Vintage fabric square swap - start stalking the postie!!

21 December 2011

Vintage fabric square swap....in dot point.

*Thanks so much to everyone who took part.

*Thanks also for your patience.....it did drag out a little later than I hoped....but at this time of the year the post system is bogged down.....and parcels did take longer to arrive.

*There were a few girls I didn't hear back from....and I hope that no-one has missed out.....but I can only send so many emails.....and in all fairness to those who had sent already....I wanted to wrap it up.

*There were 3295 squares in total....and I counted each and every one.....twice!

* It was a LOT larger job than I first thought......it took my friend and I six hours to sort out the bulk of them....and then myself another five hours to finish off the sort....with a little reshuffle of some to make sure the variety was fair. It then took another two hours to package and  postpak them all up. 
It was a job bigger than Ben Hur!

*I have tried to where possibly not give you your own back.....but in all honesty....it became too hard in the end to keep track of what belonged to who.....so it is very likely you will have some of your own squares back...which I'm sure wont matter too much.

* You will have multiples of some.....and singles of others.....there were just a lot more of some fabrics than others.....but in my original quilt a lot of the fabrics are repeats too.

So.....here is a run down of my sorting day....
I bundled them all into baskets and headed over to visit a friend.....she had volunteered to help....little did she know just how big a job this would be!


First job......lay them all out on their postpaks and record how many needed to be returned to everyone.



I must say ....the fabrics looked so gorgeous all lined up....



...and another shot of the job ahead.....and you cant even see them all in this frame.


There were thousands of them....lol


Then it was the job of counting them all out......we found working them into groups of ten worked the best.


Then I roped Briony in the evening to help me with the parceling up.... I'm not sure why she is smiling.....by this time of night I was almost crying...LOL



My final double checking system.....


and PHEW!!!.....it was all done.

I would love to hear of your progress when your squares arrive.
In the new year...Janelle will be making a little tutorial to help those of you who are new to quilting...it will be some simple basics on constructing and getting started. 

If you would like to share your finished quilt...or project Id love to see it.....and perhaps share it on my blog with others.....attach it to an email.....or leave me a comment to a link if you have it uploaded somewhere.

Thanks again for taking part......the response was overwhelming.....
I must admit at one stage during the day I thought...."why oh why....and NEVER AGAIN!
But...its like childbirth....the bad memory has already faded....
ans so I think I will do another at some stage.....
I know there were a few girls who the timing didn't  work for this time......so it will give them a chance.
I will have a few more rules though.....and I know I can make the process a whole lot easier...this was definitely a learning opportunity.

So.....Merry Christmas Vintage fabric swappers....
and stalk the postie!
Mardi x

20 comments

  1. WOWEE Mardi, that sure is a HUGE amount of work. On behalf of all of us involved, thank you thank you for all that you (and your friend) have done to help us all add some gorgeous new vintage squares to our stash. I for one, am so grateful to you. I can't wait to see all that come back to me too.
    Thank you
    xxx Janelle

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  2. You are amazing! Well done! x

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  3. Anonymous4:29 pm

    OMG - how excitement !!! I've been stalking your blog, eagerly awaiting an update ...... THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH - I'm sure I'll never truly grasp the enormity of the task, but I DO SO APPRECIATE YOUR GENEROSITY to give your time to do this !! Can't wait to get a return package & will definitely keep you posted !! YOU'RE A GEM - mwahhhhh xoxoxoxoxo .... Jenni H

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  4. Oh Mardi what a MAMMOTH task! As I was reading it I was thinking there was no way you'd ever do it again. Then at the end... I can't believe you're even contemplating it! LOL.

    I HUGELY appreciate all the work that you and your friend and Briony put into it and I am SO excited to receive my squares!! I'm so keen to make a mismatched vintage square quilt!!

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  5. Wow what a huge job...thanks for organising this and I wait eagerly for the postie to arrive.
    Happy Christmas to you.

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  6. Anonymous8:41 pm

    OMG Mardi, you are a legend. The time and effort you have put into this swap is amazing,(especially this time of year)! Thank you Mardi I can't wait to see the contents of my parcel, and to start stitching.
    Trudy. xoxoxo

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  7. You are truly amazing, thank you so very very much xoxoxox

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  8. What a huge effort, thanks so much Mardi and your helpers, for all the work you have done with this swap, I look forward to getting my parcel.

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  9. Brenda10:10 pm

    Thank you so much mardi for all the work you did so that all of us could make beautiful quilts. Thanks too to your friend and to Briony for helping package them up. I can't wait for mine to arrive and see all the beautifulness inside my envelope.

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  10. Oh my, poor Mardi, what have we done to you? You and your helpers have done an amazing job or sorting that lot! I think I might have gone mad if the task was down to me! Thank you so so much. I think your reward will come when you see the fabulous quilts we will all make.
    I can hardly wait for my parcel of lovely fabrics to arrive. xxx

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  11. Oh Mardi...THANK YOU once again for organising this lovely swap. I knew it was going to be a mammoth task and I can't believe you did it at this busy time of year. You are such a goer!Beautiful lady thank you for sharing the vintage love!

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  12. Wow Mardi you are amazing!!! Huge for this time of year. It is so appreciated & I am soo excited to make a vintage quilt.
    Thanks heaps.

    Mel xxx

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  13. You are amazing Mardi, wow, soooo many squares!!!
    thank you so much for organising this and all the hard work you've done for it.
    So appreciated.
    Leonie
    x

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  14. Crumbs! A busy time of year made so much more busier for you. Thank you (and your helpers!) so much for your generous giving of time and headspace to do this for us. I really look forward to seeing all the quilts in progress. Much love for a peaceful Christmas x x x x

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  15. WOW Mardi what an enormous amount of work! Thankyou so much for doing this for all of us...and thankyou to your friend and Briony too! I can't wait to see my little pile of vintage goodness arriving in my letterbox! Thankyou Mardi!!!

    Sheree xx

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  16. Wow Mardi, it all looks so delicoius and yummy. Thnakyou so much for doing this.....over 3000 squares! What a fantastic job well done:)
    Thankyou so much....makes my 90 odd look tiny:) Have a wonderful ChristmasX And i look forward to joining in the next one as well, you brave woman:)

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  17. Thank you so much Mardi, mine have just arrived today and they are absolutely beautiful! You have done so much work and I am so grateful, it is truly special to have all those different fabrics that would otherwise have taken a lifetime to collect. A huge thanks to you and your helpers. xx

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  18. My parcel was waiting for me when I arrived home from my family Christmas trip. Thanks Mardi and helpers, now to get out the sewing machine!

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  19. I got my parcel on Thursday, right before I was leaving for Mum & Dad's where Yvette was staying too! She, Mum and I poured over the squares & oohed and aahed at them all! I love them! And I think I only got one of my own back, so you did amazingly!!
    Thank you so much for ALL the hard work you, your friend & Briony did! What a huge effort it was! You're amazing! I just love the squares and can't wait to get sewing my quilt!
    Xo

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  20. Anonymous11:11 pm

    THANK YOU for your work. Unfortunately I didn't get to pick up mine in person (bummer) so I'll send a post satchell ... Moi xx

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