Yesterday I was very busy doing a last minute preparation for the 2 1/2" red strips swap for QuiltvilleSwap. Link is here. I've written about this very popular swap before, but lately I haven't been participating as often. Why?
Because I've been working with the Civil War reproductions rather than the brights and generic quilting fabrics. But who could resist more generic reds?
I raided my stash for generic reds that were already pre-washed. I looked for ten different red fabric selections that were big enough to allow me to cut five different red Width Of Fabric strips, crossgrain, with my rotary cutter. In other words, about half a yard of each different red. That gives me fifty WOF strips.
Then, just using scissors, I clipped each strip in half at the crease to give me a pair of Half Width Of Fabric strips. That meant that I now had 100 HWOF strips, ten of each color red.
Working with just one color red at a time, I created ten piles and stacked the strips on as if I were dealing out playing cards, with one to each pile.
That means that I had all 100 strips laid out as ten identical sets. Then I folded each set in half over my finger and popped it into a snack bag, squeezed out all the air as I closed it up, and affixed an address label onto it.
All ten sets then went into a big gallon bag and were then placed into a free bubble-pack flat rate priority USPS mailing envelope that must be LEFT OPEN!!!! Do not seal it until you get it to the post office clerk that you are paying.
Mine cost $6.75 to mail to my hostess, Subee. So before I closed up the package, I needed to pay for an additional $6.75 that MUST BE IN STAMPS (and not metered which is only good for that day) to slip inside that big gallon pouch for the hostess to have the return postage. So my cost was $13.50 in postage that has $50.00 worth of insurance and a tracking number. I wouldn't drive it to Indiana for that much, so I think it's a great deal!
The first couple of times that you do all this, you will need to very patiently train the very confused postal clerk, but once you explain it to them, they are delighted to help you.
The payoff comes when the swap is returned to you. If everything goes as planned, you will receive back 100 new strips, with every single one being different. That's a whole lot of variety for the cost of the postage! You have increased your scrappiness by tenfold.
I also did some walking around the yard just enjoying small vignettes of autumn colors. The day was overcast but mild and calm.
The Indian Crabapple feeds the birds all winter and is so festive. The menfolk were working feverishly on the old snow plow truck to get it ready for winter.
They had success scavenging some body parts off the old "parts" pick up and now have a driver's side door that actually WORKS on the plow truck!
Yeay! My honey won't be falling out into a snowbank when he plows. I told you, it's the little miracles that count.
This one was my favorite view for the day.
No, no, wait! This one was my favorite!
Fall is just pretty everywhere.
Happy sewing!
Because I've been working with the Civil War reproductions rather than the brights and generic quilting fabrics. But who could resist more generic reds?
 |
| My ten piles, that odd red strip off to the right was a bad cut and was rejected. |
I raided my stash for generic reds that were already pre-washed. I looked for ten different red fabric selections that were big enough to allow me to cut five different red Width Of Fabric strips, crossgrain, with my rotary cutter. In other words, about half a yard of each different red. That gives me fifty WOF strips.
Then, just using scissors, I clipped each strip in half at the crease to give me a pair of Half Width Of Fabric strips. That meant that I now had 100 HWOF strips, ten of each color red.
Working with just one color red at a time, I created ten piles and stacked the strips on as if I were dealing out playing cards, with one to each pile.
That means that I had all 100 strips laid out as ten identical sets. Then I folded each set in half over my finger and popped it into a snack bag, squeezed out all the air as I closed it up, and affixed an address label onto it.
All ten sets then went into a big gallon bag and were then placed into a free bubble-pack flat rate priority USPS mailing envelope that must be LEFT OPEN!!!! Do not seal it until you get it to the post office clerk that you are paying.
Mine cost $6.75 to mail to my hostess, Subee. So before I closed up the package, I needed to pay for an additional $6.75 that MUST BE IN STAMPS (and not metered which is only good for that day) to slip inside that big gallon pouch for the hostess to have the return postage. So my cost was $13.50 in postage that has $50.00 worth of insurance and a tracking number. I wouldn't drive it to Indiana for that much, so I think it's a great deal!
The first couple of times that you do all this, you will need to very patiently train the very confused postal clerk, but once you explain it to them, they are delighted to help you.
The payoff comes when the swap is returned to you. If everything goes as planned, you will receive back 100 new strips, with every single one being different. That's a whole lot of variety for the cost of the postage! You have increased your scrappiness by tenfold.
I also did some walking around the yard just enjoying small vignettes of autumn colors. The day was overcast but mild and calm.
 | ||
| Hardy Indian Crabapple |
 | ||
| Easy Street on the Park Hill Farm |
They had success scavenging some body parts off the old "parts" pick up and now have a driver's side door that actually WORKS on the plow truck!
Yeay! My honey won't be falling out into a snowbank when he plows. I told you, it's the little miracles that count.
This one was my favorite view for the day.
No, no, wait! This one was my favorite!
Fall is just pretty everywhere.
Happy sewing!
2 comments:
The swap looks like fun, but I know beyond doubt that I do not have 10 half yard cuts of random reds--or any other color. I so seldom buy 1/2 yard cuts. Though I admit that I bought a few at Keepsake!
Your views of fall are pretty. I will be sharing a few of my own soon. : )
Are you sure you didn't use the weighed priority mail envelope? Because I just mailed my red strips on Tuesday in the flat-rate padded envelope for $5.95 each way.
Barbara in MD
www.stashoverflow.wordpress.com
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