Friday, May 31, 2019

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? What a Wild Ride!!!

Hi, all!

What a week it has been - and now Friday is here and it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  Let's get started!

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Well, first things first.  Last week I teased you about the final numbers for Hands2Help 2019 - and just in case you didn't see them earlier this week, we ended up with 200 quilters making 876 quilts!!!  That is so so so amazing - and it also means that through the Hands2Help Challenge, the blogging community has made and donated over 2300 quilts, supported many small charities, and touched lives all over the world.  You are all SPECTACULAR!

And once Hands2Help was finished, that meant it was time for all the "thank you"s to go out.  Some were mailed directly by the sponsors, but others have been accumulating at my house for the past few months. This is what one corner of my office looked like Monday morning...


All of the tubs on the tabletop, and the three boxes to the right, contained things I needed to mail out.  Tuesday morning Lilli came over and helped me get things started.  We packaged up the first big IKEA bag full of stuff...


...and headed out to the post office.  Wednesday saw two more trips to the post office, as I packed packages in the early morning, went to the post office, then came home and packed up some more and returned.  My local post office is a small town one, with only one teller (is that what you call them?) ...


... and let me tell you, she's a champ!  We laughed and talked as she processed all the packages - not just Wednesday, but also Thursday - five big IKEA bags full of packages all in all.  And now my office looks more like this...


An empty table and tubs...


Lots of empty boxes....


And a nice clean desk!!


And that small bag contains all the packages that remain for me to take to the post office Friday morning!

Now THAT deserves a whoop whoop!!!

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?


What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah



Wednesday, May 29, 2019

I May Have a Scrap Problem... Is Taking A Very Short Break!

Hi, all!

Well, I may have a scrap problem, but this week I've got an even bigger problem - about 100 prizes that need to be packaged up and put in the mail!  I haven't touched my sewing machine OR my scraps in two weeks, and until I get those packages in the mail, I won't be sewing at all!  So I'm taking a very short blog break (basically this post) so I can concentrate on that task, and be back in time for Whoop Whoop Friday!

But of course we need a little bit of eye candy, right?
Isn't this a creative layout of scrap blocks?

So go pet your scraps for me, maybe sew for a minute or to in my honor, and I'll see you Friday!

Hugs!

Sarah

Monday, May 27, 2019

Make-A-List Monday - I Miss My Sewing Machine!!

Hi, all!

Wow, what a week it has been!!  Hands2Help 2019 is a wrap, with a record 199 quilters making a record 875 quilts!!!  And I spent all of last week working on administrative work for H2H, never touching my sewing machine... well, ok, I reached out and touched it once, but no sewing!  So let's take a look at last week's list and see what actually did get done....

1.  Total up all of the Hands2Help quilts and 
divvy up the giveaway goodies!
2.  Organize those giveaway goodies so my friends 
can help me get them ready for mailing.
Done!  It took all day, every day for a week, but the quilts are totaled up, little Miss Random Generator has decided the distribution, and the goodies are all sorted out and ready to be mailed!  This corner of my office is holding all I have to mail this week - the tabletop and boxes to the left.  My granddaughter and a friend from church will be helping - hallelujah!!


3.  Deliver the repaired vintage quilt.
Done!  And my friend was so happy with it - which makes all that work worth it!

4.  A little more yard work!
Done!  I don't know for sure if this counts as yard work, 
but I got a new chair for my husband for Father's Day, 
so he can sit in comfort on the front porch, and assembled
it for him!



5.  If there's time for sewing, put the hopscotch quilt on the frame.
Like I said, no time for sewing this week!

6.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.
We didn't give away any quilts this week, but I DID have time to sew at church Wednesday night, which was a lot of fun!

Well, at least my list was reasonable last week!  I didn't have a chance to even look at it during the week, so I was a little worried as I sat down to write this post - but it all worked out ok.

So let's see what's on tap for this week...

1.  Package up and mail the H2H prizes.

2.  Cut out a gift quilt.

3.  Sew something - ANYTHING!

4.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

I'm going to keep it short and sweet this week, because I know it's going to take a while to get all those packages ready and sent.  And if it goes faster than I think it will, well, I'll spend the time re-acquainting myself with my sewing machine and my long arm!

And just for fun, here's a little advice for the week...


So now, the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Hands2Help 2019 - It's A Wrap!!!

Hi, all!

