Sunday, September 16, 2012

A *Picture-Perfect* Finish

Well, the *Picture-Perfect* Polaroid Swap is drawing to a close. Yes, the packages are still arriving back to their swappers, but I've received all, sorted all, and sent all, except for the one from far far away that I just got yesterday and is going back in the mail in the morning. And I must say, it's been fun. Am I glad I did it? You bet! Am I glad it's almost over? You bet!

There are several people that really deserve our thanks for how they contributed to this swap.
.....Corey of Little Miss Shabby, whose polaroid blocks first inspired me and who graciously told me "go for it" when I wrote to her about the swap.
.....my son, who when I was struggling over what to call the swap, came up with the name I used, which I still really really like.
.....Karen, of capitolaQuilter, whose block tutorial we used, and who helped me tremendously setting up the swap, thinking of details I hadn't.
.....Leanne, of shecanquilt, who tested out paypal with me so I knew how to handle postage for international swappers.
.....my mom, who spent two whole days with me sorting the swap blocks and then prepping the 'extra' polaroid blocks to include in each package.
.....and of course, hubby, who stepped around as packages piled up, smiled and nodded as I muttered to myself trying to keep it all straight, and sent me texts when he beat me to the mailbox: "CO, UT, FL, Germany" and such.

Thanks much to them and to all the swappers in the group who have been so communicative, shared their awesome sewing, and made this as easy on me as it could possibly have been!

Meanwhile, some of you have asked what about MY blocks. Well let's just say I have plenty!
The two columns on the left I made for myself. ALL THE REST were thank you blocks from swappers! There are actually about a dozen more that came after I took the pic. (And oh wow - not to mention all the sweet notes, chocolate, charms, polaroid cuts, other fabric and handmade little goodies. You guys were really good to me - thank you!!)

And then of course, I had made blocks to swap, so these are what I got back . . .

After some sharing and such, I ended up with 205 blocks! SO many great fabrics that weren't represented in my stash! And enough for several projects, most likely!

SO, I think it's time for a little celebration! As you continue to receive your blocks, let's have a little giveaway. As many of you know, there was concern that one block package may have gotten lost in transit, and earlier last week, sewing and sharing took place to get all the swap packages back in the mail. Well,  tramtadam's blocks did just come, and she has graciously agreed we still need to get her blocks to you polaroid-lovers, so I have 6 packs of 15 blocks each to ship out. You may have participated in the swap, you may have wanted to but couldn't - whatever. Just leave a comment on this post, and I'll choose 6 random winners on Friday, September 21. Talk about a *Picture-Perfect* finish!

59 comments:

  1. Wow wow wow. What else can be said? What an undertaking. I'm sure you're ready to rest. :)

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  2. Woohoo, what a success Debbie congrats! I got mine the other day, can't wait to dive in!

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  3. Oh wow, that's an amazing collection, can't wait to see what you do with them all!

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  4. Just wow! I can't wait to see all of the projects popping up as a result of this swap!

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  5. Holy crap 205??? I cannot wait to see what you do with these!

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  6. wow! those look amazing!!! I'm sure you'll turn them into some fantastic projects!

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  7. Congrats!! What a wonderful project! So fun. I'm excited to see what you do with them.

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  8. Great job, Debbie! I just got mine yesterday:)

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  9. Wow! That's a lot of blocks and a lot of sorting! Can't wait to see what you do with them all. Well done on a successful swap!

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  10. Congratulations! What a mammoth task!! I've just started sewing mine for the Say Cheese! Polaroid Swap... No way am I making 205 though, lol!

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  11. Holy cow that's a lot of blocks. I'm glad you were treated kindly by all the wonderful quilters out there. That was a big undertaking. I'd love to try my hand at quilt with these blocks. Thanks for the opportunity.
    Barb@Witsend

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  12. This was an awesome swap and I appreciate everything you (and your family!) did to make it happen! THANK YOU!

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  13. Wow!! Those look beautiful together!! If this swap happens again, I would love to take part in it.

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  14. Yippee! What a great swap this was, I got so many cute ones....would love to win more...thanks for all your hard work on this and the giveaway!

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  15. Awesome blocks... Picture perfect! It will be fun to see what you do with these!

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  16. Thanks again for being such an awesome hostess! This was such a fun swap :)

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  17. WOW! That's great! I love mine! Thanks again for doing such a great job!!

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  18. All those blocks are amazing! I would have loved to participate in this swap, but we were out of town for the majority of the summer - thanks so much for the chance to win some cute little blocks!

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  19. Woohoo is right! I would love some polaroid blocks :) Thanks for the giveaway!

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  20. GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!! WOWZERS- that's a lot of blocks! And they are just wonderful! What a cool quilt you can make with these :) Or several quilts ;)! Love them all! Are your hands numb from sorting?? :)

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  21. Congrats on a job well done, Debbie! You deserve every bit of it!!

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  22. That must have been a huge inconvenience for your family... give them my biggest thanks for handling the insanity of all those packages and piles. Sure appreciate all you did!!!

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  23. I didn't mean to make it sound like my family was inconvenienced! I think they were as amused by it all as I was in awe!

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  24. 205 blocks, wow! Still a lot of work for you to be done ;-) Thanks to your family and the other helping hands and of curse to you, that was amazing what you did!!!

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  25. I loooved the swap and the cute idea of making tiny little polaroid blocks from scraps... Thank you so much for running this swap and the all the work behind...

