You are invited to join the Tell Me A Story Block Swap 14! This will be the last swap until the fall.
Blocks must ship by June 21st. There will be no extensions to this deadline so please think about the pandemic and if it will make it difficult for you to get supplies or get to the post office. Please check to see if you are able to ship to the US at this time or if there have been postage hikes that will make it too expensive for you to join. If you think that the pandemic will prevent you from sending on time, please do not join.
Why swap? Well, if you are working on this quilt, you quickly find yourself running out of fussy cuts from your stash. By swapping, you will receive a variety of fussy cut blocks to include in your quilt top. You also meet new quilting friends from all over the world and have a reason to run to your mailbox!
If you are new to paper piecing, I have a YouTube video available to help you. Find it here.
In order for a swap to be successful, there need to be guidelines. Here they are:
Making the Blocks
1. You must purchase a copy of my book, Intentional Piecing, in order to get the Tell Me A Story block pattern. Signed copies are available in my Etsy shop with inexpensive media mail shipping to US customers. You can also find my book on Amazon (this is an affiliate link), or at your local quilt shop/book shop, or your town library. The block pattern cannot be purchased independently due to copyright reasons. Please remember that it is against copyright law to make copies and distribute them as well.
2. The idea of the Tell Me A Story block is that you are telling stories with your fabric selections. It’s silly fun. Here’s an example:
This little bunny is all snug in his burrow and dreaming of the recent successful harvest. The fabric chosen for the outside border is a great fall color, and shows plants, representing his harvest. It’s that easy! I would love it if you would share pictures of your blocks and tell their stories on Instagram using the hashtag #tellmeastoryblockswap. If you do not use IG, that’s ok too. It is not required, but it might be fun to share your stories with your partners when you send your blocks.
3. The fussy cuts should be modern fabrics or quirky Japanese prints. I suggest Cotton + Steel, Ruby Star Society, Art Gallery Fabrics, Heather Ross, Riley Blake, Dear Stella, etc. Avoid children’s novelty prints (cartoon like, babyish, primary colors, licensed prints–stay with the more modern aesthetic). Please try to find fabrics with this look so that the resulting quilt tops hold together with blocks that have the same feel.
4. The inner triangles must be pieced in black. You may use any quilt shop quality fabric but it must be a solid black.
5. The borders can be any color to coordinate with the fussy cut, but should tell a story as described above.
6. The outermost triangles must be what I call “way low volume” fabrics. Here is a photo of what I mean. The fabrics should be white or off white and any print must be white, light beige or light gray. I don’t want any colors added in these triangles.
7. Make sure that you photocopy your foundation pattern at 100% so that it measures 6 1/2″ square unfinished (including the seam allowances).
8. Please press well between each step so that your blocks are well sewn and will fit together well with the other blocks. Creases and folds in your fabric can make it hard to piece the blocks together.
9. Please leave the foundation papers in your blocks. This will keep them in better shape and avoid any stretching on the bias. If you need to remove them to reduce international shipping costs, that is an exception.
It’s my hope that by sticking to these guidelines, the finished blocks will work together beautifully in your quilt top and you will have such a great assortment of fussy cuts to round out those found in your own stash.
Swapping Logistics
You will be assigned to a group. The number of groups will depend on how many participants we have. Each group will include 10 people. By Round 14, I can no longer attempt to avoid matching you with previous swappers so you may have repeats in your group from previous rounds.
Everyone in your group will receive your mailing address so that they can ship to you directly.
You will sew a total of 20 blocks and send 2 to each person in your group (keeping 2 for yourself!). You can either make them all different, or you can use a single fussy cut/fabric combo for half the blocks and another combo for the other half. You just want to make sure that you send two unique blocks to each person (in other words, not two identical blocks).
You may be required to ship internationally.
In order to keep shipping costs low, and to allow international participation, we want to be able to mail as a first class letter. This should be possible if you just send the two blocks in a note card. Putting them inside of a card makes it feel like a thick card and there is usually no problem with a letter stamp. If fabric is detected (when they are loose) then you will be told to send as a package which is more expensive. Keep this in mind! If someone has the means to send extras and wants to, it’s ok. But it is not expected with this swap. It’s supposed to be inexpensive, quick and easy!
You must email me when you ship to your group. It’s just about accountability! I want to make sure that everyone sends so that everyone receives.
If your swap members do not receive blocks from you, you will be asked to resend. Please also understand that sometimes unexpected things happen and a team member is unable to meet their obligation. If you feel like you will not be able to accept this possibility graciously, this swap may not be for you. There will be no swap angels.
You will receive your group assignment following the close of signups via email.
You must ship by June 21, 2021. You may ship early! In fact, I love it when people send early!
If you joined a previous round and did not send your blocks, you will not be allowed to participate in round 13.
To sign up, please complete this short form by May 22, 2021.
Let me know if you have any questions and I will answer them here, in the comments, for everyone’s benefit. Yay! Let’s get fussy cutting!!
Here are some images of Tell Me A Story projects I have made. Just remember, they do not conform to the guidelines above.
Just nine blocks make a great pillow. You will receive 18–that makes two perfect pillows if you don’t want to make a complete quilt.
These blocks do conform to the guidelines of the swap. You can see how I added a border that includes a little dash of color but still blends well with the off white and white outer triangles of my blocks. This quilt was made crib size.
Here’s my original from the book. Check out the hashtag #tellmeastoryblockswap on Instagram to see all the amazing blocks that are being made! Remember, you can start sewing as soon as you sign up if you’d like! No need to wait!