jaciqltznok

Do you do swaps online, do you love them, hate them, can not afford them? What do you like, love, hate about them?

I have been doing online swaps since 1998! Remember those Y2K charm swaps?

Every time I do one, I end up asking myself was it really worth it!

I KNOW ahead of time what is involved, rules merely serve as suggestions rather than true guidelines, "Quality" fabric is a term lost in translation, deadlines mean you have 2 or more weeks to go once the "deadline" date has arrived, and at times you never receive the item you were swapping for!

Today I sent out swap blocks and had sticker shock at the PO...wow...one single block sucked flat in an envelope cost $.88 IF it was under 1oz! Those over 1oz were as high as $1.35, Canadian was $1.60!

So that prompted to me to come home and do some figuring...cost of envelopes, $3.00, cost of total postage to send out my fabric and to send out the finished blocks $44.56, cost of fabric for My blocks $15.00, cost of fabric for blocks I made to send out $18.50. Then there is the TIME you put in to buy, wash, iron, cut and sew all that fabric plus doing the envelopes twice and going to the PO twice 30+hours!

Yes, you do end up with blocks,charms, etc, be they good or bad, to make a quilt, but if you had skipped the swap and saved that money and time wouldn't you have just made a quilt you really wanted to make anyway?

There are swaps for things other than blocks, charms, strips or Fq's, and some are great and some are not so great! I do feel that when you agree to swap something with someone you MUST fulfill that obligation and when you do not then should you not be allowed to play any more! But that still leaves someone with an EMPTY pocket who already sent you something, so how is that fair?

What exactly is the DRAW to keep doing these swaps? For me I believe it is the A- the thrill of the unknown, B- I just LOVE to get mail and C- Deadline "RUSH" make me happy!

I am sure it just means I am a silly old Blonde who still believes in Christmas and miracles, but what can I say!

sueisallaboutquilts

I've never done a swap online. I don't like deadlines. I'm such a weenie!! :D:D
PS. Although I don't like admitting this I'm a bit fussy about fabric, also. Please, no yelling at me!! lol

CompulsiveQuilter

I did dozens and dozens of 6" charm swaps years ago. I have tons of squares, divided by color, in a file cabinet. I have made at least 4 quilts using them. Great for a scrap quilter like me with a limited source of fabrics.
BUT I also have a huge box of charms that I absolutely do not want. Either so-so quality, or just not my style. I guess I should sell them.
All in all, I think swaps are great - if you accept that maybe 1/3 of what you get will be something you want.

jaciqltznok

I have those boxes too...BUT, they range from 2" to 10"! ALL sorts of themes, and colors! I even have flannel and I don't do flannel!

here is the secret to using up the ones you are not sure about....RULE #1- the smaller you cut the cuter it gets, and rule #2- when in doubt(about the quality) foundation piece it to muslin!

then you won't be wasting a single scrap of fabric!

jaciqltznok

I am strange that I work best with a deadline...really..the more deadlines, the faster the day goes...wait..that could be an issue..hehehe

I am a fabric SNOB...and these swaps are always a TEST for me....really a test....

sueisallaboutquilts

Jacquie, I know a lot of people who do best with a deadline!!
I wish I was one of them but I'm not :(

Maia B

I haven't done swaps for the reasons cited above, sounds like possibly as much stress and disappointment as fun.

moonwork42029

I am sooo very new at doing a pattern and I have now sent items for a couple swaps.

Hopefully they will like what I did because I did try something new when I did them. I'm glad it's open to all levels because I'd never get to play if it wasn't.

The swaps I've done are just now sending the deadline so I've got a little bit before I see what is sent to me.

I'm sure I'll be happy with them because hopefully everyone else had fun too.

I did do a few very basic squares/triangles because I wanted to try them and this was a good way to do them. Otherwise I wouldn't have had a good reason to do them. They may seem overly simple to some but it was a great learning experience for me.

Looking forward to others just for the experience of doing them.

M.I.Late

Try the doll quilt swaps. They are really fun. They are great to practice new techniques on. Just realize that some that you receive will not be great and some will be amazing. That's half the fun. It's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you'll get. And you may get a rotten cherry along the way... You just spit it out and try another one... right? I did start making two identical quilts, so I could send one to my swap partner, but I could also keep one.

purplemem

I was doing the Boomerang Swap and loved it. But the costs were too much for me. 35 blocks x2 + Big Money. That was my quilting budget for 2 or 3 months.

I miss the comraderie and the fun of getting all those squishies in the mail. And I loved the scraps.