Swaps for Quilters

Idon't know if this site already has this tip but you can find other quliters in your area or start a group through  meetup.com. I think they charge a small fee now but you can meet a lot of people that way.

I love to read as much as I love to quilt.  Unfortunately, I just can't get the hang of doing them both at the same time.  If I spend an afternoon reading, I feel guilty about that quilt languishing on the frame.  If I spend a week at the frame, I feel like I'm missing out on the latest and greatest literary works. 

Then I discovered audio books.  You can buy them on Ebay, Half.com, garage sales, check them out of the public library, and Cracker Barrel has an exchange program.  I listen to unabridged versions so I don't miss a word. 

Why not get your quilting buddies to invest in one each and then rotate once a week.  Most of the unabridged ones run about 14 hours and I "read" about one a week.  The moral question, however, is if some one asks you "Hey, have you read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?" if you can say yes, even though you only listened to it?

I made a quilt to be hung at our school with the school's mascot on it.  After waiting for several months for it to be hung I took it upon myself to hand it in the hall outside my classroom.  I bought the PVC pipe long enough for the quilt sleeve and the end caps to finish the edges.  Then I bought 2 sets of the screw in wire coat hooks.  The PVC pipe fit between the upper hook and the lower hook perfectly.  The lower hook is shorter and doesn't push out on the quilt while the upper hook holds the PVC bar securely in place. 

After hand quilting or stitching and your fingers are tender, dip the fingertips in bleach and rub in. Lotion up hands with a good vitamin E lotion. The next day your fingers are healed and you will have no tenderness. This is especially true after a marathon day of quilting.

The Quilter's Online Resource (wwww.qorsite.com) provides an excellent opportunity to swap items with other quilters. Browse the posts or post your own. If you want to sell your sewing machine, or maybe you want to buy one—whatever your reasons for visiting the swap, you'll be sure to find it at the Quilter's Online Resource. The format is simple and easy to use, so even the most novice internet user will be able to use the Quilter's Online Resource.

The Wide World Quilting Page trading post is an excellent swap opportunity for every quilter. Located at www.quilt.com/TradingPost/Y2K.html, this website allows you to buy, sell, or just look for a number of quilt-related items, but seems to focus mainly on material. The swap is an excellent opportunity to meet people in the quilting community. Maybe you have something somebody's looking—or somebody has something that you're looking. Head to the Trading Post and find for sure.

Visit the Wanna Be Quilter's group at http://groups.msn.com/wannabequilters and experience their ongoing swaps, one time swaps, and no sew swaps. This small group is an excellent way to get to know individual quilters in cyberspace. Participate in the group's ongoing swaps for fabric and be pleasantly surprised each time. Many quilters believe some of the best fabric comes from a swap, since more than likely the fabric is different that something you would normally buy.