BATIKS-R-US fabric exchange

[Teresa S.]

Hi all. My name is Teresa and I spent most of my life in a large suburb of Maryland, situated half way between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore (about 15 minutes from each). I retired as a Paramedic with a large fire/ems department there, and went on to teach (in a Paramedic Program) as a full-time assistant professor at a college in the area for 7 years. Left there in '07 and my wonderful husband I moved to our quiet little beach in FL.....definitely paradise! (I HATE snow and cold weather). I have a 25 y/o son and a 22 y/o daughter.....both in South Florida! My husband is a retired Police Officer from the same area in which I worked in MD. We both work for our dear friend in her quilt shops in FL......truly a dream job.....quilters are the best! Somehow, last March, I got pulled back into my college job!! LOL. Luckily, now I am only filling an 'adjunct faculty' position, so I only commute for a few weeks at a time during the semesters......like right now! I'm in MD for two weeks......and, my HSTs will undoubtedly arrive in FL while I'm gone! LOL. Then, it's back to work at the quilt shops at home! Woo hoo!

I have been aware of TQS since its inception, but, just recently joined (a gift from my daughter!!). Much like someone else noted, this has become my quilt guild of sorts, too. I am not much of a 'posting' person, but I do enjoy reading through the site and seeing all the b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l things you all create! I have much respect for all types of quilting (and, sewing, in general)......although, for the most part, I am not a traditional quilter. I am an 'experimental' quilter....I'll take anything and see what I can do to incorporate it into a project.....shred it, melt it, distort it, etc., then, stitch it. My favorite things incorporated into my quilting projects include a Fabric Weaving technique I use, Shiva Paintstiks, and Angelina fibers and films.....totally cool things with which to play.

Ritzy, thanks for EVERYTHING! Margo, thanks for GUIDANCE and INFO! Everyone: thanks for sharing all you do......great inspiration! Ok, I actually have to go back to w-o-r-k......been goofing off a bit......no students here today!

[Deborah W.]

Hi. It is so good to get to read bios of all of you and to know you a little better. My name is Deborah (aka Debbie) and I joined TQS right after I stumbled across it on the web. It is a wonderful place and I visit daily. I appreciate all the information and advice we share here. I was born and raised on a farm in Alberta and now I live in a small town about an hour from Calgary. I love the prairies but also appreciate the anchor of the Rocky Mountains that are visible to the west. I have been married to my wonderful husband for 30 1/2 years and we have four daughters, one son in law and one precious granddaughter. Family means so much to me! I was a stay-at-home wife and mother for 12 years until my husband's chronic illness prohibited him from working so I started working again. I work as an Administrative Assistant. I learned to quilt from my grandmothers and my mother but only made a few quilts until 2005 when I took a quilt class at our local quilt shop and finally found a hobby I was passionate about. I am a traditional quilter although I am usually game to try something new. This exchange has been so much fun and I can hardly wait to check the mail today to see if my triangles have arrived! Thanks for all your work Ritzy and to everyone who participated.

[Judith A.]

Hi! I am Judy Austin. I grew up dirt poor in a steel town in western Pennsylvania. Growing up, I dressed in old clothes from a box in the back of the church that folks didn't want any more. That turned out to be a blessing, because it gave me a strong desire to sew, so I could get some clothes that were not from that box. In 7th grade, I learned to use a sewing machine; we made aprons. In the 8th grade, the teacher let us sew any pattern we wanted. I picked a suit with a lined jacket and a box-pleated skirt, and the teacher actually let me make it! I have loved sewing ever since.
I earned a degree in Home Economics, where I learned tailoring, etc. I got married, and have 3 wonderful children and 2 grandchildren. I was a stay-at-home mom for many years, until my husband left. Because I was in a wheel-chair at the time, I went back to school and got a degree in Accounting, which was work I could do sitting down. I work in Student Accounts at a university.
I got married again to a great guy, who said, "Quilting would be a good hobby for you." I would reply," ...Maybe when I retire." Then one say I was watching Simply Quilts, and saw Ricky Tims demonstrate a convergence quilt. I said, " I can't wait until I retire! I want to do that NOW!" I recalled seeing Ricky Tims book at JoAnn's. I rushed right out and bought it that same day, and I have been hooked on quilting ever since! Quilting is so important to me. At the end of a hard day at work with lots of problems, I go home to my sewing room, put an audio book into the CD player and sit down and quilt. It helps keeps me sane! I mostly make quilts which I have given away, and don't have pictures of them, but I will try to remember to start taking pictures of them from now on. Thank you Alex Anderson and Rick Tims and the rest of you wonderful people!!!

