Hands2Help - Welcome Laura, our next guest blogger!!

Hello, all!

Can you believe we're just a few short weeks from the end of this year's Hands2Help Challenge?  Time sure does fly when you're having fun!  Today we're welcoming guest blogger Laura, who blogs over at Scraps of Life - and she's got a great and very simple quilt pattern for us just in case you haven't started your quilt yet - or decide you want to make "just one more"!  Be sure and stick around to the end of the post, too, where there'll be a linky party so you can show off your progress.  See you on the flip side!

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Hello Beautiful Givers!!!  

My name is Laura VanVleet and I can be found online at 

Scraps of Life .  

I'm the short one :)

I am super excited to be a guest blogger for this year’s Hands2Help challenge.  Thank you Sarah for organizing this fabulous, charitable challenge!

I have been a quilter for over 30 years.  Just when I think I’ve done it all, a new pattern or fabric line comes into my radar and I’m off starting another new project!  I have been fortunate enough to participate in the Believe Circle at do. good stitches on flickr since 2014.  As a group, we donate 12 quilts a year to My Very Own Blanket, an organization that gives a handmade quilt to children in foster care.

I am also a Pinterest addict.  Currently I have over 350 pins pinned for quilt ideas.  Seriously!  While I know I am NEVER going to make all of these quilts, I cannot help myself from pinning those beautiful quilts created by some amazing quilt artists! 

I often scroll through the pictures and wish 

I could pet every single one of them! 

For the 2017 Hands2Help challenge I decided to pick a picture from my Pinterest board to create a very special quilt for a child undergoing chemo.   Since I really like putting together quick, easy quilts with not a lot of matching seams and such, I chose this pin:

I would love to share with you how I created this quilt, as it is super simple and super easy!

Once I decided on a size for the blocks (15”),  I popped open a brightly colored charm pack, Snap Pop by Moda, for the center squares.  

I then cut 4.5” strips out of different black and white prints. 

I randomly chose 4 of the charm squares and sewn them together.  

After ironing, I trimmed this center piece to 8.5”.

I added the black and white strips to the center square like you would a log cabin block, squaring the block up as I went. 

So…I forgot to take a pic of the finished block!  

I was so excited to put it on my frame to quilt!

{translation: OMG - I rock!}

I chose to quilt in a freehand sort of stippling pattern which really looks nice on the quilt.

The quilt finishes at about 48” square, perfect for an infant or toddler. 

So, I’m hoping this post will inspire you to making one for the Hands2Help project.  As a bonus, I have a little giveaway on my blog HERE.

I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful quilts that will be donated this spring! 

Peace to all,

Laura

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Thanks to you, Laura, for sharing this super pattern, and for your fun giveaway!  I know I've got a few charm packs hanging around that would be perfect for this design.  I am inspired!!

And now it's time for our last "progress" link-up - you can show off your progress on your Hands2Help quilt projects, or just cheer on the folks who do link up!  If you're a "deadline" quilter, this might be a good time to do your fabric pull and show it off, then you can get to work and have it finished in time for the final link-up the week of May 21-28!  Remember, there are lots of giveaways associated with that link-up - you won't want to miss it!!

We have a record number of quilters signed up this year - 174! - and I can't wait to see all the quilts that are given away!

Hugs!

Sarah