Friday, August 10, 2012

Shades of Gray Charm Square Swap!

As I mentioned recently, I was inspired by all the talk around 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James.
Now that I'm done reading the first book, I'm hosting a Shades of Grey Charm Square Fabric Swap!

Here's the short version: 
1. Sign up to be a part of the fabric swap.
2. Buy a yard of some shade of grey fabric--a grey print, a black with white print, a white with black print...you get the picture.
3. Cut that yardage into charm squares and mail them to me.
4. Once everyone has sent me their squares, I'll divide them up and you'll get a lovely variety pack of shades of grey charm squares for your next project!

If you're interested, see the bolded link below and read the details below that. Once the sign-up is complete, I'll email all the participants with details--timing, addresses, etc.  (And a huge thanks to Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts for her super-helpful tutorial on how to host a fabric swap!).

Click here for the spreadsheet to sign up for the fabric swap. 
The charm swap is open to 56 participants. U.S. mailing addresses only, please.

NEW, 8/17: Click HERE for an update on the swap. 
NEW, 8/22: The swap is now full.

Charm Swap Details:
  1.  For swapping 5" charm squares, each person will purchase 1 yard of fabric and cut it  into 5" charm squares. 1 yard = 56 charms.  (I recommend buying 1.25 yards- never hurts to have a little extra in case you make a cutting mistake.) 
  2. Choose a fabric that has a small print suitable for an 5" charms. Scale of the print is very important as smaller works better in this case. A larger print has a larger repeat and you want each charm to have enough of the print showcased on each piece. If you are swapping larger cuts of fabric such as 10" squares, you could have a larger scale print. 
  3. Fabric should be designer label, 100% cotton, quilt shop quality fabric.  No Hancocks, Joanns or Michael's fabrics. For a fabric swap, the fun is receiving quality fabric that you might not be able to pick up around the corner. 
  4.  Fabric must be new and unwashed and must come from a smoke free environment.
  5. Before mailing, cut your fabric into 5" x 5" charm squares.  Press your fabric before cutting. 1 yard = 56 charm squares (5" x 5".)  Here's a great tutorial on how to cut fabric into charms by Elizabeth Hartman.
  6.  Put your fabric in a ziplock bag and include an index card with your name and email address. 
  7. Upload pictures of your fabric to the swap Flickr group (more details to follow!) and include the name of the fabric, designer, etc. This ensures that there are no duplicate fabrics chosen and allows everyone to find out more about the fabrics in case they would like to order more once they have received their charms. 
  8. Participants must include a prepaid self-addressed, stamped envelope along with their charms when mailing them. A very easy way to handle this is to include a SAS priority mail envelope for $5.15.

All right...time to shop! And to get you started, my friend Jackie Kunkel over at Canton Village Quilt Works put together a little sampling of the shades of grey fabrics she has available for purchase in her shop. Head over to her shop and she'll be happy to help you out!

I hope you'll join me as we explore all the shades of black, white and everything in between. Oh, and does anyone have a copy of 50 Shades Darker? I need something to read while I plan my grey quilt. :)




p.s. If you decide to join in, grab the Shades of Grey Fabric Swap button in the sidebar to the upper right and post it on your blog! 

35 comments:

  1. International welcome? or just US?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry...just U.S. for this one. It's the first I've hosted, so I wanted to simplify the logistics.

      Delete
  2. Ooh, I can't resist...it sounds so...captivating...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great!! I signed up. What is the ship by date? Or is that info to come to us later? Hope to go shopping Tuesday when my favorite local shop opens!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fantastic! More info to come to those who sign up.

      Delete
  4. Woo Hoo. I was thinking the other day about a quilt using greys, but I don't have many so I put that thought on the back burner. Guess now I can move it up front. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is my first swap, I have to get your address.
    gasuski@mac.com. Jennifer is such a sweetheart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll send an email out to all participants with the specifics. Thanks!

      Delete
  6. This sounds great, have been making things all summer with yellows and gray. I signed up for your blog but unsure how to sign up for swap, not sure what " grab" the button to the right means. Anyway want to be a part of this swap, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I need to make it stand out more (and I will edit the blog post to do that) but in the bolded paragraph there's a link that says "and sign up here"--that will take you to a spreadsheet where you can sign up.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  7. How Do I sign up? Just leave a comment??
    This will be my first swap :) Can't wait!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Replies
    1. Definitely! Click on the link in the bolded section of the blog entry above.

      Delete
  9. Like others, I also have been thinking of a quilt using scrappy grays. When I first started quilting, I built my stash with fabric swaps ... and became quite a swap-a-holic. I'd love to join you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't wait to see what everyone does with all the gray fabrics! There's a link to sign up on the spreadsheet in the blog post--it's in the bolded section.

      Delete
  10. I have a few fq's that would be appropriate for the swap. Is it ok if the charms are assorted? I heard about your swap on Jackie's blog and would love to participate.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This sounds like a lot of fun. I added my information to the spreadsheet, hopefully I didn't break anything in the process! I'm a quilter, not a technology person. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ditto from Julie's comment...looking forward to the swap....I love grays..have not read the book yet, but plan to!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looking forward to this! Love grays! I signed up on the spreadsheet, heading to the LQS this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I signed up, love to quilt in grey :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. This looks fun. I'm new to fabric swaps.

    (hope I didn't mess up the form--it was acting odd when I was adding my information)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't see your name on the spreadsheet--can you try again?
      thanks!

      Delete
    2. Oh, sorry. I'm Jenny Green on the spreadsheet (I got your email invite to the flick group so it appears everything is ok).

      Delete
  16. I'm signed up and just got back from picking up my fabric. Is there somewhere to upload a picture of it yet? Thanks for arranging the swap, this is my first also.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kathie, You may win the "first to buy" award! Congrats! :) I have a flickr account set up; I am working on sending an email to participants about it--hopefully tonight.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the quick reply! I'm visiting my daughter out of state at the end of the week so I just thought I'd get a head start :-).

      Delete
  17. This sounds so fun! I actually have a 1/2 yard of Pat Bravo Nature Elements in Moonstone & 1/2 yard of Laura Gunn Painter's Canvas in Platinum - they didn't work for the project I purchased them for but are beautiful fabrics. Would it work to do 28 charm squares of each? Or is the swap only for 56 charm squares of one fabric? Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Count me in please!

    Julianne
    heygiz00 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I just signed up, this will be my first swap. Will be looking for your email with more details. Thanks :))

    ReplyDelete
  21. I signed up for your swap. What fun!! Actually i had my friend sign up also and she has already received an email from you but I haven't. Just want to make sure that you can see me on the list. Thanks..

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ok, I signed up. Never done this so bear with me :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) It'll be fun and there are plenty of first-time swappers here, so everyone can learn together!

      Delete
  23. Just uploaded mine to the group. It's Kaufman "Fusions" in a dark charcoal gray. I also have what I would call a "medium silver gray" of Moda Marbles. Wanted to make sure I had one that wasn't taken already, so I bought two. The extra, of course, will go with my swap blocks! :D

    ReplyDelete