May your electric stay on and the house be warm so you northerners get plenty of sewing fun in the next 48 hours!

Many thanks for all your hard work!

romira wrote:
Hi Romira,
It would visually look the same as a flying geese block...just not constructed the same way. Hope this helps.

And now to dream about what to do with all the lovelies due to arrive just when the dogwoods are in full bloom...
Just ordered Edyta's books.
Wondering...is it still a flying geese block if it's 2 HST"s placed with same colors next to each other?
Thinking of this as a border setting.

from a beginning quilter in Georgia, USA

Thanks and thanks and thanks!

Thank you for being a great organizer! TQS has amazing members! We are the luckiest Guild ever!!!

Welcome all. This is an amazing exchange to think that we have gotten so BIG that we need to start another thread for PART 2. WOW.
Clara

Ladies, thanks so much for volunteering to head up this FUN exchange!

hsthomas
Helen Thomas
in cold, windy, snowy Kansas

AMEN TO THAT!

Thank you for all your hard work!

Ida

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDELINES FOR MAKING AND MAILING YOUR HALF-SQUARE TRIANGLES:

We've had this great suggestion for several members: Since you'll be leaving the papers on your folded HST's, wouldn't it be fun to write your city/state or country on the paper so whoever gets yours will know where they came from! If you're using a pen, just be careful it won't bled through on the fabric.

IMPORANT: There has been questions about finishing the HST's. It will be helpful if you watch Edyta's demo again, but maybe this can help too (lots of bullets, but I'm trying to make it as clear as possible):

1) Cut your fabric into strips and press.

2) Put the medium/dark strip on the bottom (right side facing up)

3) Put the light strip on top of the medium/dark (right side facing down)

4) Right sides should be facing each other now.

5) Set the paper directly on top of the light strip.

6) Run an iron over all three layers once again. That helps adhere them together a little.

7) Pin the three layers together in several places (watch Edyta's demo on where to place the pins)

8. Take them to your sewing machine (using 50 wt. or lighter neutral thread), lower the stitch length so the papers will eventually tear off easier, and start sewing on the dashed lines as indicated on the paper.

9) After you've finished sewing the on all the dashed lines on the strip, you'll be ready to trim them into individual HST's.

10) Trim along the solid lines indicated on the paper.

11) You should now have individual 28 folded HSTs. Don't open them or remove the paper. Take them to your ironing surface and carefully pressed them which they are still folded. Again, you don't want to open them or remove the paper after this pressing.
You will now have 28 really neatly folded HST's with the paper still attached.

12) If you'd like to write your state or country on the paper, now's the time to do it. Just be careful to use a pencil or pen that won't bled through the paper.

13) Repeat for as many strips as you plan to exchange.

13) You are now ready to put them in the mail in a Zip-lock bag with your name, screen name, number of HST's written or taped on it.

14) On the outside of the mailing envelope, please write your TQS screen name again. That way when I receive your package, I won't have to open it up to find out who sent it to let them know I received it. The mailing address is:
Debbie Wolf, TQS Exchange
PMB# 9
5554 South Peek Road
Katy, Texas 77450-7130 (Add U.S.A. if it's International)

15) The stamped self-addressed return envelope will then be put into the mailing envelope with all the bagged HST's.

16) You'll probably need to take it to your postal service to make sure you're using enough postage on both the mailing envelope and the return envelope.

17) For International mailings, we will only accept PayPal payments for return postage. For details on PayPay and how to make a payment, send an email to ClaraLawrence (screen Name) and she will reply to you will complete instructions.

18) Once your package has been mailed to the P.O. Box, please go to my Profile Page (NaneeWolf) and send me a quick email saying it's on it's way. I would prefer that you don't just post it directly in The Forum because I may not see it since there are so many postings.

GUIDELINES

This is rather long, but I wanted to try to cover as many issues as possible...

First of all, thanks to all the TQS members who want to participate and have offered their help with extra special thanks to Clara Lawrence, Margo, Mary Kay and the TQS staff, who are helping in every aspect of this effort. In fact, Clara said she’ll drive to Houston from Austin to help sort and mail and a few other members who live in Houston said they’d help too.

Here are a few guidelines for our Sisterhood of the Traveling Triangles Exchange. These are called guidelines because we don’t want to have stringent, set in concrete RULES. Most of us have enough experience and common sense to know what will work and what won’t. And all you guys out there who want to participate, it is definitely open to the Brotherhood too...it was just a cool name, so I went with it.

So here we go…

Sign Up Now

Even though you said you wanted to participate in the Batik post, please reply again on this post. There were a lot of people who said they might want to join, but weren’t sure. This way we’ll know for sure that ‘you’re in’.

If you want to join, please try to let us know by next Wednesday, January 26.

It would be fun if you’d include your city/state/country when you post a reply. And, if you’re comfortable with it, please include your first name too. If you need us to send the Half-Square Triangles (now to be referred to as HTS’s) papers, you can include that here and we’ll contact you directly about that. And, if you know how many you plan to send, tell us that also. The more information we have, the better we will be able to gauge what to expect.

