CHAPTER 2 - SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING TRIANGLES (cont'd)

[Barbara P.]

I am sewing my 4th sheet and have all the rest (16 sheets) pinned and ready to go - I am using lights of all colors, not just neutrals and am also using Masterpiece # 153 Parchment. Should be ready to get them to Debbie next week.

Barb in Houston
Sensational Strippers

[Elizabeth W.]

Yippee, I finished my HST's and they are on the way to Debbie. Did 616 plus extra for Australia and Norway. This was my first exchange and I am having a great time. So glad that Edyta, Alex and Ricky are participating; makes it even more special. Now I have to start on HST's for Batiks-R-Us exchange. Then peruse Edyta's books to see what I want to make. Thanks to our coordinators for all their hard work. I'm sure they didn't imagine it would grow this much when the exchange started.

Elizabeth
(Hulagirl)
Anchorage, Alaska, USA

[Elizabeth W.]

To all my sisters, a big thankyou for all your prayers last week during Cyclone Yasi, it was very frightening but Cairns was very lucky as it veered slightly south and crossed the coast as a Cat 5 an hour and a half south of Cairns. We still got the high winds but luckily not the driven rain with it, the rains came the next day very heavy but not driven. I only got my power back on yesterday and it took 2 days to chainsaw our way down our driveway and a big tree had ripped the power lines out of the pole. The towns that were hit were hard hit, (someone said that there was a soft side - no such thing as a soft side of a cyclone), I went into the city today for the first time and went to the post office and I received my parcel of fabrics and papers, yippee.... it will be a couple of weeks before I can get onto the HST's as the cleanup is huge around here and I am exhausted already. Thank you all. Louise

[Elizabeth W.]

Hello every one!
My HST's (with some extras) are on their way to Debbie, international postage paid to Clara, message sent to Debbie. (I think it was e-mail, not personal message..) Now I should start thinking of February BOM.. Thank you organizers and happy exchange to every one!

P.S. We had a little snow storm here in Finland yesterday (about 6 inches snow, I think). And I hurt my back while shoveling the snow . This is not the first time so, I know it will get better, it just take time.

[Elizabeth W.]

To all my sisters, a big thankyou for all your prayers last week during Cyclone Yasi, it was very frightening but Cairns was very lucky as it veered slightly south and crossed the coast as a Cat 5 an hour and a half south of Cairns. We still got the high winds but luckily not the driven rain with it, the rains came the next day very heavy but not driven. I only got my power back on yesterday and it took 2 days to chainsaw our way down our driveway and a big tree had ripped the power lines out of the pole. The towns that were hit were hard hit, (someone said that there was a soft side - no such thing as a soft side of a cyclone), I went into the city today for the first time and went to the post office and I received my parcel of fabrics and papers, yippee.... it will be a couple of weeks before I can get onto the HST's as the cleanup is huge around here and I am exhausted already. Thank you all. Louise

I'm glad you are alright. We had some very wintery conditions here and some intense (not as intense as you've had) but enough to knock over a bunch of trees at our fence line to get us shopping for a chain saw. Good luck with the cleanup.

I've heart soft side before when describing hurricanes. It is puzzling to me because either way a storm that massive will make it's mark.

Glad your ok, and hoping those you love around you are fine too.

Clara

[Debbie W.]

To all my sisters, a big thankyou for all your prayers last week during Cyclone Yasi, it was very frightening but Cairns was very lucky as it veered slightly south and crossed the coast as a Cat 5 an hour and a half south of Cairns. We still got the high winds but luckily not the driven rain with it, the rains came the next day very heavy but not driven. I only got my power back on yesterday and it took 2 days to chainsaw our way down our driveway and a big tree had ripped the power lines out of the pole. The towns that were hit were hard hit, (someone said that there was a soft side - no such thing as a soft side of a cyclone), I went into the city today for the first time and went to the post office and I received my parcel of fabrics and papers, yippee.... it will be a couple of weeks before I can get onto the HST's as the cleanup is huge around here and I am exhausted already. Thank you all. Louise

Louise,

We are praying that all this 'BAD' stuff is over now and you and everyone else can state to move on with some normalcy in your lives. I can't even begin to comprehend the misery these past few months have been for everyone in Queensland.

Be prepared for April, Louise!!! You're gonna have even more sewing to do since many of our SoTTTs members are sending extra HSTs for you to use in the quilt you'll be making for the victims. And the members of the Batiks-R-Us exchange are also collecting HSTs for you and Ritzy will be sending those to me to include in your package.

The HST's are fun to make, so hopefully that will be a relaxing project for you.

Debbie

[Joanne K.]

Hi everyone. I am waiting for my triangle papers to arrive in the mail. Then I'll be sewing.

Very happy it's not snowing today. The sun is actually shining. But it is 10*.brrr

Louise , Thoughts and prayers to everyone. We can't imagine what you all have been thru.

Hugs,
Joanne

[Joanne K.]

A couple of you have asked recently re: which thread to use....Superior's Masterpiece is my choice, and I think a lot of others are using it as well. It is a 50-wt, almost lint-free long-staple cotton thread that is a delight to work with (I use it for all my piecing). Hopefully you can find it in a LQS, but if not, Superior threads provides very quick, efficient online service (http://www.superiorthreads.com/shop/...-yds/products/). I have ordered their 3,000 yd cones in several neutral shades and am a huge fan of this product! Nancy

This Nancy also uses Superior's Masterpiece thread. Just love it. Bottom line is ok, but was created by Superior to be used in the bobbin when quilting.
Two more sheets to cut, labels made, and then I am off to the post office.
FluffBallQuilts (Nancy in Mt. Pleasant, SC)

[Debbie W.]