Oh my goodness - what a wild ride this year's Hands2Help Challenge has been!  Have you enjoyed it as much as I have?  Once again, I am amazed by how generous the quilting community is - but while I ramble on, I'm sure you are wondering about this year's numbers... so here they are.....




totally AWESOME quilters made and donated...


That's 49 more quilters and 459 more quilts than last year - you guys are absolutely AMAZING!!! As the numbers kept going up, I was more and more amazed.  At 500, I was jumping up and down - so you can imagine what it was like around here when we topped 600!  Happy dances everywhere!!!  And to end up at 875 - so totally beyond expectations - well, I say that quilters are generous people and you all have certainly proven that!! (FYI, these numbers have been updated with a late submission - woohoo!)

Quilt by Elizabeth F. for Jack's Basket - too pretty not to share!
And not only are you amazing, but we have some pretty amazing sponsors, too - because EVERYONE gets a gift to thank them for participating so generously in this year's Challenge!  The list of sponsors and the winners is below…

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 C&T Publishing is providing four $25 gift certificates!  They have loads of fabulous books - I'd have a hard time choosing!
Winners:  Kathleen R., Chris B., Lisa C. and Linda Sch.




Amy Smart, who blogs at Diary of a Quilter, has sent a big bundle of her patterns for several participants!  An accomplished pattern and fabric designer, her blog is always interesting and insightful.
Winners:  Emily C., Veronika B., Selina K., Debbie B., Jody K., Mary S., 
Karen W., Jennifer C., and Joy McD.



The folks over at Fat Quarter Shop are back again this year, offering three $25 gift certificates!  Have you been to Fat Quarter Shop?  They have a great selection of fabrics, and they feature wonderful tutorials for easy quilts using pre-cuts.  Lots of fun things going on there!
Winners:  Mary O., Becky McN., Sylvia A.


Christina Cameli, from A Few Scraps, is donating a copy of her newest book, Step-by-Step Texture Quilting, and a copy of her first book, First Steps to Free Motion Quilting!   While all of her books are excellent, these are two of my favorites.  Definitely a must-have for your own library!
Winners:  Elizabeth K. and Kelly C.


You may be most familiar with Classic Metal Company as the creators of those fabulous metal barn quilts - but Mark has been branching out, and this year he is donating eight sets of these fun A Quilter Lives Here items as prizes for Hands2Help!  Be sure to check out his website to see all the beautiful things he creates just for quilters!!
Winners:  Liz H., Janice S., Suzanne D., Tracie H, Doris M., 
Carolyn B., Mary W., and Mary D.

If you're anything like me, you're already familiar with The Warm Company, creator of Warm & Natural batting.  The Warm Company has sent us seven wonderful quilt batts to be given away as prizes!
Winners:  Barb N., Susan G., Susan S., Karen McC., 
Karrin H., Jan O., and Maria J.


Northcott Fabrics has joined us as a sponsor this year, sending several beautiful fabric bundles to share as giveaways!  Their fabric truly is wonderful, with a beautiful hand and great colors.
Winners:  Suzanne C., Carol W., Carol C., Alycia C., Ann W., Beryl R., 
Pat K., Linda S., Arlyn P., Sherry B., Anita S., Kathy S., Mary R., 
Roseanne N., Paula D., Maxine S., Bonnie C., Melinda C., Duffy M., 
Kathleen McC., Sandra W., Sharon T., Sharon V., Jean W., and Moira M.


Quilters Dream Batting has generously donated six quilt batts for our participants!  These are great batts, particularly for hand quilting!
Winners:  Trudie C., Loris M., Mina K., Jan A., Cynthia D., and Dance G.


Clover USA, the makers of my favorite tool, the hera marker, have sent us some fabulous notions as giveaway goodies!
Winners:  Janine H., Rose P., Cathy K., Robyn O., Kathryn L., Carol S., 
Linda R., Kathy J., Wendy F., Edith C., Amanda R., Frieda Z., Jamie E., 
Liane K., Elizabeth W., Kim R., Kathy P., Shruti V., Sherry V., 
Pam E., and Elizabeth E.


Emily Bailey, who blogs at Em's Scrap Bag and is also the champion for one of our charities, Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo, is donating three bars of soap and five PDF patterns from her shop! If you love scrappy quilting, you need to be reading Emily's blog - she's the queen of scraps!
Winners:  Soap, Karen A.; Patterns, Nancy C.