[Judith A.]

Hi all,
This has been a wonderfully fun exchange (I'm participating in 3, and already received my batik HSTs). I am married to a retired Air Force man, and we'll celebrate our 28th anniversary this year. I am transplanted from Alabama; we now live in Papillion, NE. We have 4 sons, 2 granddaughters, and 2 daughters-in-law. I do long-arm quilting for hire and my most recent work can be seen at Appleberry Quilts on Facebook. I LOVE every aspect of quilting except hand-work (because of joint pain) and binding (of any kind), but my favorite parts are learning more (experimenting with various elements of quilt-making) and making blocks. However, I would define myself as a traditional quilter. I am a UFO-aholic as well as a fabric-aholic and a thread-aholic. I enjoy playing with 'scraps,' too, and find it especially difficult to toss even the smallest pieces of batik fabric, so I guess I'm a scrap-aholic, too! While I get customers' quilts done on time, mine seem to continue to pile up! When I am not sewing or quilting, I enjoy gardening, taking short motorcycle trips with my hubby, and playing with my granddaughters. I am also involved in my church, helping on the social committee and teaching AWANA Cubbies. Oh, I go by my real name - Dwynette

[Roseanne M.]

The envelope of treasures has arrived!
I couldn't wait to get them all pressed open...wow! What a terrific collection!
Have about 30% with paper removed & bunny ears cut off. As I pick up each one I think, this one is
my favorite, but then there's the next one & oh, that one is my favorite!
Reminds me of taking our grandson, then 3 yrs. old, to see fireworks. He loved them. And kept saying
that each one was his favorite & he loved "the colorful ones."
So, thank you, thank you for the colorful ones!
I'm in the SOTTT exchange as well & will probably need a Valium or whatever when they arrive!
And last, but not least, many warm hugs of appreciation to Ritzy & Co. for all their efforts.
x 10 million!

[Teresa B.]

My HST's arrived yesterday!!! They are gorgeous!!!!

I want to take this opportunity to thank Peggy Bass for making my triangles for this exchange. After I signed up I broke my wrist and had to have surgery on it and was unable to make them. Peggy found out and volunteered to make them for me (for this and the other SOTTT exchange). I was just so amazed that someone I had never met would do this. Thanks Peggy. I can't wait to put the HST's into a quilt as soon as I can sew again.

I also had not been reading the Forum lately and when I went on today as saw that Ricky's HST would be loose in the package I could have kicked myself. I didn't check for anything loose and the garbage went out this morning. Then I started looking back at the posts from last week and I saw my name on the list of people Ritzy needed a SASE from in order to get Ricky's HST to them. What a relief. Someone is really watching out for me.

Teresa in Orlando
tbrown0307
who may try to sew without letting the doctor know

[Teresa B.]

My HST's arrived yesterday!!! They are gorgeous!!!!

I want to take this opportunity to thank Peggy Bass for making my triangles for this exchange. After I signed up I broke my wrist and had to have surgery on it and was unable to make them. Peggy found out and volunteered to make them for me (for this and the other SOTTT exchange). I was just so amazed that someone I had never met would do this. Thanks Peggy. I can't wait to put the HST's into a quilt as soon as I can sew again.

I also had not been reading the Forum lately and when I went on today as saw that Ricky's HST would be loose in the package I could have kicked myself. I didn't check for anything loose and the garbage went out this morning. Then I started looking back at the posts from last week and I saw my name on the list of people Ritzy needed a SASE from in order to get Ricky's HST to them. What a relief. Someone is really watching out for me.

