Hands2Help - Guest Blogger Jamie & Her "Have Faith" Quilt

Hi, all!

Can I tell you how excited I am to see all the H2H quilts showing up in blogs and on Instagram?  You all are doing amazing work, and are going to touch so many lives while doing it.  Keep it up!

Today I'm so very pleased to introduce our first guest blogger of this year's Challenge.  Jamie Elfert, who blogs at L'Fair Quilts, also designs quilt patterns for Black Cat Creations.  She's been a great supporter of the Hands2Help Challenge in the past, and I'm really excited that she is sharing a very special design with us today.  I think you'll love this quit as much as I do - so let's take a look!

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Thank you so much, Sarah, for letting me share this special pattern.  I have been a big fan of your Hands 2 Help challenge from the beginning.

Looking back, it is hard to believe so much happened in 2017 to our guild.  We had sickness (including my own husband's cancer), the passing of loved ones and family members impacted by the Texas Floods.  Needless to say it was rough.  

Our Block of the Month program was the perfect time to introduce my "Have Faith" block.  We needed something to work on, that would remind us of a higher power; give us strength; and continue to HAVE FAITH.  So far, I have made a quilt to raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness, the Texas Floods, a previous employee embarking on retirement and Sarah's Hands 2 Help (my 8th year participating).

In addition, our guild came together and made an additional five "Have Faith" quilts for the Texas Floods.  This was so important to us, as before the floods, we had received several quilts from Katy, Texas to meet our 2017 goal for St. Jude Children's Hospital / Ronald McDonald House.

My 2018 Hands to Help Finish ...

So let's get started .... below is the 12" finished block (12 1/2" unfinished).

Fabric Requirements:

Bright colorful medium to dark focus fabrics and a light background:

Large cross (Color 1):

(2) 2 ½” X 4 ½” rectangle

(1) 4 ½” X 8 ½” rectangle

Small Cross (Color 2): 

(2) 2 ½” squares

(1) 2 ½” X 6 ½” rectangle

Background:

(7) 2 ½” squares

(2) 4 ½” X 6 ½” rectangle

Making the Units for Blocks:

Unit A, Make 2:  Join (1) 2 ½” background square to each end of (1) 2 ½” X 4 ½” rectangle (color 1), repeat.  Press toward the background fabric.

Unit B, Make 1:  Join (1) 2 ½” background square to (1) 2 ½” square (color 2), press toward background.

Unit C, Make 1:  Join (1) 2 ½” background square to each end of (1) 2 ½” square (color 2), press toward background.

Join one Unit A to the left of 4 ½” X 8 ½” rectangle (color 1), press toward color 1.  Then join this unit to the 4 ½” X 6 ½” background rectangle, press toward the background.

 Join the second Unit A to the top of Unit B as shown below, press toward background.

Join Unit C to  the right of 2 ½” X 6 ½” (color 2) rectangle pressing toward color 2, then join to 4 ½” X 6 ½” background rectangle, pressing toward the background rectangle.

Join to the completed units to make the 12 ½” Block (12” finished).  Wait to press after these units are sewn together.

The picture below is the pressing directions of all of the seams -- notice the area circled, this is where I spin the seams.  All of the seams will fit nicely if you use this as a guide.

Assemble the top - Below is the layout of the quilt in two different colorways.  The first, with a light background is broken apart to easily see the layout of the blocks.  The second quilt is a little more daring, using scrappy colorful backgrounds.

Finished size - 60" X 72"

Happy Quilting, Jamie

L' Fair Quilts

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Thank you, Jamie!  What a great quilt, and a wonderful story behind the block!  You can see another version of this quilt if you visit Jamie's blog today, so be sure to click here and check it out.

And if my calculations are correct, you can get the pieces for each of the two crosses of this block from one 10" square for each, and I've been cutting those out of my scraps for the past three months.  And I've got a lot of leftover fat quarters for backgrounds.  I may have just found my vacation quilt project!

Next week, come back for another great guest blogger, and a chance to check in and show off what you've been working on for H2H.  This isn't required, and you certainly don't have to be finished yet, but it is a chance to inspire others and cheer each other on - so I hope you'll join in!

Thanks for inspiring me, too!  

Hugs!

Sarah