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  26. WOW!!! I can't wait to see your finished quilt. I would loved to have done it this time round, but couldn't commit due to study commitments :((

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  27. Wow what lovely Polaroid blocks. I can't wait to see what you do with them!

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  28. Oh Debbie, what a great job you did! And to think those stray blocks turned up! Your quilt is going to be amazing!

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  29. It is going to be amazing isn't it? Wow!

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  30. It must have been so exciting for all those who joined, to have gotten the packages with such lovely blocks. What a great swap!
    Either I didn't understand the swap, or I was too late to join. But whatever it was, i would love the chance to win a package of polaroid blocks (o:
    PS: Picture Perfect looks lovely! Can't wait to see it finished.

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  31. You certainly have got some blocks now! Thank you so much for such a great swap. I am glad I joined in and I am very happy with the blocks I got back. Thanks again for all your hard work. And thanks for the giveaway.
    Celine

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  32. Deb, you made this swap so much fun and so easy---thanks very much!!!
    I LOVE the blocks I received and I love seeing pics of your little blocks! And thanks for offering a fun giveaway too;-)

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  33. What a successful swap! Thanks for all your hard work, I enjoyed participating!

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  34. Wow, what an amazing effort! Good work! All of your blocks together would make an awesome large quilt, so much to look at. It'd be like little windows into other worlds!

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  35. This swap was amazing. I'm so in love with my stack I got back.

    It makes me really happy to see that you have a haul of blocks for yourself! Such a great mix.

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  36. Hi Debbie! I definetely wanted to join but hadn't one free minute this last month. I have been happy to follow you and this amazing swap - just extra ordinary - so much fantastic blocks! You made amazing job! x Teje

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  37. Wow! I thought my stack of 80 looked pretty big, but 200! Wow.
    You'll have to share your finished quilt or quilts so I can oooh and awww some more.
    Thanks for the chance to win some more - these blocks truly are addicting.

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  38. It was awesome of so many swappers to send you thank you blocks! I can't wait to see what you do with all of yours! I would love to win some as well. I have some blocks made by the Wonky Bee that I haven't assembled yet, and adding some of these in to the mix would be fun! Thanks for sharing!!

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  39. These are super fun. Might have to do this with the guild.

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  40. Wow! What an awesome swap and that was so kind of you to organize everything! I've hosted a few charm swaps before but I can't even imagine the work for something of this magnitude!

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  41. I see one of my contributions in the ones you got to keep! The little orange/yellow kittoy on the bottom row :)

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  42. thanks so much for organizing! it looks like it was a huge undertaking.

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  43. This was such a fun swap and such a huge undertaking for you. Thank you so much and thanks for sharing that last package.

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  44. I really did want to participate, I signed up knowing I had the time, then life happened. So I had to bow out jut two days after signing up. I would love to win some poloroid blocks! Thanks Debbie! You are such a great gal handling such a swap!

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  45. I missed out on joining this swap mainly as at that time most of my fabrics weren't right to turn into polaroids. I'm now an honourary Aussie joining in with their swap =D

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  46. Loved your 'Polaroid tale' - I've said it before and still mean it. What a great swap you hosted. Sounds very time consuming but no wonder really with the popularity it gained in no time. Be sure to kick back now and celebrate the success with your patient hubby treating him with a good glass of wine...

    ps. It's not an entry - just a comment :) I loved the idea and enjoyed all the great pictures of lovely fabric details but never thought I had the right fabrics.

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  47. You did an awesome job, oh fearless leader! And a big thank you to all those who helped out as well!

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  48. Wow, so glad you were rewarded well for all your hard work! Thank you so much for doing the hard work of the swap. (Karen plotting, trying to figure out how to get Debbie to also put the blocks together into a quilt for her...) <---just kidding, a little.

    Thanks again!

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  49. Wow! Thank you so much and I'm glad the final package arrived!

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  50. That's an amazing set of blocks. I only just saw my first polaroid quilt in a book this morning and stumbled on your blog tonight. Congratulations on hosting what sounds like a great swap!

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  51. i can't believe how many there are! what a huge success! xo you should be very proud!

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  52. What a lot of fun this has been. I had no idea that it would be SO HUGE!!! You and your family/friends all made it run so smoothly - thank you for all uour hard work. I now have some amazing blocks - but would LOVE to win some more so I can make a bigger 'something' ;) Thanks for that chance Debbie - and thank you for holding the swap!!! Well done!

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  53. I got my package today! Can't wait to win a set of these extras. Very kind of the maker and you.

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  54. Would love a chance to add to what I have...does this make me greedy or enthusiastic?! Thanks again for all of your hard work on the swap...what a TREMENDOUS success!

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  55. Thank you so much Debbie! You did so much work, and we greatly appreciate it!!!

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  56. Thank you so much for all the work you put into the swap. You made my first swap such a joy. :)

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  57. I love the blocks you received, you are amazing to have managed this swap with such apparent ease. And thank you for the thank you too.

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  58. My gosh! You give us one temptation after another!

    Sure--throw my name in the hat for a few more blocks. I've been working on ideas for my quilt and am excited to figure out something new. Thanks for doing the swap (hope you are enjoying the little treat I sent) as I thought it was a perfect summer fun thing to do.

    I also like that you are posting ideas for us--very cool.

    :) ELizabeth E.
    opquilt.com

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