SoTTT''s Members....

Please pay attention to the Guidelines and do NOT press your HST's open. I am starting to go through the packages I've received to get them organized and ready for sorting and I have already come across THREE packages..out of only 26 so far, where the participants actually pressed their HST's open :cry: . This is so important that I felt like I needed to stop what I was doing to post this reminder. Since they have bias edges this will cause distortion, it can cause them to be wrinkled during the sorting and mailing, and they are also more difficult to repackage.

Also...if you are sending extras for Queensland, Hanne, or for whatever, please put them in separate, clearly marked baggies. I don't have time to start counting them out of your HSTs and I won't be able to go back to your original email to figure out what they extras are for. If they're not separated and marked, then they'll just be included in the sorting mix and not wind up going where you want them to.

They also need to be in increments of 28. If you send me 120...that is not an increment of 28 and I will have 8 extras. If you have extras that you don't want to go elsewhere, keep those for your own stash.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could take a few mintues to review the instructions for both sewing and mailing before you're ready to proceed to each different step.

Thank you again,
Debbie

[Debbie W.]

Reminder. If you leave the triangles closed with the paper on them, it helps protect them in transport and keeps them from falling apart or becoming distorted.

Thanks, Clara

[Debbie W.]

Ok Sisters and Brothers of the Traveling Triangles,

I just back from the Post Office and learned "Priority Mail" is priced based on how far it needs to travel.

Both the return envelope (addressed to you) and the sending envelope (addressed to Debbie) need the same amount of postage...
the same amount as the envelope addressed to Debbie!
It is just that simple... don't let your postal worker talk you into something different.

The postal worker at my post office wanted to argue with me... took the return envelope (addressed to me) with triangles, weighed it, stamped it (it needs stamps not the metered sticker), that amount, as if I was sending a "Priority Mail" back to myself from the same city was, $5.40. That same postal worker then stuffed the return envelope (addressed to me) with triangles inside the sending envelope (addressed to Debbie), weighed it, printed a metered sticker, that amount was $7.90. I knew something was wrong, but when I asked if the 'zip code' would make the difference... the postal worker instead took everything apart and went through the process two more times... until said postal worker said... "I think I need the same amount of postage on the inside envelope since it is going to be sent from Texas... not South Carolina." Duh, That is exactly what I asked from when I walked up to the window with my two envelopes!

Oh, by the way... the stamps don't stick well on the 'priority envelopes'. While all this was going on, I noticed the stamps on the triangle filled return envelope were starting to come off. So I put the plastic bag of triangles in the sending envelope, pressed all the stamps down really good on the return envelope (you can't put tape over them in front of the postal worker), folded the return envelope and put it in the sending envelope and sealed the sending envelope.

[Dawn S.]

Fluffball - Where was the postal worker's "sign?" You remember the song "Here's Your sign" by Jeff Foxworthy? Well, if said postal worker had had his/her sign, you would have known you needed to nurse him/her along! :lol: You just assumed the professional knew his/her job. :? Common sense says coming or going, it is the same price! Just goes by the weight and the distance between the two same cities :!:

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Dawn S.]

Reference the Masterpiece superior thread. I have ordered some, thank you all for the information. I have made 140 paper triangles so far and am having a lot of fun putting different batik & marbled material together for the HST’s. I have never done paper piecing before but have found this to be fun! I just hope you all love the HST’s I have put together as much as I do! I am using a 50 wt 100% cotton by YLI as I am waiting for either the aurifil 50 wt or the Superior 50 wt thread that I ordered on line to be delivered; so far neither has come in yet.
Glad to hear from Louise in Australia, former home of one of my Aunt’s, and am glad everything isn’t too bad at your home! Welcome back to electricity, hope you can get some rest & back to sewing soon.

S/ Barbara from Bluffton, SC

[Debbie W.]

SoTTTs Members...This is Very, Very Important ------ I received 13 more packages today, and only 4 of them had your screen name and count on the outside of the envelope. Everyone says how much they wish they could come to Texas and help, but you can't imagine how much of a help you could be if you just did that small thing.

ANOTHER BIG PROBLEM: I also received several packages again today with the HST's pressed open when they were supposed to be left folded. One was a package of 700 pressed-opened HSTs and because they were opened and put in one large baggie, a lot of them are already wrinkled and already distorted . I'm not sure how to handle this, especially since everyone else is being so careful to follow the direction on not pressing them open. It really bothers me to have to send then opened HSTs to those of you who are being conscientious and making an effort to send them in correctly and hope to get them back in the same manner you sent yours.

ON THE POSITIVE SIDE : It sounds like all I've been doing is complaining, but the majority of the packages received have been almost close to perfect and I sincerely want to thank you for making that tremendous effort...and thanks for the extra $$ you've included to help with expenses, postage, etc. It is greatly appreciated and will be put to good use!

[Debbie W.]

I think it would be nice if they posted just the Mailing Instructions on the daily blog. That would put the focus on what you need people to correct. That and the not pressing. Seems those are the only major areas of concern.