First, here’s the latest donation quilt, made to use up 5″ squares in floral fabrics. I just added the strips as “leaders and enders” while working on other projects, and here it is.
Quilt Stats
Name: Floral Crumbs
Design: Variation of the “crumbs” pattern from The Quilt Police
Finished size: 60″ x 73″
Made by: me
Quilted by: Linda Nichols
Sending Quilts–solved!
I occasionally enter quilt shows where I’m not able to physically deliver and/or retrieve my quilt, and this has presented a problem.
Last year I took the packed quilts to UPS, FedEx, and USPS asking to purchase a pre-paid return label to include with them. The first two flatly refused. The lady at USPS finally explained that I could purchase stamps and include them with my own return label inside the package.
This year I researched online and figured out that I could purchase a prepaid return label by going through a third party, such as GoShippo.com. The GoShippo service is intended for businesses needing to offer pre-paid return for merchandise, but I was able to set up an account as a non-business individual.
So this year, I packed my quilts, measured and weighed the box, and entered the information at the GoShippo site. I was immediately given prices for UPS, FedEx, and USPS, including the various levels of service for each and transit time for each. Much easier than running around to all the various shippers and being turned down!
Here are the quilts I’ve entered in the Asheville show. I’ll be attending but won’t be able to pick them up, so they’ll use that return label 😀
Improv 2022, 42″ x 57″
Circular Reasoning, 56″ x 68″
How do you manage shipping to shows when you need a paid return label?
Zippy Quilts 
Oh gosh! Your entries are beautiful! Love them both. Are you entering them for competition? Or just to show? Will you receive judges’ comments? About pre-paid labels… is that a requirement for the Asheville show – that a pre-paid label is included with the quilts? I’ve never encountered that, but then the only show I enter is QuiltCon. Or, do you send a pre-paid label because it’s less expensive than incurring the charge from the Asheville show? In the case of QuiltCon, we are charged for return shipping, but I don’t know if they’d accept a pre-paid label, which could potentially be less expensive. You’ve raised some interesting thoughts about shipping to/from a quilt show.
These are great examples of your work, Zip. When is the Asheville show?
The Asheville show is next weekend! Will I see you there?
Wow – short deadline for your entries! I have masterclasses lined up to teach this weekend…so, no. Darn! Let us know how you fared in the contest(s).
Awesome donation quilt and those two pieces you entered in the show are wow! Your Improv 2022 will inspire people attending the show – it is amazing!
Thank you.
Thank you.
You make it sound so easy to construct that floating squares quilt, but I am not convinced!
Your quilt entries for the Asheville Show are going to make a splash.
One of the local South AFrican courier companies does pick-ups on a COD basis. I jsut had to send an email with the details. (Our national postal service is now defunct and the courier companies have efficiently taken over transportation of parcels)
I remember you saying that your postal service was gone, and that boggles my mind. I’m glad the private companies have taken up the slack. And glad you have a way to send quilts and get them back, too!
Like Linda (above), I pretty much only enter Road to California, which is close by. But I know they do have a shipping service for returning quilts to the entrants. And this year, they will ship them to the next AQS show, too.
I love your quilts and know that others will too. Every time I think I’ve seen them all, you have another to inspire us all. Beautiful work!
Thank you, Elizabeth!
Well, I’m behind! Still, I want to say I love Circular Reasoning!
Thanks, Claire. I get way behind on reading blogs, too!