NF 31 Journey into the Light

All participants must abide by the exact guidelines so all blocks will arrive on time and will be compatible in color scheme and size. Please keep in mind this is a large commitment. ALL deadline dates must be kept to prevent anxious or disappointed quilters! Also, please understand the commitment you are making when signing up for your state's block. If you cannot complete your blocks within our deadline dates, we will have "holes" in our quilts. The hostess will keep track of everyone’s progress on our Nifty Fifty Quilters website through the Participant List. If you are late with your blocks everyone in the exchange will be aware and not just the hostess so..........

IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS PLEASE DO NOT COMMIT.

And have no doubts about being dropped if you are late. I have hosted many of our Nifty Fifty Quilt Block Swaps and I find if participants are late with their sample blocks then they usually they do not follow through and our replacement quilters are much faster and reliable. Of course, there are exceptions and that will be decided on a one on one basis.

Please read carefully through each section of our swap guidelines.

Fabric Requirements

• Fabric should be top quality quilt shop fabric.
• 100% Cotton pre-washed and pressed.

Color Palette--You can use any combination of the below colors and one fabric must a Batik Fabric

Block Requirements

• All blocks must be 6 1/2 inch unfinished---6 inch finished

• Fifty-three 6½-inch unfinished quilt block incorporating the color palette and theme. We have included two charity blocks (Breast Cancer and Suicide Prevention) and the sample block which will be used for an Archive Nifty Fifty quilt to be used to bring awareness to abusive relationships. The quilters should design or choose their block pattern to represent their state and to incorporate something from nature to represent a peaceful/soothing/healing theme. For example I am doing a paper pieced heart (Virginia is for Lovers) but I represented my healing through the colors of my heart. It starts with dark colors and moves into the light colors representing the light of a sunrise. State name should be written on the back of the block on a seam allowance.

• Fifty-three 6½-inch unfinished top quality 100% white fabric signature blocks to include your name, and the state you are representing and a positive note, affirmation, or quote to inspire others on their journey towards the light. The signature blocks must be written with permanent pigma pens.

Examples of prior signature blocks from previous NF swaps can be found on the following pages: https://niftyfiftyquilting.com/swaps/classic-colonial https://niftyfiftyquilting.com/swaps/nf27 https://niftyfiftyquilting.com/swaps/nf16

• Please baste the signature block and state block together in one of the corners before mailing them to the hostess

Labeling

Quilters will sign their name and state in the seam allowance on the back of their quilt block. The signature blocks will also need the quilters name and state.

Sample Blocks

Everyone who signs up for a quilt block swap expects good quality quilt blocks in return. The Nifty Fifty Quilt swaps maintains this quality through requiring a sample block from each participant. The hostesses are very strict in looking over the sample blocks. There has been times when a hostess has had to reject a sample block but that does not mean the quilter is out of the swap. The quilter just needs to correct the problem and submit a new sample blocks. Sample blocks will be rejected for the following reasons:

• If the block does not follow the fabric requirements

• If the points do not meet.

• If the block is 1/4 inch either too small or too large from the unfinished size.

• If the signed name and state is not signed on the back of the quilt block in the seam allowance.

• If seams are not straight - whether machine or hand pieced.

• If seams on the back are not pressed in one direction and lay flat unless hand pieced.

• If applique stitching is not hidden, unless intended to be visible (i.e. buttonhole stitch or machine applique). No use of fabric paints and no raw edges allowed.

• If fabrics do not coordinate with the color palette and theme.

• The hostess does not reject blocks for the design as long as the color palette and theme is followed.

Charity Quilts

Our swap will be completing three charity quilts. A Suicide Prevention Charity Quilt and a Breast Cancer Charity Quilt. The sample block will be used for a Nifty Fifty Archive quilt which will honor survivors of abusive relationships and will raise awareness for those impacted by abusive relationships. We usually ask for a donation to help complete the charity quilts which would be used for the backing, batting and quilting if needed.

Deadline Dates

The deadline dates will be set when we our swap is full.

• First deadline date will be for a sample block to be approved by the hostess--The hostess will only be checking for top quality fabric and proper size/technique and not the design. This sample block will be used for a NF31 Suicide Prevention Charity Quilt

• Second deadline date will be for the first half of the state blocks

• Third deadline date will be for the final set of state blocks along with one extra quilt block which will be used for the NF31 Breast Cancer Charity Quilt

Mailing Instructions

• The quilters will mail all their required blocks to the hostess by the deadline dates.

• Do not keep your own block when mailing the hostess your set of state blocks. This is confusing when sorting the blocks. The hostess must have all your state blocks and you will get your state blocks back in your returning blocks.

• All packages MUST have a confirmation number and this number must be given to the hostess once the blocks are in the mail. Our group will discuss how to organize the return postage once we are full. Once our group makes a decision it will be posted here.

FINALLY...

The Nifty Fifty Sewing Tips

Our Nifty Fifty Quilting Swaps are dedicated to successful quilt block swaps. The following instructions are for participants of the quilt block swaps and the hostesses. Be sure to edit your block size and yardage. Enjoy!!

QUALITY CHECK POINTS

• Fabric must be quilt shop quality fabric and 100% cotton.
• Fabrics are pre-washed and pressed.
• Points and seams match up.
• Block size has added the ½ inch unfinished size to the block. The hostess will be measuring!!
• Seam allowance of 1/4" all around without invading block pattern
• Seams are straight - whether machine or hand pieced
• Seams on the back are pressed in one direction and lay flat unless hand pieced.
• Applique stitching is hidden, unless intended to be visible (i.e. button hole stitch or machine applique).
• No use of fabric paints and no raw edges allowed.
• Fabrics follow the swaps color palette and theme
• Sign your name on the back of your quilt block in one of the seam allowances
• Be sure to stitch to the end of the seam
• Make sure machine is in good working order
• You have FUN doing it!!!!!!!!

HELPFUL HINTS

• Cutting

Make sure that you square up your fabric and do a "clean cut" before cutting your strips. Also make sure that you place the ruler on the right cutting line and when you start to cut, don't remove your hand from the ruler, but rather "walk" your hand up the ruler until the cut is finished. There are a few "How To" books on the market that just address how to rotary cut.

• Sewing ¼” Seams

Your seam should actually be a "scant" quarter of an inch, or just inside the 1/4" mark you are using. Before you begin sewing you must check your 1/4" seam allowance because not all machine presser foots mark a true ¼”. Please do so by doing a practice ¼” seam on your sewing machine. Remove your sample and measure it away from the sewing machine. If it is not a true ¼” then adjust it so it is a perfect ¼" and mark this line with several pieces of masking tape along the right side of your machine. Always follow this new guideline.

• Yardage

To figure up your yardage for each of your fabrics take the size square you need to cut and figure out how many you can cut from the width of your fabric. For example if your fabric is 44" in width and if you need to cut 6.5 inch squares you divide 6.5 into 44. I round up my inches to make it easier so I would divide 7 into 44. This will give you 6 squares per row. 7 x 6=42. Now that you know you can get 6 squares out of a row then you take the amount of total squares you will need to cut and divide 6 into that amount. So let's say you need 50--- 6.5" squares then you will need to divide 6 into 50 to find out how many rows you will need --- 6 x 9= 54. This tells you that you will need at least 9 rows. Once you get the number of rows you will need then you take your size block again and multiply it by the rows to find you yardage. 7" x 9 =63" The result is you will need to buy 63 inches of fabric. I always round up so I would purchase two yards. This will give me an extra 9" in fabric, and it is always a good idea to always purchase enough extra fabric to be able to cut one extra row in case of mistakes.