Do you swap?

Are you an avid swapper?  I must admit that I haven't bothered to get amongst it for years now.  One of the main barriers for me was that I find I am pushed for time.  Its hard enough to find time at the machine for my own projects, let along commit to sewing for someone else.

Despite all of that, over the last month or two I've found myself taking the plunge and signing on for a couple.

In my last post I mentioned the Bento bag swap organised by Cat Noonan. Now that my partner @jumicreations (on Instagram) has received the bags I made her, I can reveal them here.

Swapping bento bags really appealed as I really do want to reduce the amount of plastic I use, and they are just so quick and easy to make.  They're SERIOUSLY quick, so were the perfect stress freee swap item for me.

I was absolutely delighted with all of my partner's choices when making bags for me. I love the sweet little C+S green bag and all of the thoughtful details added.   

These little charmers were made by Jane of  @behind_lilpipdesigns  Here's just a couple of shots of the sweet details Jane added

Apparently Jane thinks 'I love quilting'.  I wonder what gave her that idea?  ;-)

If you're interested in making a few bento bags, go check back on my last blog post for all of the details and links to the tutorial. 

I've also just started swapping economy blocks with @tstunnel . While the block itself isn't fancy, this isn't just your regular, garden variety block swap.  We will be swapping four of these blocks for the next 10 years!

Tamara came up with the idea ofd swapping fabric over a long period of time and watching how trends come and go.  To this end, the centre of each block will feature a fabric which was released into the Australian market in the year of its making, and paired up with a coordinating solid and low volume fabrics.

The blocks themselves are pretty easy to make ( we are using the rotary cutting method), but it is really, really hard deciding what fabrics to feature.  For my first blocks for Tamara I've used Cotton and Steel prints, but I have plans to change things up a bit next time.

We have decided to make ourselves an identical set opf blocks each time, which conveniently means I can show you the first four blocks together.

I think this mad cap idea of Tamara's is pretty unique so I nagged her into starting a blog with me.  The purpose of the blog is pretty simple.  We are going to document our progress so that over time the blog will act as a record of our fabric choices.  It still needs some gussying up, but you can go check out our start on this bonkers swap here

One of the great things about swapping that I had forgotten about is seeing other people's fabric choices and the way they combine colours.  Tamara has gone for Tokyo Milk for her feature fabrics and I can't wait to see what comes next.

If you are like me and haven't swapped for a while, just keep your eyes peeled on social media and I am sure you will find one that you are interested in.  It really is a killer way to feel part of the social media community, get to know a heap of like minded folk and maybe even try something new. 

If you are interested in hosting a swap Ros from Sew Delicious has some great tips for first time hosts and hostesses here.

Happy swapping guys!