Pineapple Fabrics is joining us as a sponsor this year with two giveaway goodies!  Be sure to check out their on-line shop and tell them thank you!
Winners:  Joann O'N. and Roseanne N.'s sewing buddy!


Judi Madsen at Green Fairy Quilts is joining us again this year, with a fat quarter bundle for one lucky participant!  If you don't know about Judi, you should - in addition to being a fabulous quilter, she's a pattern designer, author, teacher, AND she runs a great on-line shop!
Winner:  Sue B.


Figo Fabrics is new this year - new to the Challenge, and new to the scene as a fabric company!  They are an off-shoot of Northcott Fabrics, and they were so much fun to meet in person at QuiltCon!  Be sure to check out their fun, fresh, and very modern fabrics soon...
Winners:  Lisa S., Joanna P., Juli M., Susan N., and Diann B.


OLFA is also joining us this year as a new sponsor!  (I got to meet so many wonderful people at QuiltCon this year and talk to them about the Challenge - it was great to add lots of new sponsors.)  I don't know a single quilter who doesn't use at least one OLFA product, and they have generously donated two mini-cutter bundles as giveaway items.
Winners:  Mary G. and Louise H.


Elizabeth Hartman, pattern designer extraordinaire, has joined us as a sponsor this year by sending a package of her patterns!  Her designs are definitely on my bucket list - if you aren't familiar with them yet, you can check them out on her website.
Winners:  Myra B., Ursula Y., Barbara S., Juanita H., Janette B., Dolores F., 
Renee, and Lorraine B.


Fabricworm is once again joining us as a sponsor, providing a fat quarter bundle for one lucky participant!  Fabricworm has a wonderful array of fabrics in their shop, including organics, Japanese imports, and the fabulous Charlie Harper fabrics!
Winner:  Kathleen G.


Do you love really great lighting at your sewing machine? Then you need to check out InspiredLED!  I absolutely love their lights on both my tabletop sewing machine and on my long arm - they really help my old eyes!  InspiredLED is donating three lighting kits for this year's Challenge!
Winners:  Ila M., Kathy B., and Jackie L.


Rebecca B. for the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project

Many of you not only give it forward with your quilts, but you also help encourage the people who participate in the Challenge by donating giveaway items!  (Quilters are THE BEST!!!)  So here's what your fellow participants have donated!

Terri Johnson, who blogs at QuiltNCards, is donating a bundle of eight fat quarters in a rainbow of colors!!  Terri does the most amazing paper piecing - you should see some of her creations!
Winner:  Jeanine C.

Kathleen Gansert, a/k/a KatieQ, who blogs at Katie's Salt Marsh Path, is donating a beautiful Craftsy quilt kit.  Katie's trying to get back into the habit of blogging, so stop by her blog and show her some love!!
Winner:  Sue T.


Susan Smith of Stitched by Susan is returning as a giver this year, offering edge to edge long arm quilting services, Hobbs 80/20 batting, thread and return postage for one lap size quilt, (max 4200 square inches).
Winner:  Joy M.


Jamie Elfert of L'Fair Quilts is newly retired (which is great for her pattern designing) and in her newfound spare time she found a great item I think every quilter needs!  She's donating one of those wooden quilt squares (they come unfinished so you can match it to your own decor) for one of this year's participants!
Winner:  Joan D.

Karen McCutchen has put together some wonderful quilting goody bundles that several of our participants are really going to enjoy!
Winner:  Paula A., Patricia E., Vasudha G., Katie M., Cynthia B, 
Connie W., Erica T., Mary, Yvonne J., Tracy C., and Patty D.

Sharon Vrooman, who blogs at Vrooman's Quilts, is sharing two Island Batik fat eighth bundles with us this year.  Sharon has the coolest address for a quilter of anyone I know!  
Winners:  Robert K. and Dar S.


Carole at From My Carolina Home will send to one lucky winner a sample card of  all Hobbs Battings along with four 18-inch square Tuscany battings to try, a set of 8 summer fun color fat quarters by Boundless Fabrics, a spool of Aurifil thread, and the Scrap Dance pattern of the winner's choice.
Winner:  Laurio K.

Leanne Parsons, also known as Devoted Quilter, is donating two PDF quilt patterns to this year's Challenge!
Winner:  Cindy P.

