Hands2Help 2020 - Just Do It!

Hi, all!

May is finally here!  Did you think (like me) that April was going to last f-o-r-e-v-e-r?  But it was certainly a productive (if long) month, and I know many of you have been working on your H2H quilts diligently.  But now it's time to sit back and enjoy the story of another of your fellow quilters!  I'm pleased to welcome Lorraine, who has been a part of Hands2Help for several years now.  She's not a blogger, but she generously agreed to do a guest post for us because she has an important message to share, especially for those of you who read the blog but haven't felt "accomplished" enough to join in the Challenge each year.  So now I'm going to turn this over to her!

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My first sewing machine was a 99 cent Presidents' Day Special at the local Singer Sewing Center in 1972. My husband and I got up at 3:00 in the morning to be the first in the door and the used machine was mine for less than a dollar! That was the beginning of a lifetime of sewing. I started quilting about 20 years ago and fell in love with the process. My Granny was a quilter and I always loved her scrappy quilts, which are still my favorites, absolutely!

I have made many quilts over the years but I had never tried quilting on my own machine. I have hand-quilted a number of small quilts for wall hangings and finally did finish two large quilts on my quilt frame by hand...spending months in the process!

Even though I had quilted for some time, I was always a little hesitant to do anything without a pattern because I didn't trust my skill. There were quilts I always wanted to make but just hesitated to start because I was concerned: 1) did I have the skill? 2) how much would all the fabric cost? 3) how would I get it quilted and what would be the cost? This was especially true once I felt that I had covered my home and my daughter's home with enough quilts (can there ever be enough quilts?!) 

I have always been very conservative and never felt comfortable just buying fabric, stashing it and quilting for no good reason except the love of quilting. It just felt wasteful to me. I have ALWAYS wanted to do charity quilts but didn't know how to get started and didn't trust my skill.

I found Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and began following her wonderful blog. I love that much of her skill is used to benefit others! That is what drew me to her blog along with her love of scrap quilts! When I first saw her Hands 2 Help challenge, I knew I wanted to be involved. I actually pieced a couple small quilts the first time around but they languished in my sewing room, needing to be quilted. And then. . . I read a guest blogger's encouragement on Amy Smart's “Diary of a Quilter” site. The guest blogger was Samantha of Aqua Paisley Studio. It was titled, “Sparking your Creativity” but she essentially said: “Stop talking about quilting and just do it!” What she said applied to so many areas of life. We talk a good game and never just get into the game!

And so. . . I decided then and there that I was going to get going on charity quilts, just as I had always told myself I really, really wanted to do. I would Just Do It! By the time that Hands2Help came around again, I was geared up. I save every quilt tutorial that Sarah shares with us and have found so much inspiration in them. I started cutting up my scraps as Sarah does, started organizing scraps as she does by color/size. . . and . . . Voila! By the time I needed to send off my quilts for H2H I was ready. This is my 3rd year to be involved in H2H.

I will encourage anyone who thinks that they'd like to jump in, as I did, but don't think they can quilt the top themselves. My beloved Bernina 930 which I discovered several years ago is now “vintage” has a sewing space of only about 6”. I started quilting some small things on my machine, just to get the hang of it and with the need to get the H2H quilts finished without spending hundreds of dollars, I just started quilting on a little larger quilt, then a little larger still. I mostly stitch in the ditch, to keep it simple.

I've made several simple four-patch baby quilts, the Easy Stacked Coins quilt in a 55” x 70”, I've done two HST quilts, and one baby quilt that I just designed myself around a stash of cute fabric that I'd had for a few years. As I said, I am conservative and I do my best to only buy thread! I have enough stash to make plenty more fun quilts to share with others. . . as long as I Just Do It!

H2H has been the prod to get me going! I am finally using what I've had for years to bring comfort to others! One quilt that is in the works for H2H 2020 is one that was started umpteen years ago. This year is the year to Just Do It! Thanks, Sarah, for pushing me to increase my confidence & skill in something I love and to bring such comfort to others in the process!

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Thanks, Lorraine, for the reminder to Just Do It!  Sometimes we forget that, while we see all the mistakes in our quilts and quilting, the recipients only see the love.  And what better way to send a hug these days, when we can't give the real thing, than a quilt?

Stay in, stay busy, stay safe!

Hugs!

Sarah