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While attending the Baltimore Heritage Quilt Guild Quilt Expo 2017 see post, something unexpected I found at the show involved an international organization called Quilt Around the World. This an online quilting community and publisher, and they had a booth at the show staffed by a representative from Germany who explained (in extremely fast English!) one of their projects, the International Block Swap, which is just opening its 4th year. The goal is to provide a block swap that quilters from all over the world can participate in. Here’s how it works:

The theme for this swap is Nature. Quilters are challenged to make nine identical blocks capturing something about their personal connection with nature. The blocks must be 6” X 18” (finished) (6 ½” X 18 ½” raw).  (This somewhat odd size actually makes it easier to design with standard 6” x 6” blocks when you begin building your quilt.)  The color green must be present, and you can use any technique, block pattern, applique, or design; embellishments must be flat, in order to survive international shipping and handling. When you send your blocks, enclose 9 picture postcards of your town or region. These will accompany your blocks on their trip across the globe! Mail your nine blocks and postcards to the Quilt Around the World headquarters in Munich, Germany. You will receive a package of nine different blocks in return, made by quilters in far-flung lands.

I was especially entertained by their many challenges, and the quilts illustrating how the quilters interpreted them over the years. One of the challenges required the quilters to go to Page 13 in any magazine, and choose something from that page to inspire a quilt. One of these is pictured, the supposed famous last words of Oscar Wilde by Joan Muth Levin. According to sources, as he lay dying, he said, “The wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. Either it goes or I do.”

The guild’s 2017 challenge was a Fat Quarter challenge. Members received six fat quarters, and had to use at least 4 of them, plus 2 other fabrics if they chose, to make a quilt 30” X 30”. The floral fabric had to be featured in some way. I loved the image created by Carol Rubin, in which she used both the right and the wrong sides of the red fabric to create her red, pink, and white checkerboard tablecloth; the floral was used to make a bouquet for the table.