Joyce a/k/a Quilterchick Designs is an author and pattern designer, and is stepping up with one of her books and some low volume fabric for one lucky participant!
Winner:  Kathy D.

Cindy, who blogs over at Stitchin' at Home, is donating one of her PDF patterns!
Winner:  Joanne H.


Myra, who blogs and creates over at Busy Hands Quilts (and by the way, has a great Friday linky party there too!) is donating five PDF patterns from her shop to five participants!
Winners:  Anja C., Leanne P., Natalie B., Rhonda B., and Kathy C.


P., the famous blogger, Pyrex and paint-by-numbers collector, and general all-around fabulous quilter, is donating two books to the goodie collection!
Winners:  Tracey B. and Amber B.


And Selina Kidney, who blogs over at Selina Quilts, has donated this truly useful ruler for one lucky participant!
Winner:  Pam J.




We've also had some wonderful Quilt Fairies who are helping us obtain more goodies to giveaway. More than ever this year, and you all have no idea how much I appreciate all your participation!  

I have a wide variety of anonymous donations that I didn't take the time to photograph and won't list in detail here in the interests of getting this post finished in time to publish on Sunday - but here are the winners of those wonderful prizes:

Winners:  Carol K., Wendy T, Ilana J., Belinda S., Dawn T.,
Ramona N., Sue R., Judy B., Paula B., Sue D., Paulette H., 
Adele D., Wendy I., Mari H., Charlotte M., Janet T., Vicki S., Nancy C.,
Lori M., Paul B., Deborah S., Lisa E., Carol K., Cathy L.,
Brenda A., Terry J., Gretchen W., Carol E., Jennifer D., Kate S., Heide D.,
Barbara H., Bonnie S., Jeanne S., Ruth H., Debbie D.,
Rita G., Charmaine T., Rhonda S., Abby G., Donna J., Ann S., Nikki M.,
Rebecca B., Teri K., Darlene H., Ceara N., Mona R., Carol D., Diana W., 
Kristi B., Meredith A., Thunder K., Mary Ann G., Dorothy E., Pat P.,
Jodi G., and Elizabeth F.

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So that's a wrap for this year's Hands2Help Challenge (at least for you guys - I've got to get all those prizes in the mail or notify the sponsors who will be mailing theirs out directly!)  And remember, it's never too early to start thinking about next year's Challenge!

This will be me by this time next week - but the packages will be mailed!

Bless you all for your kind and generous hearts - you have made the world a lovelier place over the past few months, and I am humbled that so many of you have joined in the Challenge, many of you for many years.  Thank you for joining me, and I look forward to seeing you next year!

Hugs!

Sarah

Friday, May 24, 2019

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Not Quite Yet....

Hi, all!

How did Friday get here so fast???  I  have been spending my week nose deep in computer work, totaling up the quilt count for Hands2Help.  And wow, it's a great number - but I'm going to just quietly whoop over it right now and wait to share it with you on Sunday!


I haven't touched my sewing machine at all this week so it's up to you all - I'm waiting for you to get your whoop whoop on and inspire us all!  Let's get started!

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?


What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight - 

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah



Thursday, May 23, 2019

Hand2Help 2019 -The Quilts Keep Rolling On!

Hi, all!

Oh, the emails I have been receiving, with pictures of beautiful quilts made even more beautiful because they were made to be given away!  Today I'm going to share all the pictures that have come in since Sunday, so let's get started!

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Adele D. made these beautiful quilts - the first two are for the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project...



...the next three went to Mercyful Quilts...




...and the last three went to Quilty Hugs.




Amanda R. made these two quilts for Jack's Basket...



...and Amber B. sent this quilt to Quilty Hugs!



Carol W. donated this quilt to a local charity.


Doris M. sent this cute little quilt to Jack's Basket!


Jan S. sent this beauty to Victoria Quilts Canada...


...and this fun quilt went to a local-to-her charity!


Jo O. sent this cutie to Jack's Basket...


...and Joanna P. sent this one to Quilty Hugs!


Karen M. made fourteen quilts for Jack's Basket...


...then topped it off by sending three quilts to Little Lambs Foundation for Utah, one of last year's charities!




Kathleen M. made these two for Jack's Basket...


...and Kathy C. made three quilts! The first two are for Jack's Basket, and the last is for Victoria Quilts Canada.





