marcialee

oh I wish so much that I had...I tend to go overboard, but I want my recipient to smile and be very happy making the decision to join. She had a large box jammed pack full of everything on her wishlist that I could find plus more.

marcialee

The book is actually a 2016 calendar. The thread is for an embroidery machine, which I said I had, but it is metallic which I cannot run in my machine, which she wouldn't know that.

marcialee

I apologize if any of you feel I am being ungrateful. I don't mean to come off that way. I would at least like to receive what was asked in the rules and I am sorry if I offended anyone. It would be nice if my recipient acknowledge that she even received the package I sent.

djmat

I am not offended, just wish newbies would read the rules, sorry you are disappointed.
hugs,
dj

Jane Quilter

I am a newbie. I read the rules. It sure looked like a lot of SS spent more than $20. Way overspending and underspending can cause hurt feelings, which is not the objective in a SS swap. Sorry Marcialee and others who were hurt. Merry Christmas to all.

djmat

Jane Quilter, you are a wonderful swapper & a great addition to the Board!
hugs,
dj

hearthhush

I just wanted to tell Terri she did a wonderful job again is year. Thank you for your time and energy for taking on this swap. It is a lot of work. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year!

redstilettos

I am a newbie, too, and still followed the rules. I spent more than the $20 but only because I liked what I gave to my person. I think, maybe, a lot of people ended up with names of friends they've had here for a while, and they got more. To the people who got less, it can happen. I really only saw one post that someone received way less than the minimum, and that is really unfortunate. I think there are some clicks here, and maybe those gift exchanges could have been made in a private group, to keep things a little more even, but that is just my .02 which is really only worth half of that

I know as a newbie here I asked a question earlier in the season, and stepped into a world of hurtful comments aimed my way both here and in private. I am thankful for terri for putting this together, but I really will question whether or not I will do this again

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and maybe we'll see each other in other posts in the future.
take care,
red

SewingSew

Marcialee, it is easy to understand why you were unhappy with your swap experience. Anyone in your shoes would have been a little confused by what you received. And to not hear anything about the package you sent... well that is just unacceptable, unless your person has gone through a serious illness or a tragedy. When you involve yourself in a swap, it is reasonable to expect that your partner is going to reciprocate in kind and be gracious. My impression is that most of the people on this board are super nice, and I would like to think that a bad experience is more of an exception than the norm.

This was my first year participating in this swap. I have only been a part of one other swap on the Quilting Board. I read the rules and I also went back through the archives to try to get a sense of what the majority of people had sent in previous years. If I had followed the guidelines of $20, my recipient would have received a sub-par package, as compared to others, and I wanted to make my girl happy, so I tried to mimick the photos that I saw in the archives. I spent considerably more than the rules stated, but I don't feel that the contents of my box were very different from many others. My Secret Santa sent me an equivalent package of goodies. She was great in every way and made the exchange a good experience.

SewingSew

In regard to the hurtful comments that Redstilettos mentioned, I felt the sting of that as well, and it caught me off guard. Thankfully, that is not a reflection of everyone who participates in this swap. But it did spoil what was otherwise a good experience.