvamp, who hosted for quite a few years, several times telling her how I never really appreciated the time involved until I did it. There is this inner struggle that I want every swapper to be happy!

Thanks to all who participated - I appreciate the care taken in shopping for fabric.

Rena

It amazes me how the PO can get items delivered in 2 days, then lose packages forever! But delivery seems to have proved since I started using paypal to address the envelopes - having label and Confirmation together has seemed to improve service time.

Mine arrived today! Resisting the urge to pull them all out of the baggies. I have to get supper ready first, then eat of course. Then, I get to play! :D

Bonniekeller81 is my Mom. I believe she has a profile on here- you don't need to do anything with it though- she only does the I Spy Swaps and nothing else. Sorry I have not been paying attention to what is going on. Just got out of the hospital from having neck surgery. I hope all of ours were okay. I didn't really get time to check them over because of this. Can't wait to get them. As far as washing-that has always been optional and I never wash mine. Thanks for all your time and effort put into this rena

Bullock2us - sorry to hear you have had to have surgery! At least you have a quiet activity to do - petting all of your new charms! Heal quickly!

Rena

This group has traditionallly been for unwashed fabric - the word may have been omitted in editing for a recent swap. The Yahoo group uses washed fabric.

I wanted everyone to know I have tried to leave feedback on our swappers several different times and I keep getting error messages - guess I will have to contact one of the moderators. I don't know of anything I am doing differently, so....

I got my package today but haven't had time to look at them. It doesn't bother me to get duplicates because I can just use them in a different quilt. Thanks, Rena, for all the time you put into these swaps. I find things always take longer than it seems it should. To keep every thing straight on who sent what and then to package them up and send out, you are giving a good chunk of time for each swap. Everyone should be happy you are wiling to do this. Thanks again and I am looking forward to the next swap.

Something else I thought of. It is more important for me to have accurately cut squares and squares that have a complete image and not missing a head or important part of the image. Also, if after making a seam part of the image is missing, I am not a happy camper. I will take duplicate squares over miss cut squares any time.

I received my package last night, on the way to my quilt group. I was able to sneak a peek at a couple, and so far I am loving all the fun fabrics!

I have to work today, but taking them with me, so if there is some down time I can check them out and start to organize them (I do most of my charity quilting at work, I truly love my job). I can't wait to start putting them together!

I got my package today. Thanks everyone who sent such a great assortment of fabric. Big thanks to our hostess. Can't wait to get started on quilts for my 2 great grands for Christmas.

Got my package today-lots of fun fabrics! By no florals do you mean there should be no flowers at all on the print? Sometimes I will send some with like animals on them but they will have a few flowers on them.This was one was the best in a long time for not getting a lot of really thin fabrics. I think I only received a couple this time that were so thin they were not usuable. This is also the first time that I didn't receive any just florals. I thought it was a great swap- thanks so much! Thanks for doing such a great job Rena!

Hi ladies. I received my blocks yesterday! Love the fabrics!

I got my package yesterday which was a great pick me up since I had a hospice client pass away. I can't wait to start another I spy. I myself like the small prints for the edges. Thanks all for the great fabrics.

I think that I will say that if there is an easily recognizable object in the square - it is ok.

I was so thankful for the great hospice staff we had when my mom was terminal. Treated mom with the dignity she deserved while being so supportive for our family. I know it has to be really hard for you though, but thank you for the work you do.

Hope going through the new squares gave you a bit of an escape!

Rena

Has anyone not received their package yet? I can check the tracking info for you.

Here are some pouches I made from the squares received in the I Spy swap (may be a few from previous swaps, too). :) The larger ones are sized to be pencil cases, and the smaller ones fit most cell phones. They're good for any small items, though, such as medicine/vitamins, makeup, small toys, sewing supplies, etc. :) The larger ones take 4 charm squares (plus liner fabric) to make, and the smaller ones take 3 charm squares (plus liner fabric). They all have padding inside. Wish I could post a tutorial, but the assembly technique came from a Craftsy class, and is probably copyrighted. Here's a link: https://www.craftsy.com/sewing/class...-zip-way/58909

[ATTACH=CONFIG]579773[/ATTACH]

How cute - you have been busy. Getting ready for your holiday fairs!

Moonrise - that is a fantastic idea. Thank you

I received mine in the mail on the way out of town. I can receive emails, but cannot send them where I was. I am tickled pink with the blocks I received.

moonrise, you constantly amaze me with your talent!!!