Kathy J. sent this quilt to Bernie at Mercyful Quilts...


...and this one to Emily at Quilty Hugs!


Lisa C. made this scrappy quilt for theCarolina Hurricane Quilt project.


Mary G. made this quilt for Jack's Basket...


...and this one for Quilty Hugs!


Mona R. made this quilt (another Supernova!) for Jack's Basket, using leftover HSTs from another project (isn't it cute?)


...and these four quilts went to Emily at Quilty Hugs!


Pat K. started out with these two quilts for Jack's Basket...



...and then when her local rescue squad saw what she was doing and asked for some, she made them these six!







Patricia E. sent two identical quilts to Jack's Basket.


Paula A. sent two quilts, plus some fun extras, to Jack's Basket...





...and then she made some more of those "extras" and donated them to Youth On Their Own, a charity that benefits teen parents!


Paula B. sent these three to a local charity.





Shruti V. made this cutie for Jack's Basket.


Ursula Y. chose to donate these two bright quilts locally...


...and Yvonne J. sent four quilts to Jack's Basket!







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And here's the first batch of added quilts:

Arlyn P. sent these four to Jack's Basket...






...these two to Mercyful Quilts...



...and these two to Quilty Hugs!



Connie W. sent this beauty to the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project...



...and donated these four locally.





Rita G. is sending this quilt to the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project!


Sue R. sent these two quilt to the Caroline Hurricane Quilt Project...



...and sent these two to Jack's Basket!


Tracey B. sent these two to Quilty Hugs.



Trudie C. sent these two to Jack's Basket...



This one (plus one other, picture missing) to Mercyful Quilts...


These two went to a local charity...


(They look a lot alike, don't they?)


And finally, Trudie C. sent this quilt to Quilty Hugs!



And so ends the first update!

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Batch number two (as the quilts keep rolling in!):

Cynthia D. sent four quilts to Covered in Love, a charity from a previous H2H Challenge.  I love that some of you keep donating to the chosen charities - it's part of the reason for featuring them!






Debbie D. sent this cute quilt to Jack's Basket...


...and this one went to Mercyful Quilts.


Sherry B. sent these three beauties to Quilty Hugs...




And Teri K. donated this quilt to the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project!


And that's it for the second update!

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And now it's time for a third update (those quilts keep rolling on!)

Barbara S. made eight quilts this year, donated to two different UK charities...



Bonnie C. donated this beauty to a local charity.


Carol D. finished three quilts for Jack's Basket...




Carol K. made these two pretty little quilts for Jack's Basket.



Janet T. chose to donate this quilt locally.


And last but not least, Jean W. made this quilt to give someone a Quilty Hug!


And thus ends the third update!

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And now for the fourth, and probably final, update - but who knows, there may be more!

Astrid R. made seven quilts for Mercyful Quilts...








Dar S. sent these two quilts to Quilty Hugs...



...and these two quilts to Quilts of Valor!



Darlene H. donated these two quilts locally...


...and Ilana J. donated this one to Jack's Basket!


Jackie L. sent this one to Quilty Hugs...



..and this quilt, made by Kate S., also went to Jack's Basket!


Nikki M. sent five quilts to Jack's Basket!





Susan S., working with a local team, made these four quilts for Quilty Hugs!





Suzanne D. sent this quilt to Mercyful Quilts...



...and the next three were donated locally!




And this final quilt was sent to Mercyful Quilts by Vasudha!


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How's that for a goldmine of inspiration?  And since I started writing this post, more pictures have come into my inbox - but in the interest of getting this posted in time for BlogLovin' to pick it up for their daily email, I'm going to post now and add those later during the day - so be sure to come back again later and see if more have been added!  You are going to be blown away by this year's numbers - I sure am!

And on another note, I want everyone to know that I'm visiting every. single. linkup.  Unfortunately, on many (through no fault of you) I'm seeing this when I go to leave a comment...


See where it says "Comment as Google Account"?  Well, it should say my name there, or I should be able to choose my Google Account - but I can't change that, and any comment I leave goes off into NeverNever Land!  I have no idea what is causing this, and every attempt I've made to bypass it has failed.  So trust me that I've been by to see your post, your quilts are wonderful, and I appreciate you immensely!!

Remember, Friday 5/25 at noon the linky party for Hands2Help will close - so get those quilts linked up!!!

Hugs!

Sarah