Rules help control the fun!

I don't remember this block exchange. At all.

But I figure it was probably the last one in which I participated while I was still active in a quilting bee, because as I pulled block after block from the drawer in which they were stashed, I began to understand why they had languished for over 10 years: there were very few usable blocks.

Most of the blocks I received in exchange for the (well made, correctly-sized) blocks I had assembled were undersized and skimpy. I ended up unstitching most of them, reusing anything I could. Most of the pieces ended up in my Box o' Triangles because they had been cut too small to begin with. Some of the small squares could be reused, but this "exchange" project ended up being 90% my own fabric.

If I hadn't realized it then, I certainly figured it out while getting this project assembled and out of the UFO drawer: I don't enjoy group efforts if the group doesn't meet my standards. All I ask is that the rules be followed! If you can't accomplish a 6.5" square, please don't dilute the efforts of those of us who can!

I'm not a floral kind of gal, but I was pleasantly surprised at the design that formed as the blocks went up. This'll get donated to a former chorus member who distributes lap quilts to shut-ins, through her church ministry.