One saturday in March 2000 (at the beginning of my quilting adventure) Tom had to go to Washington DC for the day so I was on the internet just surfing around. I did a search on QUILTING. My quilting life would be forever changed. I found a mystery quilt that used the squishies and siggies that people had from their Y2K swaps. Well I had no idea what these squishies were but I had LOTS of fabric (of various contents) in the attic. I climbed that ladder with scissors in hand and set out to cut a bunch of stripes from the various fabrics. When Tom returned home and I told him what I was up to he was pretty excited, it was going to be a FREE Quilt. Little did he know what this Free quilt would lead to.
While working on this quilt I wondered what this Y2K swapping of squishies and siggy squares was all about. I went to the computer to find out. Each quilter took 25 fabrics and cut them into 80 – 2 1/2″ (or 3″) squares. You made a package that included one of each of the 25 – 2 1/2″ squares (which when put in an envelop is squishie) and a signature square. You made 80 of these. When you were done swapping you should have 2,000 different 2 1/2″ squares and 80 signature blocks – thus the Y2K swap. There were different sites that people could put a listing on for those that wanted to swap. So, I purchased 25 different 100% cotton fabric and made up my squishies and started to arrange swaps with other online quilters. When the squishies started to arrive it was so exciting. I spent hours sorting the fabrics into light, mediums and darks. I also realized that my knowledge in values what not the greatest and the you get what you pay for. The FREE quilt was not that great. I ended up putting it away and started working on my Y2K Frenzy quilt (which is also on my UFO list).
You are invited – so you will be able to take your own pictures.
Oh Mary Anne, you are really working your way thru those UFO’s. I am so proud of you. Now 2000 2 1/2″ sqs, that’s another story, but knowing you, it will be just great. Enjoy memory lane!
Oh yeah…. you are going to have to take lot’s of pictures at this QQQ Celebration.
Renee