Teresa in Orlando
tbrown0307
who may try to sew without letting the doctor know

Now I'm not sure exactly what is going on medically, but pay attention to your doctor and take the time to recover. Use this time and plan on your little HSTs and the quilt or quilts you will create with them. We want you quilting for a long long time. Clara

[Teresa B.]

Ritzy, a question for you
Instead of sending a sae, how would it have worked if people had sent in a large label/postcard with the stamps attached to be stuck onto the side of the original envelope, so that the envelopes could be reused for the return journey?

Rosemary

[Louise T.]

How exciting - received my HST's today - thought as I'm so far away (Australia), I would be waiting a couple more weeks.

Thanks Ritzy for all your hard work - you're wonderful and thanks to everyone who has participated in this swap too! BTW, I found Ricky's HST as well!

I just can't wait to get started on what I have planned for those little HST's! :lol:

[Louise T.]

So glad to here the International ladies are starting to get their packages--yeah. Lizzy--thanks for putting up a profile picture. Now I can put a face to the name!

[Louise T.]

How wonderful, my HST's arrived home today didn't take as long as I thought, it's a long way to Australia. Many thanks to Ritzy and also to all our other new made friends who put their heart and soul into making so many little batiks the colours and combinations are great thank you all for participating, without all of you none of us would have been able to this, how lovely it is to be able to see where all the little lovelies have come from, my family is as interested as I am, I got on the phone and told them they had arrived as they had gone through all the steps with me, now for the next step, some more fun coming up.

[Louise T.]

Hmmm. Those HSTs have made it around the world to Austrailia, and here I am in your backyard, Canada, and all I get in my mailbox these days is junk mail or requests for donations to good causes. Makes you wonder about our postal system. We have a federal elelction coming on May 2 maybe this should be on the agenda? This HST exchange is building character in more ways than one. Like Patience,.. Did I say patience?

[Louise T.]

Hmmm. Those HSTs have made it around the world to Austrailia, and here I am in your backyard, Canada, and all I get in my mailbox these days is junk mail or requests for donations to good causes. Makes you wonder about our postal system. We have a federal elelction coming on May 2 maybe this should be on the agenda? This HST exchange is building character in more ways than one. Like Patience,.. Did I say patience?

Lord grant me patience - But Hurry

Rosemary

[Connie W.]

Hi, I'm Connie from Indianapolis, Indiana. I grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia & moved to Indy when I was nineteen. Married to Dave for almost 44 years. We have two sons, 41 & 37. There have been no weddings and no grandchildren. My mother was a quilter but I didn't know that until after I was married & she finally had room for the quilting frames! I didn't learn to quilt until after my dad passed away in 2000. He had been helping mom cut fabric (with scissors!) so when I needed to take over that task, I figured I had better take a class to learn how to use a rotary cutter as I was not going to do it with scissors. I had been watching Simply Quilts for quite a while so knew something about the process. Took a quilting class and made my first quilt in 2001. My mom quilted that one and one more for me before she became unable to quilt any longer. I didn't finish another quilt for several years while careing for my mom and then building a new house, but never lost the desire. I eventually was able to resume making quilts, joined the local guild, but the most inspiration I now get is from my quilting bee. I have taken several classes at some of the LQSs in the area and at Paducah and other shows. I have machine quilted a couple of small projects (straight lines only) and am in the process of making my first purse/tote bag. I did not sew, except for some mending, until I started quilting. I used to shop for fabric for my mom and now for me...lots more for me. If fact, I think that building my stash is what I do best! (Also posted on SOTTTs)

[Deborah W.]

Hmmm. Those HSTs have made it around the world to Austrailia, and here I am in your backyard, Canada, and all I get in my mailbox these days is junk mail or requests for donations to good causes. Makes you wonder about our postal system. We have a federal elelction coming on May 2 maybe this should be on the agenda? This HST exchange is building character in more ways than one. Like Patience,.. Did I say patience?

No HSTs in my Canadian mailbox either. I am hoping they don't take as long as a package sent to me from New York state (over SIX weeks :roll: ). Oh well, my anticipation continues to build.