Batik with 1/2 border for December

For the Facebook Quilt Block Swap in December (12/2010) we are doing two things:

FIRST a return to the more free-form block pattern choices of the first two swaps
SECOND limiting the fabric-type quite strictly for the first time ever.

You can make any 6" finished/6.5" unfinished block of your choosing.  Any 4-patch, any 9-patch, any block you like.  After you have completed the blocks, please add a 1.5" finished/2" unfinished border to two adjacent sides. (making it a 8" unfinished/7.5"  finished block, in the end).  In other words, once you have completed your blocks of any pattern you choose, so long as they are 6.5"/6" finished, add a 2" x 6.5" strip to one side, press & then add a 2" x 8" strip to an adjacent side.  & that's it, as far as block pattern goes.

The fabric is a different matter.  You must use only batiks or hand dyed fabrics.  No exceptions to this requirement.  If you send blocks with some batiks & some not-batiks (fabrics printed to look like batiks do not count as batiks), you will get your own blocks back.  More than half batiks/hand dyes with less-than-half other fabrics & you will still get them all back.  This is an all or nothing requirement for this swap, but I am hoping the flexibility with block choice will make up for it (& maybe let everyone use up scraps from a previous batik project).

All swap blocks are always due the last Saturday of an even numbered month, in this case December 25th.  Blocks will be swapped Sunday the 26th & brought to the post office on Monday, December 27th.  I do realize this is Christmas day & there is in fact no regular mail delivery on that Saturday.  Last year there were a few people who thought the deadline should be extended when the last Saturday was 12/26; the deadline was not moved & I do not know if they choose to sit the swap out or not, but we ended up with plenty to swap from.  In this case there are six months to prepare, which I feel is more than enough time for anyone to get their blocks in the mail to be here before December 25th.  As for making the deadline earlier to get blocks swapped & back out before Christmas, I expect to be in Honolulu during PacifiChem & then on until the 24th, so we would be looking at moving the deadline up by almost a month, which would just be silly.  Don't worry about your blocks going AWOL while we are gone, we have a caretaker who deals with everything (livestock, mail, water pumps, etc.) while we are away. 

In addition to your blocks you should include a return envelope of the same size with the same postage & your address already on it. If you are swapping from outside the US, please include the addressed envelope & a fat quarter to off-set the cost of your return postage (US swappers could do this, too, I suppose, but a fat quarter is more costly than the postage would be).

//I am having trouble posting this, I think because of the pictures, so this block swap direction is going up without pictures.  I am hoping because the block itself can be anything so long as it is 6.5" unfinished/6" finished that lack of photo-samples will not be a problem.  As for the border I hope this sketch helps; these are the FINISHED dimensions.