The Great Brick Swap: American Made Brand Solids
6:30:00 AMOkay.
So my friend Mara at Secretly Stitching and I are itching for another solids swap.
This time, we're going to be a bit more specific - we'll only be swapping "American Made Brand" solids.
Have you heard of "American Made Brand"? This Seattle-based company creates a gorgeous line of fabrics is entirely sourced and manufactured here in the US.
Did you know that over 70% of the cotton grown here in the United States is ultimately destined for foreign markets?
The goal of AMB was to have every step of the fabric-making-process take place right here in the US - growing, spinning, weaving, dying - all done here at home.
AMB has created a line of 50 beautiful solids in quilting cotton weight which are now available to us fabric enthusiasts.
So. How do we get our hands on all 50 colors produced by AMB?
The answer is simple.
LET'S SWAP!!
Now - what is a "brick", you ask?
Well, it is a chunky-monkey charm square. Tee hee. It's a rectangle of fabric 5" x 10", shaped like a brick. It's a little more versatile than a charm square with that extra bit of fabric.
Here is a tutorial on how to cut a brick from Mara:
http://secretlystitching.
Now - how will the swap work?
Would you like to participate? Here are the rules. Please, read them CAREFULLY and ONLY sign up if you are committed to this 110%. Make sure you understand what is involved and that you are responsible for all shipping costs, to and from your stash.
RULES:
- I'm going to accept 25 people (or 'open spots') into the swap. If, by chance, we get more than a full 25, we'll run a second group. But if we don't get enough (50 spots filled), those of you who may come late to the party will be on the 'alternates' list, if you will. To sign up, please use the Google Docs form submission below. If you'd like to occupy 2 spots, you are welcome to - please indicate on the form below if you'd like 2 spots. The spots will fill first come, first serve.
- If you have a blog, please display the button below either in a post or in your sidebar for the duration of the swap. If you are on Twitter or Instagram, we'll be hastagging #AMBGreatBrickSwap
- Only American Brand Solids will be accepted. You will be assigned two specific colors from the AMB line, of which you will need to purchase 1 yard of each. You will follow Mara's tutorial on how to accurately cut 'bricks'. If you sign up for 2 spots, you'll be responsible for a total of 4 yards, in 4 different colors.
- Once you've signed up, please wait to receive an email from me with your color assignments. I'll email you as soon as we have a full group, and we'll get underway!
- Once your bricks in the two colors are cut (you'll be sending me a total of 50 bricks, 25 of each color), you'll send them to me, along with a self addressed, postage paid envelope. I cannot stress this enough - I'm not responsible for shipping costs back to you. For those in the US, I suggest sending a flat-rate envelope with a prepaid label from USPS.com. It'll cost you about $5.00 for return shipping this way (vs. about $3.50-$4.00 first class) - you'll get your package quicker, there's a tracking number, and to be honest, it's a lot easier for me!
- Once I have received all of the packages, I'll get to work creating stacks for each of the participants in the swap, with each stack containing one of each of the 50 colors from the AMB line. I'll then stuff your pre-paid, self-addressed envelopes and send them back to you!
- International Participants (i.e. - anyone outside of the U.S.) Wanna play? No problem! What I would suggest is that you sign up, and note that you're an international player. When I email you your color assignments, I'd suggest you purchase your fabrics from a shop here in the US and have them shipped to me (I'll provide you with my mailing address when I send you the "Welcome to the swap!" email). I'll cut them up for you. Once I've received everyone's packages and organized them into stacks of 50 delicious bricks, I'll then send you an invoice through PayPal for the amount you owe for the shipping back to you (First Class International Mail from Zip #60202 - you may want to go onto USPS.com to calculate what 2 yards of fabric would cost to send to your Postal Code so you have an idea of what it'll cost you - 2 yards of fabric is about 13oz)
- U.S. Resies who don't want to cut their own fabrics: No problem. Purchase your fabrics online, have them sent to me (with a note saying who's fabric it belongs to, lol) - I'll provide you with my mailing address with the Welcome to the swap! email you'll receive from me. I'll cut your fabrics for you, and then I'll send you a PayPal invoice for shipping back to you (please note - if you choose this option, I will send Priority Flat Rate, NOT First Class - Priority is much easier for me - so the shipping would cost about $5.00 vs. about $4.00 for First Class (based on 1 spot or 50 bricks).
- Notes on Shipping: As I've stressed above, I'm not responsible for shipping costs. And just to note I will not ship anything before receiving payment for shipping. I will hold fabrics hostage. Tee hee.
- We're going to move quickly on this. As soon as your color is assigned to you, you'll need to have your fabrics in the mail to me within 2-weeks time. I don't want to have this drag out for months on end - and it's only fair that we all get our squishy packages back in a timely manner!
And the image for Instagram ( #AMBGreatBrickSwap):
Sign up below!
6 comments
Yippeee! It's alive! I mean Live!
ReplyDeleteI am in.. Mara made me :)
ReplyDeleteMe too, Shirley told me to sign up. First swap for me.
ReplyDeleteSherrie, in case you check back, you're a no-reply blogger so I can't email you back! If you want to fix this, you can go here:
Deletehttp://www.sewathomemummy.com/2014/05/do-you-never-win-anything-never-get-any.html
Mara told me about this yesterday - hope I'm in! And I have to ask an IG question because I am a total newb on IG... how do I share that photo via IG?
ReplyDeleteErin you might have gotten more than you asked for, LOL..
ReplyDeleteI ♥ to hear from you!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment or for asking me a question. Rather email me? Reach out at sewathomemummy@gmail.com.
I like to email everyone back when they've commented - so if you're a no-reply blogger, make sure to leave your email address in your comment so I can share the love back atcha!