A GenQ Valentine Swap

We love sending—and receiving—Valentines! In fact, this is our fall-back for those years when we can’t seem to get the Christmas cards out the door. It’s still winter, after all, and who wouldn’t welcome a little cheerful postal love?

And though these first six weeks of the year seem to fly by in a flurry of gym visits and tax prep and reorganizing every room in the house, we thought it might be fun to stir up the GenQ readership with a little Valentine swap.

So here’s what we’re thinking…

• Open to any GenQ reader in the U.S. and Canada. The point is to make a quilty/stitch Valentine to swap with a fellow reader.
• Sign-ups due by Thursday, Jan. 12.  To sign up, e-mail Melissa directly at melissa@generationqmagazine.com. Don’t reply to this post. Include full name, e-mail and postal details in your sign-up email or you cannot be included in the swap. (You think I’ve got time for backtracking? I haven’t cleaned up the dog poop since beore Christmas!) These details will be shared privately with your swap-ee. If you’re not willing to have these details shared, please don’t sign up. (NOTE: Our Cabana Boy Scott has already signed up. He needs someone to play with.)
•  The GenQ staff will match names. If we end up with an uneven number, one of us will swap with one of you.
•  Matches will be made and shared by Saturday, Jan. 14.
•  Your Valentines must be made and shipped to your swap partner no later than Feb. 7.
• Strictly optional: Take a pic of your swap Valentine before you seal the envelope, and post it in our Flickr Stitchy Love Valentine group. (And if you sew any other Valentiney projects, share those too. We’re all about digging your work!)
• Your Valentine can include any technique (hand or machine stitching; beading; hand or machine embroidery; hand, machine or fused appliqué; multi-media), but it must include fabric. Don’t overthink this….just have some fun.
• There’s not really any size restriction, but because you’re paying to mail this baby, maybe make it no bigger than 8 x 10. Flat or squishy or stuffed? Well, sweet pea, that’s up to you.

And now for a pesky disclaimer: GenQ cannot accept responsibility if someone welshes on their promise to swap a Valentine. We are not the managers of the q-niverse, regrettably. (Otherwise we’d seriously do something about how many months we all have to listen to the presidential campaign backbiting and drivel.)

Those dates to remember….Jan. 12 for sign-up to be included in the swap, and Feb. 7 for shipping your completed Valentine to your swap partner. Now, who’s ready for some stitchy love? 

NEEDLED: Where are all the cool needle books?

Well, we’ve learned a lesson here at GenQ: Don’t do a challenge or contest during December. Duh! We were supposed to announce our Needle Book Challenge winners tomorrow. What’s that old saw? “Man plans, God laughs??”

Seriously, we know there are more cool needle books out there. We have a few submissions, but we’re keeping the Needle Book Challenge inspired by Adrienne Smitke and Cassie Barden of Everyday Handmade  (Martingale 2011) open one more week! There’s still time for you to win a copy of their fun book. Send pics of those original needle book designs to megan@generationqmagazine.com Quick! The new deadline is Jan 13.