When and Where

Since we have participating members from all over the world, we need to allow enough time for postal services. Our deadline for sending your HST’s will be April 1st. However, if we find that postal services are slower than expected, we will be flexible when it comes to distributing the HST’s.

I will be securing a P. O. Box number within the next couple of days and I’ll provide that as soon as I know it.

HST Papers

To ensure that everyone’s receives the correctly sized HST’s, we do ask that you use HST papers, whether you use Edyta’s, some you can purchase near you or some already. They must be 2” finished.
They can be purchased thru Edyta’s on-line shop at http://www.LaundryBasketQuilts.com. They are $10.95 for 25 sheets that will each yield 28 HST’s. The entire package will make 700. They are called 2” Triangle Exchange Paper and the item number is LBQ-0222.
Both Clara (ClaraLawrence) and I have already ordered several packages from Laundry Basket and either one of use can send them to you.

How Many??

That will be up to you. The more you send the more you will get back. If you send 28, you get 28 back. If you send 84, you get 84 back. We only ask that you send a minimum of 28 since that’s what one sheet will make. From there on, they need to be in increments of 28, i.e., 28 (1 sheet), 56 (2 sheets), 84 (3 sheets), 112 (4 sheets), etc., etc., etc. However, if you do send in hundreds, there is the possibility that you’ll receive some of your own back because we’re not sure how many people will send that many in.

Fabrics

Batiks, prints or both…anything is acceptable. Just be sure to use quilt shop quality fabrics. THE VALUE AND QUALITY OF THE FABRIC IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANTS. And yes, you can mix a batik with a print as long as it’s one light and one medium/dark fabric. Have fun picking out the fabrics! Remember each HST can be: only batiks, only prints, a batik and a print, and solids and tone-on-tones can also be used.

Where Did your Triangles Come From?

Please remember to write your city/state/country on the triangle papers so that everyone will know how far their triangles have traveled. You don't have to put your name, but you can if you want to. Be sure to use a pencil or a pen that won't bleed through to the fabric.

To Wash or Not to Wash

No rules here…do what you think is necessary with the fabrics you are using. If they are really dark, intense colors, test them to see if they might bleed. Batiks shouldn’t run because they have been rinsed many times in the processing, but I have had some than ran.

Sewing and Pressing

Using the HST papers makes sewing a snap. They are perfectly accurate if you follow the lines carefully and press carefully. You can turn out many HST’s in no time at all. Press your fabrics right sides together (light fabric on top) on the paper before you start sewing and make sure there are no wrinkles. Remember to use a finer thread (Edyta recommends Aurifil 50 wt.) so your seams aren’t bulky. Edyta also recommended shortening your stitch length a little so the paper will tear off easily.
After sewing, cut the squares apart on the solid lines, leave it folded with the paper on and press carefully while it's still folded. No need to worry about pressing seams open because it remains folded. PLEASE DO NOT TEAR THE PAPER OFF AFTER PRESSING. This will also help keep them from wrinkling during transport. Now they’re ready to mail.

Preparing for Mailing

Depending on how many you send, you might want to put same/similar color HST’s in small sandwich bags. That way, when we start to sort them out, we can make sure that everyone gets at least one of each of the colors. Then put them into a larger plastic zipper bag (quart or gallon Ziploc-type) to protect them in the mail. IMPORTANT: please try to use a bag you can write on (or tape a note to the bag) with your name and the number of HST’s you are sending. This is important because we will use that specific bag for your return HST’s when we are sorting them. Please do not write directly on the clear plastic bag…that happened in my last exchange and those bags were very hard to read especially when they got wrinkled.

IMPORTANT NEW REQUEST: Include your TQS Screen Name in three places: on your Zip-lock baggies, your return evelope and also on the outside of the envelope you mail them to me in. That way I can let you know that I received your package without having to open it right away.


Mailing

Please use a very sturdy envelope. You will also need to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for returning to you. The amount of postage to return them to you should be about the same as sending. If you are unsure of the postage, please check with the post office. And, for those using International mail, you’ll also need to check with your postal service/carrier to determine how much it will take to send back to you from the States.

Don't forget to add your screen name to the baggies and both the mailing envelope and return envelope.

I would appreciate it if you would send me an email or post a reply on the Forum to let me know what you have mailed your package (and how many HST's you sent) so I can be on the look out for it and then I'll let you know when I receive it. As mentioned earlier, we would like to receive all the packages on or before April 1st. If we know you've sent them and they haven't arrive by that date, we'll hold off on sorting until we receive them all.

Where to Mail

The P.O. Box can be found at the top of this post.

When Will You Get Them Back

Hopefully we can get them sent back to you by mid-to-late April, depending on when we get them all in and how many there are to sort out. We'll be sure to keep you informed on the progress. And after that, of course, it will be in the hands of the postal service.

