Spoonflower I Spy: Round 2!

Happy Monday! I really enjoyed reading comments about this post over the weekend. And once again appreciated the wide variety of experiences people have. Everything from:

"I don't even really remember it hurting that much afterwards... It wasn't really that bad" 

to

 "I kicked (the doctor)... But it was purely instinctual/reactionary. I just flailed and he was in the way." 

I'm still laughing about that one. One of the reasons I wrote the post is that someone you and I both know still has wisdom teeth that've gotta come out. Wait, some of you may not know her yet. Her name is Adrianna and I think you'll love her. I hear that things are on the mend on her side of the world and she'll be back soonish. (Yay!)

So for this week's excitement... let's talk swaps! Did you see last year's I Spy Spoonflower swap? You can read more about it here. If you're at all interested in I Spy projects (the queen, in my opinion, is Care) or in trying out Spoonflower, this could be great for you. But this is one that's going to fill up in a hurry. And here's why:

1) Spoonflower has a bazillion fabrics you won't find anywhere else.

2) While yards of fabric on Spoonflower aren't cheap, if we all swap, it's more reasonable to have an assortment.

3) By limiting the swap to Spoonflower fabrics, we can be confident that the wash/wear of the fabric will be uniform, whereas with traditional mass-marketed fabrics wash/wear differently. And the fabric quality will be uniformly great.

4) Spoonflower is offering swap participants 20% off of their total order!

Some of the round 1 haul

Check out Spoonflower and see what you like. Here's how this swap will work:

1. Sign up by commenting on this post including your e-mail address. The first 54 commenters are in and commenters #55 and #56 will be alternates.
2. I'll e-mail instructions to you and invite you to the new Flickr gallery which will be closed to non-participants until after the fabrics have all been added.
3. You choose two prints and add them to the NEW Flickr gallery.
4. A moderator will approve your choices, or discuss if there is a question. (We're looking to make sure the scale is appropriate for I Spy and to ensure that we don't have duplicates or very similar prints. For example, only one print that includes an item like a "sewing machine".)
5. After seeing the approval, you order 2 different yards of quilting-cotton fabric. ($18/each $14.40/each* + $6 total shipping in the USA )  *special I Spy Swap discount!
6. Each participant cuts fifty-six 5"x5" squares of each fabric and mails them to me along with a self-addressed stamped envelope. (No cash please!)
7. I sort them and send them out so that each participant gets 112 different Spoonflower I Spy squares in return!
8. Your squares must be uploaded to Flickr by Saturday, November 12th and must be received by Susan by December 5th. They will be mailed out on or before December 8th.
9. If you fail to follow the swap rules, you'll be replaced. Sorry, but that's the fair thing to do for all of the other folks that ARE paying attention.
10. International participants are welcome. You'll ship your fabric to me or to another participant to cut. Relatedly, if needed, I'll be asking for volunteers who wouldn't mind helping with the international participant cutting.

So, to look for I Spy fabrics on Spoonflower, I suggest starting with the "whimsical" section. Then view a fabric as a "test swatch". That will give you the best idea of the scale of the print to be sure that a recognizable object is included in every 5"x5" section, remembering that at least 1/4" will be lost on each side for seam allowances. Because of the cost, we want to avoid fussycutting, unless you want to buy extra yardage for fussycutting. The two yards assume you'll only waste an inch or two on the edges and that you'll cut very, very carefully. For demonstration purposes, here's an example. When you're looking at a fabric to determine whether it'll work for the swap, be sure to select the Test Swatch 8"x8" view.

Then use some scrap paper to limit your view to the 5"x5" area. Is there enough of your imagery in that space that the items will be recognizable? Would a child be able to say "I spy some... stamps?" 

Spoonflower quilting cotton is 36"x42" for a yard, so when it's cut into 5" I Spy squares it'll need to be cut something like this. The 2" strip on the right and 1" on bottom are the scrap fabric that will be left over. 

So... enough with all of the details. Can you deal with the rules, and are you in? Be sure to leave your e-mail address so that I can send you more info, including the Spoonflower discount code!