Some cards received, Old quilts & I've got to be nuts

Got this cards the other day from Annette in the UK. It was for the Arts in the Mail "J is for..." swap. She crocheted the jumper from recycled M&S carrier bags (I assume that would be like out plastic grocery bags) Tooooo cute!

This one is part of the Arts in the Mail group 34 swap. It is from Marie. It's hard to see but the stitching is lovely.

Here is a quilt I made in 1996. It's called "My Backyard" because of all the different color greens used, much like my own backyard. Although the sun is shining on the upper right hand side of the photo, that side is in fact lighter than the lower left. There are over 20 shades of green and 20 shades of white/offwhite used. The hand quilting doesn't show very well, but it was quilted with green thread. There are lots of vines all over (again just like the mess of weeds in my yard) and a picked fence around the border. I entered it in the 1997 Broward Quilt Expo and received a 3rd place ribbon. My friends and family all thought I got beat (you would not believe the quilt that took 2nd). I had so much fun standing by the quilt as it hung in the show. There were several old ladies (well, older than me) commenting on the quilt, not knowing I was the maker. They just could not figure out why it wasn't centered. They thought it was a big mistake. This quilt was made for my bed. When we got a new mattress it no longer fit. It is now used as a second quilt on those cold nights (about twice a year here in South Florida)

In 2001 I signed up for a swap with some gals from an Alex Anderson offshoot website. It was called a squishy swap. You send everyone on the list a fat eighth of your focus fabric. They add some of their own fabric and make you a block of their own design. The fabric I used was Christmas fabric. Some of the blocks were the wrong size, and some blocks were not so great, but I made them work. I got a great Christmas quilt that I really love. It gets put on the bed just after Thanksgiving. I'll take a picture then and post a picture.

Here's the nuts part. I found the very same kind of swap on HGTV and I've signed up. This one is specifically Christmas. I will have until December 31 to get the blocks finished. Yes, I have got to be nuts, but I am really in desperate need of some inspiration.

Here is a sample of the fabric I will be sending out. Oh, I sure hope no one decides to use any blue with it.