Surfin' Sunday - H2H Challenge Time .... And A Giveaway!!

“What does love look like? 

It has the hands to help others. 

It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. 

It has eyes to see misery and want. 

It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. 

That is what love looks like.”

Hi, all!

I'm so glad you are here today!  I hope you will be joining us in the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  If this is your first time to read about it, you might want to check out last Sunday's blogpost for a little bit of info about how this challenge came about.  But here's the short version.....

Judi over at Green Fairy Quilts collects quilts all year, which her husband Clint takes to Romania and distributes to people in need over there.  After a "light bulb" moment, I got in touch with Judi and asked her if she’d be interested in collaborating with me on a charity challenge, and she agreed!  So we’d love for you to join us in the very first Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge!

(If you don't know Judi, you really ought to check out her blog - she's an amazing long arm quilter, quilt designer, and just all around neat blogger!)

If you haven't already seen this, I'd love for you to take a few minutes and check out this video she's posted about their 2010 quilt donations to Romania.  Here's what Clint (her husband) wrote about their trip last year...


I'd first like to thank everyone who donated to our charity, whether by sending a quilt or by sending us money. I just returned from Romania with my father, and had the opportunity to hand out all 50 quilts donated by all of you, to kids in need, and was also able to use the money donated by all of you to buy large amounts of school supplies and large amounts of food. I can't tell you how blessed I feel after spending time with so many needy people. We visited kids living on the streets and families crammed into tiny homes. The families we visited were living in small homes the size of an average bedroom - 12' x 12'. That includes a tiny bathroom and tiny kitchen. These kids have no yards, no grass to play on, no room to run around in their little humble homes, and very little food to eat - but above all, very little to call their own. They were so grateful to receive a beautiful quilt. Those we gave school supplies to were beaming from ear to ear to have such nice new school supplies to improve their chances of increasing their education. And those we gave food to were so grateful to be able to have some good meals. I hope we can all remember how blessed we are, and how lucky we are to live in our secure homes with food and clothing. Thanks again for all your help, I hope you like the video!

Clint Madsen

And now, here's how you can be a part of this great charity - - - by joining us for the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge!!

Signups begin today, Sunday, April 10th, and end Wednesday, April 13th.  Leave a comment below letting me know you want to participate.  I will contact you by e-mail to get your full name and mailing info when you leave a comment, so be sure to respond promptly!  If you don't hear back from me, chances are good you are a no-reply blogger, so you may need to e-mail me directly or comment again and list your e-mail address in your comment. On April 14th, I will match people up for the fabric swap, and send out an e-mail to everyone with the name, address and e-mail info about their partner by the end of the day on April 15th.  

Between now and then, you can help promote the challenge by putting the button for the challenge on your blog sidebar, or by posting about the challenge on your blog or on Facebook with a link back to this blog.  Either or both of these two things will get you an extra entry in the first giveaway!   If you do this, or if you have already done it in the past week, be sure to leave an extra comment to this blogpost saying you did!

And now the good news - by signing up to participate, you will be entered in a giveaway for an Origins jelly roll compliments of Judi at Green Fairy Quilts!   We'll announce the winner on Friday, April 15th - so someone will have something to celebrate on Tax Day!!  Check in on Friday, and join in on the Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? Friday linky party! 

Here are the guidelines for the challenge - - - -

1.  Each participant agrees to send two yards of mixed fabric in any combination (fat quarters, width-of-fabric cuts, pre-cuts, etc.) to their assigned partner.  (Please send good quality quilting cottons - no questionable designs or flags, please!) Assignments will be made by Friday, April 15th, and we ask that your fabric be in the mail to your partner no later than Friday, April 22nd.  

2.  Each participant is to complete a quilt measuring approximately 60” x 60” using the fabrics they receive and whatever fabrics they choose to add from their stash or purchase new.  (This is a great way to bust your stash, so you’re encouraged to raid your stash as much as possible!)

3.  The quilts should be quilted rather than tied - this makes them sturdier and longer-lasting.

4.  You have until July 31st, 2011 to complete your quilt.  On Sunday, July 31st, there will be a linky party hosted on this blog for you to link up to a post about your quilt.

5.  Completed quilts are to be sent to Judi at Green Fairy Quilts no later than August 5th, 2011.  (Yes, you can send your quilt in earlier, and if you're like me, you probably should send it when it's done - otherwise it may get lost in the stash!)  Judi’s husband, Clint, will take them to Romania to be distributed to older children and adults there.

6.  On August 15th, we will draw a winner for another jelly roll from the people who linked up their quilts.  You will get an extra entry if Judi has received your quilt by August 14th!  Update:  It looks like we will have multiple winners on August 15th, as we already have one more sponsor who is donating a gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.  Stay tuned - hopefully there will be more!

If you’d like to help sponsor this challenge by donating 
items for the giveaway at the end of the challenge, 
please mention it in your comment 
and I will get in touch with you!

There will be some "check-in" dates along the way, when you can link up and show your progress or bemoan the fact that you still haven't started....  so be sure to keep in touch!  Those check-ins will probably be on the last Sunday of each month.


I hope you'll join us - you'll meet new friends, and hopefully have a lot of fun, all while doing something that will really make a difference in other people's lives!  Start gathering up your fabric, and get ready to begin!!

Later!

Sarah