Aw, thanks, y'all! :) My fingers are sore now, from turning them all right-side-out! LOL! :D I've got another batch ready to go, but had to order some zippers, so I'm waiting on them to arrive.

Those pounces are wonderful. I need to find the craftsy tutorial and make a few of those for my nieces and nephews!

I just wanted to share with people in my "hangouts" that Craftsy is having an "All You Can Watch Free" day on Monday. If you are already signed up with them, look for an email first thing Monday morning. Especially here, since Craftsy was mentioned up-thread.

I love these little bags, and watched the class today! I've never sewn a zipper, now I'm kind of excited to try some bags. Where do you get your zippers? An old friend wants me to sell stuff at her Christmas bazaar this year (which I'm not real excited about), so I'm looking for some quick projects since I'd never make money on my time with quilts (so stuff like hotpads and stockings if I can get my time down on them). Anyway, looking for a good source for the zippers, since it seems the ones I can find in town are not cheap (or nylon/plastic).

This is my absolute favorite zipper seller. She has awesome prices, plus you get to choose the exact colors you want. She ships fast, too! (No affiliation. Just a happy customer.) :) https://www.etsy.com/shop/zipit?ref=l2-shop-info-name

I love this assembly technique. It's infinitely easier than trying to install a zipper the "traditional" way, plus I get a kick out of mixing and matching the zipper heads. :D

Edited to add: Rather than using fusible fleece (I think that's what she uses, if I remember correctly), I use plain ol' white felt. A few light squiggles of Elmer's glue, ironed to make it dry instantly, holds everything in place during the sewing process.

Thank you! I was looking all over, and I think that's the best price I've seen for the nice, bright colors.

I watched the craftsy videos also and had the same question on where to get the zippers - so may also place an order and try some. I need to go through my zipper stash and see if any are long enough and are plastic. Would be some cute Christmas gifts.

Thanks for sharing your bags!

Did anyone else make any bags? I'd love to see them, if you did! :D I made another batch last week, but don't have a photo handy at the moment.

Is there going to be a fall swap? I've been collecting fabrics for it. :)

I did! Not from my I-spy squares though. Thanks again for the info :)

A pumpkin/jack-o'-lantern "sweatpea pod" coin purse. I made one for myself, and one I sent with a mug rug swap. I didn't have fusible fleece, so I just did some quick quilting on the outside piece and batting before putting it together.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]581512[/ATTACH]

Becca bags. One for me, one for ? I plan to make more. I love Halloween fabric, and like the "A Nightmare Before Christmas" movie, so pulled some Jack Skellington fabric out of my stash. I did buy some fusible fleece to use for these though.

Does anyone know if the "fusible" part of fusible fleece washes away if you wash it? Just curious. If so, I might try making it myself since I can get regular fleece or batting + a can of spray fusing stuff for less when I can combine sales and coupons. Or just use batting/fleece scraps. The quilting I did on the pouch above was fine, but takes more time.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]581513[/ATTACH]


And a baby quilt from the I spy swap :) This is the first one I've completed, but I have a few tops ready to be quilted. I had to "force" myself to buy pink fabric; I just don't like pink. But I like how the quilt came out! I plan to make enough to donate to the NICU where my son spent his first two weeks.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]581514[/ATTACH]

If there is another swap soon, I hope it's another "no limit on number of sets", since I have four sets already cut and waiting...

And, if we ever do the alphabet swap, I found the perfect fabric for "x"... "x-ray cats"!

https://www.fabric.com/buy/0382387/t...ray-cats-black (no longer available on that website, but wanted to share what it looks like)

How cute, all of them! :) I made a few of the cute PeaPod bags, but wanted something a little bigger. My charm pouches are just smaller versions of the Becca Bags. As far as the fusible fleece, I never seem to have much luck with it adhering to the fabric for some reason, so I use white felt and a few light squiggles of Elmer's Washable School Glue instead. It dries almost instantly when it's ironed.

I used to HATE zippers, but it's fun and easy doing it this way. :) Y'all ought to see the bed in our guest bedroom. It's piled FULL of purses and pouches and key fobs, ready to take to the craft fairs. There's another pile of Becca Bags on my sewing-table, waiting to be finished. They're like potato chips. You can't stop at just one! :D

...

The X-Ray Kitty fabric is so cute! :)

Cute, cute, cute! oh, and - Boo for Halloween!