Interview with Hannah of Spans' Stitchin'

Let's learn a bit about Hannah, host of the recent Granny Square swap. She's quite a crafty lady with a blog, a Folksy store and a flickr for you to visit and peruse!

SwapDex: Tell us a bit about you.

Hannah: I’m 26, soon to be 27 (but a little sensitive about that ;)) I live in Derbyshire in England. I am married have been for 3 years, but have been with my hubby for 10. I do not work at the moment, I was a librarian but had to leave about 3 years ago due to severe dizzy attacks. I don’t have any children but I have a cat called Gigi and a Bearded Dragon called Bruce.

I have tried a lot of crafts but at the moment I am addicted to crochet, embroidery, sewing and I have just learnt to knit.

SD: How long have you been swapping?

H: Because of the dizziness I don’t get to meet many people and when the dizziness started a few years ago I isolated myself from the world, not really speaking to or seeing anyone. However, when I started blogging I found that there are so many lovely people out there that I started to feel less isolated and swapping seemed such a great way of connecting with the people I had met online. It has done that and more. Because of the crafting, swapping and blogging I am feeling better in myself than I have in years.

My first swap was just before last Christmas when I joined swapbot to do the 3rd annual ornament swap, where you swapped 10 ornaments with 10 people. A big one to start with but I really enjoyed it. I was ill at the time and it was so nice to receive so many lovely ornaments in the post and I have even kept in touch with one person.

SD: What is your range of swapping?

H: Just recently I have just been swapping via blogs as there have been a lot that I wanted to join. I don’t have to know them, in fact I love joining and swapping with people I don’t know yet as I think it is a great way to meet people.

SD: Do you swap with any organized groups like yahoo groups, flickr, groups on swap-bot, other message boards, etc? Why or why not?

H: I have done a swap on the forum crafteroo which was a secret santa, it was a lot of fun. I was swapping on swap-bot but as there have been so many swaps via blogs that I have wanted to do I haven’t been able to commit to any on there for a little while now.

SD: What's your favorite swap you've ever been in or hosted?

H: I would probably have to say the secret Santa on crafteroo. I opened mine on Christmas day so I had an extra Christmas present, it was a lot of fun guessing who had sent what too.

SD: What do you do to make your packages special?

H: I always think it’s nice to put in something a little extra, usually buttons or something - every one loves buttons, right? ;)

SD: What do you think is the most challenging part of hosting a swap? Any advice for someone who is thinking about hosting a swap?

H: This is the first swap I am hosting so I am just learning myself, I would just say let as many people as you can know, if you are part of any forums or anything like that J

SD: Any exciting plans for the near future? Swaps, projects, new products?

H: There is so much going on at the mo, I am loving being part of the online crafting community. I have made a crocheted doughnut for charity that I am selling on folksy, I have also just joined a summer swap on wollywotnots blog.

I am also about to become an auntie, which I am very excited about so I am currently crocheting booties, hats and blankets like mad.

SD: Awesome, and congrats on the Aunt-to-be status! Thanks for chatting with us and best of swapping to you, Hannah.

Doll Quilt Swap 7

Doll Quilt Swap 7

Sign-up date: when 200-participant limit is reached OR July 18, 2009
Swap date: September 7 (international) or 15 (within the same country), 2009

The next round of this extremely popular swap is accepting sign-ups. You'll make a mini quilt for your partner and get one back.

Yarn & Chocolate Swap

Yarn & Chocolate Swap

Sign-up date: July 17, 2009
Swap date: July 31, 2009

If you're a knitter/crocheter and a sweet tooth, this one is for you! You'll send your partner two skeins of good quality yarn and a chocolate bar. Tasty!

Favorite Things Swap

Favorite Things Swap

Sign-up date: July 19, 2009
Swap date: August 7, 2009

Everyone's favorite type of swap! Choose at least three of your favorite things in the world and send them to your partner to enjoy.

Stitcher's Angel 2009

Stitcher's Angel 2009

Sign-up date: August 8, 2009
Swap date: ?

This year, the theme for Stitcher's Angel is Roses. You must have a blog and be willing to ship internationally to participate in the swap. You will create at least three handmade surprises for your partner. And for everyone, even those not in the swap, there will be fantastic free patterns available each week starting August 17!

Yarn Swap

Yarn Swap

Sign-up date: July 20 (?), 2009
Swap date: July 31, 2009

The hostess is thinking participants will swap two or three skeins of yarn and maybe some chocolate. Still time to put in your input if you have a good idea, though.

Signature Block Swap

Signature Block Swap

Sign-up date: August 31, 2009
Swap date: November 31, 2009

Using civil war reproductions and the instructions provided, create quilt blocks with your signature in the center for each participant. Then you can make a quilt to remember all the new friends you made. :)

Interview with Jessica of Kids Napping? I'm Scrapping!

Everyone say hello to Jessica. Her blog, Kids Napping? I'm Scrapping!, has the cutest gosh darn name I've ever heard! She's been swapping for a while now and has hosted too. She has included several links in her answers so be sure and click around for even more fun and pictures! You can take a peak at her Etsy shop and Flickr as well.

SwapDex: Tell us a bit about you.

