Are you Ready??

For Doll Quilt Swap 12, that is!
Signup's went live this morning at midnight, here is the sign up thread.

Guidelines for this round are:
New this round, you need to chose between two forms for signing up. One is for international swapping, you will fill out this form if you are willing to send internationally. The other is for those only wishing to swap within their own country. It doesnt matter what country you live in, just that you dont want to ship outside of it.

There are a few changes this round, hopefully for the better.
There are 5 quilt blocks we have painstakingly chosen (ok, not really, but it sounds good, no?) for this round. You are to chose 1 of the blocks and incorporate it into your quilt. you can make the whole quilt with the one block repeated or use just one of the blocks somewhere in your quilt. You also will be required to include a solid of your chosing in any color OTHER THAN WHITE.This means you shouldnt use shades of white either: cream, sand, off white, antique white, you get the idea. The idea here is to eXpand your creativity. Again you can use as little or as much as you chose, but it must be included.
We have created mosaics for each of the blocks and have put them in the group for your perusal. We think this is a great opportunity to stretch your imagination, think block within a block, or liberated in a whole new way. Have fun!!
As in last round, you need to have a minimum of 6 blocks.

The blocks to chose from are as follows:
1.churn dash/shoofly
2.log cabin
3.drunkards path
4. N.Y. beauty
5.flying geese

SIZE: from 9"x9" to 20"x20"…any size or shape in between.

MATERIALS: natural fibers/cotton, wool, linen

CONSTRUCTION: Pieced, appliquéd, quilted by hand or machine; and bound.

LABEL: It is recommended that you attach a label to the back of your quilt. I know, this can be a bit scary for some people though, so I will not make it a requirement. A label is however a very nice addition to any handmade quilt. Whether or not you decide to label your quilt, please do include a note with your quilt with your name and contact information (URL, blog, email address, etc. so that they can thank you).

SECRET: This will remain a secret swap. Your partner will not know your identity. If you need to get in contact with your partner do so thru your swap parent.

ACTIVITY: Please be sure to check in to the group periodically and check everyone's progress. Post sneak peeks of your WIP, and your completed quilt. Once you have received your quilt, post a pic of it on flickr, and email your thank you to your partner as soon as physically possible. Email or flickrmail your mama to let her know you received.

DUE DATE: The deadline for all quilts to be mailed is April 2, 2012 (international), and April 9, 2012 for those sending nationally . I like to plan on sending mine a week early…just in case life gets in the way and I'm delayed. There is nothing more disappointing than not receiving a package. Also, please email your swap parent when you have mailed your quilt. Delivery confirmation is required, within the U.S.
In addition to having a DEADLINE for sending BY a certain date, we also ask that you NOT SEND TOO EARLY. Part of the fun of this swap is the anticipation, and if you send out within the first month, your partner is essentially done. NO fun. Please SEND OUT NO EARLIER THAN March 15, 2012

COMMUNICATION: If for any reason you cannot met the deadline or you need to drop out of this swap, please let your Swap Mama know as soon as you know. If you communicate any setbacks with us, we can make sure things work out favorably for your partner, no hard feelings.

Label Love

The doll quilt swap group always seems to have some really unique labels, and this round there is lots of fun labels!

Such sweet needlework done by Mollyjolly:

FlossieBlossoms made perfect use of a bitty block as her label:

Bouncypoodle's quilt back and label is almost as amazing as the front!

A very cute and colorful label made by DeeRooG:

A very suiting label from Lemon Tree Quilts:

A very cute butterfly label made by QuackQuack22:

For more inspiration of the lovely labels made during Doll Quilt Swap, you can check out this thread.

First To Finish!

Today marks the first day you are allowed to ship your doll quilts! Internationally, that is! International quilts can be mailed Aug. 9th and must be sent by Aug. 16th. Domestic quilts must be mailed by Aug 23rd.
There have been some amazing quilts getting finished up in the group.

Look at this amazing cathedral window doll quilt that Lemon Tree Quilts finished:

Quack Quack 22 has finished not 1, but 2 quilts for her partner to choose from:

A colorful square in square doll quilt has been made by Four Monkeys Quilt, I just love the cool colors and stripey binding!

Another colorful beauty is this doll quilt made by Marilynkb:

Bouncypoodle made a 'Crazy Tumbling Pinwheel' quilt, and I think anyone would be excited to receive this one! The fun scrappy binding is so perfect!

Mindboggld created a doll quilt with such tiny details! Those squares finish up at only 1/2"!

Stunning just about sums up this fabulous quilt that Mini_Milly04 made :

Rainbows of color!

Well I don't think the swap participants are afraid of color this round! Lots of bright, rainbow colored blocks have started to emerge in the group pool.
SpottedStoneStudio has been making progress on a scrappy rainbow flying geese quilt,

Living My Sweet Life was inspired by all of Mamacjt's colorful quilts and decided to make this wonky rainbow quilt,

MollyJolly has created a rainbow of churn dash blocks,

Fionapoppy has her quilt top finished up,

Marilynkb posted a sneak peek that resembles a rainbow quilt pie!

A Girl In Paradise has her quilt top finished up - and its fun and colorful!

~~alissa~~ has made several very colorful rainbow stars,

Patchwork Queen is working on a stunning combination of English paper peiced diamonds and solids,

 

Putting Pen to Paper

The participants in the swap are starting to get some ideas flowing now!

StitchDutchess has sketched out a DQS11 possibility, here take on Wonky stars and will be using either Kona Ash or White for the background,

Bouncypoodle has an idea bewing with little floating pinwheels,

FlossieBlossom, a swap mama, has possibility for DQS11 using a pattern she found is a 1933 issue of Minature Quilts called 'Wheel of Fortune'

Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken has an asymetrical design with stars and squares planned out,

Fionapoppy's initial idea is air castle blocks is 9 different colors,



Stacks of Fabrics

There has been lots of sketches of what people are going to make and a some stacks of fabrics to tempt us.
Kate@Swim,Bike Quilt has a very lovely color palette with some of Anna Mariah Honer's new LouLouthi:

Amy's Creative Side has a great selection of greens,

Patricabstudio has a lovely selection of red, pinks and pale yellows and greens waiting to be sewn up,

BetsyLynne50 has two fabric selections, Anthology's Sweet Tooth & Hope Valley combined with Kona Ash,

Peonybliss has a rich combination of red, purple and grey pulled together,

Locodowo has a selection of fabrics in grey, blue with a hint of pink,

LemonTreeTales has some pretty oranges and will be using either hot pink or turquoise as the accent color,

It's Mosaic Making Time!

Partner emails went out this weekend, so bebe's should know now if they made the lottery and got into the swap this round or not. A mosaic is a great way to inspire your partner with your quilting style, color themes you like and even bitty blocks that you love. Don't know how to make a mosaic? You can find out how in this thread in the Doll Quilt Swap 11 Mosaic Group.
I will start off with some of the most recently made mosaics:
Lots of color in BetsyLynn50's mosaic-

Lots of inspiration of quilts that can be made into bitty blocks in jmbmommy's mosaic -

Shecanquilt added lots of helpful tips about why she choose the quilts in her mosaic -

Suzettra made a mosaic full of lots of color, and nuetrals with pops of colors -

TagEButt has lots of traditional quilts in her mosaic -

{safieh} has a mosaic with lots of  'points', and traditional quilts made with modern fabrics-

Sewgirly! created a mosaic with beautiful quilt designs and color schemes-

Peonybliss did a wonderful job with adding notes to each of the quilts explaining what it is she loves, or why she choose to add them to them to her inspiration mosaic -