i-spy swap info

The details:

• The first 19 people to sign up here are in. Just leave a comment on this post, and make sure I have a way to contact you.
• Each person will send (20) 4" squares from each of 10 novelty fabrics to me by Nov 1. I'll have some details on how to sort them, and I will also need for you to send a stamped envelope so I can mail your squares back to you.
• You will receive (200) 4" novelty squares (enough for 2 small I-SPY quilts or 1 large one) We're hoping to send packages out by Nov 15th, but that depends on how long it takes everything to come in. Live outside the U.S.? No problem! Just try to get your fabrics to us a little earlier.
• I have some patterns drawn up that I will post so that you could arrange the squares in order to get a certain sized quilt.

A few thoughts and guidelines on the fabrics...

• Please measure carefully and use a rotary cutter to cut your fabric
• Many fabric stores have a dedicated novelty fabric section. But generally these
  are fabrics with objects... animals, food, people, etc. It may help to think in terms of things you could use for the I-SPY game. (I spy the letter G, I spy a sushi roll, I spy a monkey eating a banana, etc....)
• In order to avoid duplicate patterns, go on a mission for some really obscure, hard to find prints that aren't available at the chain retailers.
• No team prints or licenses characters (SpongeBob, Dora, etc.) So for example, a print with basketballs would be great, but a Dallas Mavericks print is not. Or a print with ducks wearing hats is great, but Donald Duck is not.
• The object in the fabric should be distinguishable in a 3.5 x 3.5 square, which will be its finished size. Keep this in mind when choosing fabrics. Either go with smaller prints, or be ready to fussy-cut.
• You can get (20) 4" squares out of a 1/4 yard cut of fabric or out of a fat quarter. So you'll need to purchase at least 2 1/2 yards of fabric.

What is an I-SPY quilt? It's a quilt made with novelty fabrics. And it's a wonderful toy to play I-SPY with. Great for traveling with kids or rest time or when you need something to occupy little ones. How to play? Take turns spotting something in the quilt, maybe "I spy, with my little eye, a frog in a tutu!" And the first person to point out the tutu frog on the quilt goes next, and so on. Hours and hours of fun!

If you want to participate, leave a comment on this post!

If you are not one of the first 19 people to comment but would like to be an alternate, please go ahead and comment. I'll contact you if someone drops out.

(love these direction. They came from Wendy's blog http://sewinginthewendycity.blogspot.com/)