Jessica: My name is Jessica. I'm 26 years old. I've started blogging a little over a year ago, and I love it. I live in Hesperia, California in the high desert- it's not the prettiest place with lots of Joshua trees and plenty of dirt, but it is wonderfully quiet, and the summer evenings are the best. I have been married for 6 years to my husband Jesse. I have 2 children, and one on the way. I have been a stay-at-home-mom for 6 years. Before I was stay-at-home-momming ;), I intended on becoming a therapist. I have a BA in Psychology and minor in English, and hope to further my studies a little later in the future. I love paper crafts. I started scrapbooking about 8 or so years ago. I dabble in altered art here and there. I have tried other types of crafting, as well, but I enjoy paper crafting best.

SD: How long have you been swapping? How did you first learn about swapping, and what made you decide to start? Do you remember your first one?

J: I have been swapping online for a little over a year. I first started swapping at a local scrapbook store. I remember the owner hosting all sorts of swaps: color swaps, tag swaps, brad swaps, scrapbook paper swaps, title topper swaps, ribbon swaps, fiber swaps, etc. I loved the idea of increasing my art stash by swapping my surplus items for items that I didn't have enough of. I believe the first swap I participated in was a library pocket tag swap. They were really darling envelopes. After the owner closed down, I was disappointed because I couldn't swap anymore. Blogging introduced me to online swapping, and I'm addicted!

SD: What is your range of swapping? Do you stick to swaps hosted by people you know or are you likely to swap with anyone, anytime?

J: I like to swap with themes that interest me. If the theme interests me, it doesn't matter who's hosting. If the host of a new swap is a blog I frequent, chances are that I will enjoy her swap theme. If I'm visiting her blog, it's because I already share similar interests. I love to visit Swapdex, and see what new swaps are out there. I love swaps with vintage themes. I also enjoy swaps that involve lots of swappers' artistic abilities (like tag swaps) because I get to see varied forms of creativity.

SD: Do you swap with any organized groups like yahoo groups, flickr, groups on swap-bot, other message boards, etc? Why or why not?

J: I haven't really swapped with organized groups because I have plenty going on in the blog world.

SD: What's your favorite swap you've ever been in or hosted?

J: My favorite swap was hosted by Heather at Pretty Petals. It was called the Junque in my Trunk Swap. I thought the theme was incredibly clever. We were to fill a a pencil-sized box with all sorts of vintage or artsy goodness (ones that our swap partner would like, of course) and then decorate the box as pretty as possible. This was the first online swap I had ever participated in, and I enjoyed searching for my partner's likes, and I found this adorable little trunk to fill with her likes. I wrote all about it on my blog way back when. You are welcome to look here.

SD: What do you do to make your packages special?

J: I always try to include handmade items in my packages. I prefer handmade over store bought, and I think it adds something personal and unique to the package. I also like to wrap the items that I'm sending or put them in a pretty box of some sort because, after all, the packaging is the first thing that my partner is going to see, and I think it's important to pay attention to the little details.

SD: Do you have a good story about hosting or participating in a swap?

J: I mentioned the Junque in my Trunk swap earlier. For that swap, my partner had sent out my package, and due to a mix-up at the post office, I didn't receive the package, and it wasn't returned to her in the mail. It wasn't her fault at all that I didn't get my package, it was a post office mistake. The box was missing for weeks. She even sent me pictures of what she had sent to me only intensifying my desire for the pretty package. Well, several months past, and my partner contacted me to tell me that she had finally received the package, but had moved and overlooked resending because she obviously had other things that she was dealing with in her life, but that she was going to be sending the package to me. Months later, I received one of the best packages I have ever received. I loved all that she sent me. I think it goes to show that good things come to those who wait. And! That people should really try to be patient when swapping because people do have other things going on, and it's okay!! I haven't had an unpleasant experience swapping. Swapping is supposed to be pleasant.

SD: What do you think is the most challenging part of hosting a swap? Any advice for someone who is thinking about hosting a swap?

J: I think it's important to be organized when hosting. Following up with the participants is very important, but challenging. Sometimes people don't respond as quickly as you would like them to because they're busy. I think that if something goes wrong with swap partners or what have you, you can't help but feel responsible for the issue even though you can't control what other people do. I've seen other hostesses threaten flaky participants by posting a "black list" or something on their blog. Again, I think swapping is supposed to be pleasant and if it becomes a burden, there is really no point to swapping. People who swap run the risk of encountering a flaky swapper, but that's life. You can't control people. I guess my advice is have fun. Don't let a few flakes spoil the fun for you or anybody else.

SD: Any exciting plans for the near future? Swaps, projects, new products?

J: I just recently hosted a tag swap: Red, White, and Blue Tag swap. I love this color scheme,and I hope to have a lovely display of tags for 4th of July this year.

SD: Awesome stories, Jessica. Thanks for participating and sharing with us! Let's all go visit her at her blog and leave a comment while you're there!

Christmas in July Swap

Christmas in July Swap

Sign-up date: July 10, 2009
Swap date: July 25, 2009

Go on a (no more then $20) shopping spree and spoil your partner early this year! Be sure and wrap it all up so it's fun to receive and open.

I-Spy a Swap

I-Spy a Swap

Sign-up date: first 18 people to sign up
Swap date: August 1, 2009

You will send in 200 fabric squares (20 from each of ten novelty fabrics) and get back an assortment of 200, perfect for making I-Spy quilts! What is an I-Spy quilt? Check here for info.