Please Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

We want this to be as FUN and EASY as possible. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask and if you have any suggestions or concerns, please let us know.

This post will provide you with information on the number of packages and HST's received so far, sorting information, and other things like when our International packages start arriving and from what countries. And anything else we can think of!

Tuesday, Feb. 1 - Received so far: eleven packages (all from the U.S.) with 3,864 HSTs. HST counts range from 56 to 700.

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING MAILING, POSTAGE AND INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS FOR RETURN POSTAGE

Thur, Feb. 3:
Please remember to send me an email when you mail your package. If you don't, I won't be able to notify you went it arrives. Also, please, please, please remember to add the number of HST's on the outside of the mailing envelope/box along with your ScreenName.

Various sized envelopes are working great and they are preferrred over boxes, so please consider that when you're ready to mail. FYI: An envelope received today was a 12"x9" cardboard Priority and it comfortably held 700 neatly packaged HTS's. Since there will be over 600 packages received, the more compact envelopes will be much easier to manage. And it is extremely important that you make sure that your return envelope/box is sufficient size to send them back to you.

IMPORTANT: When preparing your return envelope or label, use your own name and address as the 'Sent From' address rather than my P.O. Box. First of all, if you did not include enough postage, then the P.O. will come back to your to pay the extra and secondly, the P.O. Box will be closed once all the HST's are received and there won't be anyway for the P.O. to collect money.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

HERE'S THE P.O. BOX TO SEND YOUR HST's: IT IS CRUCIAL WHEN YOU SEND YOUR HST'S THAT YOU INCLUDE ON YOUR ZIPLOCK BAG AND ON THE OUTSIDE OF YOUR PACKAGE TO BE MAILED HOW MANY HST's YOU SENT. WE'RE ESTIMATING WE MAY GET AT LEAST 100,000 (AND STILL COUNTING!), SO WE CAN'T STOP TO COUNT EVERY PACKAGE THAT COMES IN. WE'RE ON THE HONOR SYSTEM, SO PLEASE COUNT CAREFULLY...WE DON'T WANT TO GET CAUGHT SHORT BECAUSE SOMEONE MISCOUNTED.

POST OFFICE BOX HAS BEEN CLOSED AND WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT MAIL.
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NEW AND VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ONLY THE USE OF PAYPAL FOR INTERNATIONAL PACKAGES

For our INTERNATIONAL QUILTERS ONLY, we will now ONLY accept PayPal to pay for your return postage...no International Reply Coupons, no International Money Orders...ONLY PayPal. Clara has graciously offered the use of her PayPal account to simplify the process for both the sender and the receiver.

For PayPal details, please send ClaraLawrence (screen name) an email and make arrangements for sending monies through PayPal. This service accepts credit cards and you do not have to set up an account to send money.

The cost to mail the Small International Flat Rate box or envelope is $13.95 US (each will hold approx. 300 neatly packaged HSTs). There will also be a minimal extra charge from PayPal, that will vary by amount paid. Once you've completed your payment thru the PayPal account, you will need to make a copy of the PayPal receipt and include it in your shipment.. You will also need to carefully determine what size flat rate box will need to be used to return your package. If you underestimate, we'll have to contact you to make another payment to cover the excess cost.

PayPal will not be available for U.S. members since it's not an issue figuring out the postage costs and sending that amount of postage in with your HSTs. I highly recommend that you look into using Domestic Flat Rate boxes to again simply things for all of us. It is probably a lot more cost effective than sending Priority or Regular 1st class packages.

I am so grateful that this method of payment is now available. It will be much less complicated for everyone involved with shipping Internationally.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

HOW MANY HST'S FIT INTO A FLAT RATE BOX/ENVELOPE????

Thanks to Carol, who already sent me her 700 HST's, I was able to determine approximately how many HTS's will fit into the flat rate envelope and boxes. Carol had them sorted into lunch size baggies with 28 in each and she sent them in a medium sized box that did have room for maybe another 300 or so.

Here's what I came up with:

A flat rate cardboard envelope (12-1/2" x 9-1/2") can hold approximately 308 HSTs. The Small Flat Rate Box (1-1/2" high x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2') will also hold about 308 HSTs. I kept the HST's in the eleven baggies they were already in and that filled up the box pretty well. If they weren't in individual baggies, but maybe only one or two, there should be enough room for 308 (eleven increments of 28 HSTs). Remember to pack them carefully so they don't get scrunched and wrinkled!

The above International smaller envelope and box to Canada/Mexico is $11.95 US and to all other countries, it is $13.95 US.
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The Medium Flat Rate Box (5-1/2" high x 11" x 8-1/2") should hold 700-1092 comfortably (remember increments of 28), but that size does cost significantly more Internationally. The cost to Canada/Mexico is $27.95 US and to all other countries, it is $45.50.

Here's the link to the U.S. Postal Service for International Flat Rate:
www.usps.com/prices/priority-mail-international-prices.htm