Good morning!

I hope this finds you having enjoyed the holidays, relaxing and not burried in too much snow or coldness! It was quite chilly today here in Houston, TX.

My name is Lori (aka: Sweetness) and I will be the Group 16 leader. I'm so excited, to get to know you guys and work on our quilts!

Our first assignment is to come up with a name for our group...so get your creative juices flowing!!!

Our group members are:

Christina (aka:Frogquilter) - Anyway I love stars!!!! All different blocks of them using batik fabrics

Karen (aka:Karen)- Life on the Farm...like barns, animals etc..

Kathy (aka:Kathy N) - My theme is going to be 1930's prints in Star blocks

Lori (aka:Sweetness) - "celtic dreams" - rich jewel tones (greens, orange, gold, red, purple, etc)...i'm staring off with irish blocks. love crosses, anything celtic/renaissance like).

Sylvia (aka:klarina) - My theme will be 1930's with some applique

And let the friendships begin :)

Just a quick repost of bookworm's original post so we have it easily accessible for referencing :)

Row Robin 2011

Overview:
This row robin is meant to be a fun, social and learning experience. There is no skill level requirement, only to do the best work that you can. If you have concerns about what to add at any point, feel free to ask for help from others in your group, the host of the RR, other sewing friends, or even the owner of the center. Remember…this is FUN!

Rules:
1. Fabric should be prewashed and of a type that you would be happy to receive yourself. This means 100% cotton but but does NOT need to be LQS.

Please remember that each top will circulate through many sets of hands and equipment as it travels the world. There may be a variety of techniques used as well. it's best to select fabrics that will hold up well under a variety of conditions and that can withstand repeated machine washing. Fabrics you can see through, that appear to fray easily, or that are loosely woven are not the best candidates for a shared project.

2. Use any techniques in which you feel comfortable, machine/hand piecing, machine/hand appliqué, machine/hand embroidery, paper piecing, etc. This in not particularly the time to experiment with new techniques unless you are confident that you can pull it off. You might want to experiment before attaching the row to the quilt in case you have to rework something.

3. Each row will be 12 ½” by 60 ½”

4. We will be posting pictures with each round, unless you specify that you do not want to see your quilt until it is finished. For most of us…we just can’t wait.

5. Please stay on target for the mailing dates. You will have approximately 2 months between mailings. If something happens that will cause you to be late mailing, please email the person who you will be mailing to and the leader of the group. Specific mailing dates will be sent out with the group assignments.

6. You will need to insure your packages when mailing.

7. Please, ONLY sign up if you are serious! We understand that life does and can get in the way, but if you KNOW you cannot fulfill your end, PLEASE do not sign up.

8. These rules apply to EVERYONE!

The Quilt:
The theme is a design of your choice. You need to make the first row 60 ½” by 12 ½” but you can orient it either horizontal or vertical. (Each row should be carefully measured and squared)
Each sequential row should be a continuation of the theme of the first row but can be what technique you would like.

Add a Label:
We suggest that you add some type of label to circulate with your top so that all the members of your group can sign it. Please use a Black Pigma pen or some type of black permanent fabric marker. You might want to leave enough room for everyone to list their name along with their board name, their city, state, country, and the date.
If you don't want to do a label for people to sign because you haven't figured out what you want the label to look like, that is fine too...just add a piece of paper that people can sign.

Graciously accept your finished quilt

Sometimes the final quilt owner will want to add more embellishments or add an additional border, but everyone who worked on your quilt used their best abilities. After the Row Robin has closed, of course it is your quilt to do whatever you choose. We will all look forward to seeing the quilted final product! Please do not post pictures that show alterations or changes in someone else’s work though. Please be conscious of other feelings. If this isn’t acceptable to you, please DO NOT play.

Tips and Lessons Learned:

1. Print off the rules, mailing dates and your group mailing list.
You will be referring back to it.

2 Don’t panic…hang the top for a few days and let it speak to you. They tend to “tell you what they need next”.

3. If you are trying something new….do it on the separate row, do NOT sew it to the quilt until you are sure it worked.

4. Make sure you understand how to fill out the customs forms BEFORE you send an International package

5. Please DO NOT let tops pile up on you. If you need help, ask…there are others who can and will step in to help you through a time crunch bind. We can work it out.

6. Please handle the quilts carefully. We all drag them around to show them off to friends, guild members, LQS, etc. but when doing so, we can stretch the rows so the finished quilt doesn’t lie flat. Please make sure it does lie flat prior to mailing it on to the next person.

7. Feel free to add information to accompany your quilt such as colors you would prefer or something you definitely don't want, that it may be a gift, etc. Please don’t add fabric to your package as it does cost more to mail it along. You can add a little swatch card with what fabrics you used, the manufacturer’s name, etc. as someone may want to match something. If you do have extra fabric, you might want to let others know, they may ask for some to be mailed to them directly to work on a specific round if they can‘t purchase it.

8. If for ANY reason, you feel the need to resign from doing this at ANY point in the "game", PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know! It's not fair to the others for someone to just pull out, not tell anyone and keep what is not theirs.

Mailing Dates:
You have two months to get each round done.

1st Row – mail by February 15th
________________________________________________

Row 2 – April 15th
________________________________________________

Row 3 – June 15th
________________________________________________

Row 4 – August 15th
________________________________________________

Row 5 – October 15th

http://www.quiltingboard.com/group_a...jsp?gracnum=87

Sew excited to get started! I have my drawings finished and have to get started on my blocks really soon.

I'm not to good at names...they all seems so silly...
rowsewers, see what I mean! LOL!

Hope everyone had a GREAT Christmas.

You've got me beat. I've picked all my patterns. I'm paper piecing the first row. However, I still have to pick my fabrics.

LOL...I'm not the best with names either. The only thing I could come up with is "The Sweet Sixteeners" (ie: again silly sounding) hopefully Kathy, Sylvia and Christina will chime in soon and save us!

Christmas was awesome I'll have to post pics of the cutting table my bf designed for me. I'm 6'1" no more aching back! Of course I've been cleaning everything today because he bought me a Shark Steam Pocket Mop...I think the cats are scared they're next :)

Can you believe 2010 is almost over *sheesh*

Hello ladies:

This is my first Row Robin Swap. Nice to *meet* you guys.

My theme will be 1930's with some applique.

I like the Sweet Sixteeners name.

Sylvia (klarina).

*waves* Hi Sylvia!!!

It's my first row robin (or any type robin) swap too :)

Ladies, Welcome. Row and round robins are a lot of fun if you don't stress any of it. If you get stuck on something, there are a lot of us to help.
I am part of the "Early Bird Threads" group 1

I like the Sweet Sixteeners too! This is also my first RR,
so it is very exciting! Do we need to do a journal to send with the quilt? I don't want to cost any extra for anyone else.

At this point the only one I am worried about is the Celtic. SOOOO I went and looked up patterns and plan on practicing before I get the top!

Sweetness, I have to agree about the year passing to FAST! They seem to past faster the older I get.

Hi I'm in Houston also, well just south, down 288

Karen,

I don't know about the journal...my guess is that could be a group decision (or if one person wanted it, we could do it for them)? I'd like to know more about your idea of it though as I've never kept a journal.

Agreed...time drags as a kid and then all of a sudden after 30 it's like OMG...I'm almost 40!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't be afraid of my quilt. I'm good with whatever, as long as it stays in the color values (no pastels, etc). LOL...I must admit though I'm leary of the rests stars all those points!!!

I'm hope our other rowmates drop in soon!