International Siggy Swap

It is so much fun to get a block in the mail from someone who lives in a country far away. It reminds me of exchanging QSL cards as a radio operator. This , however, is a block that was made with a lot of love and time, and it is beautiful. I joined the International Siggy Swap, which is run by Annelies . She is a lovely woman from Holland, and she was gracious enough to take me into the group. To get into the group, I had to send her a block that was made from the pattern of block D13 from the Dear Jane Quilt. In the center, most people use a stamp that says something about them, but even though I ordered my stamp from Inkspirations, I hadn't gotten it yet, so I decided to machine embroider a daffodil for the center of her block. Annelies also sent me one, and it was exciting to get it. It had three monkeys on it, and it was so cute! Well, when she got mine in a couple of days, she put me on the International Siggy List...There were so many people on the list, and soon , I was getting contacted and told that siggies were on the way. I have twenty siggy blocks so far, and that is a good beginning. I will definitelymake a quilt out of all the blocks. Most of the people send blocks with a hand written letter telling about themselves. It is wonderful to read the letters and to get to know the people, and I have stayed in contact with some of them, and formed some wonderful friendships. What a nice way to make friends! The blocks are beautiful, and I love looking at the fabric that the person chose, the stamp that is always so colorful and lovely, and most of all love reading the letters. I just recently got my stamps from Inkspirations, and there are actually two stamps that I have to use. One is a stamp that shows the country of Ireland and has a shamrock that shows where Dunfanaghy is on the map. Isn't that cute? The second stamp gets stamped over the first one, and it has a harp( which is on all of our coins), Dunfanaghy, Ireland written on it, and my signature. It really turned out nicely. I had to practice how to use them and get them aligned just right, but now I am a whiz at it.
I love being part of the International Siggy Swap!