Hands2Help - a Book Review and the Giveaway!

Hi, all!

I am very happy to report that so far, we have 61 people signed up for the 2013 Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge!!  Woohoo!!!!  And amazingly enough, only one of those is a no-reply blogger - so Sally in St. Paul, please email me directly at salliesue@clearwire.net so I can respond back to you and get your contact info!  Many of those who signed up are new this year - also very exciting!!

And please don't think that it's too late to sign up for the Challenge - we're only at the beginning, and there's still plenty of time to join in and make one (or more) quilts for our wonderful charities before June 2nd!  If you're just now finding out about the Challenge, you can read more about it here.

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Now, in the spirit of the giving hearts that personify the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge, I'd like to share a book review of Jennifer Chiaverini's book,  THE GIVING QUILT.  Here's what her publisher has to say about the book and the author...

Thanksgiving inspires generosity once a year, but what happens to the spirit of giving on the other 364 days? In THE GIVING QUILT, now available in paperback from Plume, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini takes a page from her own life to deliver an emotional and poignant story very close to her heart. As a long-time member and advocate of Project Linus, an organization dedicated to providing handmade quilts and blankets to children in need, Jennifer decided to donate a very unique and special gift—a prime spot in one of her bestselling novels.

At Elm Creek Manor, the circle of quilters is hard at work preparing for “Quiltsgiving.” Held annually the week after Thanksgiving, expert and novice quilters from near and far gather for a special winter session of quilt camp to make pieces for Project Linus. As the week unfolds, the quilters respond to the question, “Why do you give?” in ways as varied as the life experiences that drew them to Elm Creek Manor. Each of the quilters, including a librarian, a teacher, a college student, and a quilt shop clerk, uses her unique talents to teach, inspire, and give back to her fellow campers.

With numerous New York Times bestsellers, Chiaverini is undoubtedly one of the masters of both modern and historical women’s fiction. Year after year, Chiaverini’s stories remain beloved by fans and praised by critics.

Now, to tell you the truth, this is the first of Jennifer Chiaverini's novels that I have ever read.  I'm kind of picky about what I read, and had just never thought these would appeal to me.  But when the publisher contacted me and asked me to do a book review, I decided it was time to give her a try.  And boy was I surprised!  

I literally couldn't put this book down.  One-quarter of the way into the book, I wanted to build my own quilt retreat center.  Halfway through it, I wanted to sponsor a Quiltsgiving retreat at my own church!  And I think the idea of a Giving Journal is excellent and plan to start one of my own.  

This book will find a place in your heart and spur you on to greater charity efforts.  It is well written and the characters are well-drawn.  And although I haven't tried it yet, I think the quilt on the cover is well enough described in the book to be able to recreate it!  

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And now (drumroll please!) for the sign-up giveaway.  Plume Publishing has given me:

 two copies of the book and...

...seven sweet little Elm Hill Quilts pins to share! 

I've tallied up all the entries from the people who signed up to participate in the challenge so far, and here are the winners:

Kathy Decker and Carol Steely win copies of the book!

Carol Egan, Jennie Tray, Carolyn Jones, Kathy Schwabeland, JeanAnn Younghanz, Miki Willa and Julie Kennedy 

each win one of the pins!!

I'll be contacting each of you by email soon!

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Many thanks to all of you who have signed up to participate, and those who have helped promote the challenge!  

Remember, there's still time to join in the fun - the finished quilts are due by June 2nd!  

And we've got lots of interesting stuff coming up in this "time-slot" as in future weeks we have guest bloggers sharing lots of interesting things with us.  So be sure to check in each Sunday evening to see what's up with H2H!

Next week, though, everyone is invited to share - come back prepared to link up your favorite tutorial, tip, or "while quilting" snack!  The tutorial doesn't have to be your own - you can link up to someone else's great tutorial on-line, but if you have a blog, do it through your blog so we can get to know you better!  Those of you without blogs can link up directly to the tutorial or recipe site, just put your name in the description line so we know where it came from!

The week after that (April 14th) I'll be giving you the skinny on our fabulous sponsors!!  We've got some great giveaway items lined up for those who contribute a quilt, and I'm still looking for sponsors!

LET THE QUILTING BEGIN!!

Hugs!

Sarah