Hands2Help - Giveaway Winners, and Tips, Tutorials, and Tasty Things!

Hi, all!

Wow do you all rock!!!  As of the time I'm writing this post, 242 people have already signed up for the Challenge!!!  That is AMAZING!  Now, if you're just now seeing this, it's not too late to sign up, and there's still lots of giveaway goodies to be had at the end of the Challenge - so in the theory of "better late than never", hop over here, read about the Challenge, then if it appeals to you, sign up and join in the fun!

And, as promised, there's a giveaway drawing for those of you who have already signed up.  I gathered up some fun goodies....

...and consulted Little Miss Random to see who the winner is...

Elin P. of California!  

Congratulations, Elin! I'll be getting your package out in the mail ASAP (hopefully before we leave for vacation).

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And now, as part of our annual Hands2Help celebration, it's time for our Tips, Tutorials and Tasty Things link-up!  The idea behind this is that we all have our favorite sewing/quilting tips, go-to tutorials, and of course, we ALL like to eat!  So if you have some or all you'd like to share, write up a post (blog or Instagram) and link it in the party below.  Visit all or some, it's all good - but there will be a lot of great info there, and it's a good way to get to know some of your fellow H2Hers!

Here's my tip - a little video showing how to make a pretty quilt swirl for a picture!  Ever since #quiltswirlwednesday became a thing on Instagram, I've been practicing, and now it seems to work pretty well.

And here's another tip.  Two years ago, I did a "frequently asked questions" post for Hands2Help that had a lot of great info in it.  You might want to take a look at that post if you have time.  The only significant changes are at the end, where it talks about Jack's Basket, a charity from 2019.  If you are interested in answers to those questions for this year, you can email me directly!

For tutorials, I'm going to point you towards Sew Fresh Quilts!  This year I made my granddaughter a Harry Potter quilt using the quilt-along free block tutorials and it was so. much. fun!  

I also made a reindeer quilt using one of her free tutorials from an earlier quilt-along - aren't they adorable?

Lorna is so generous with her skills, and shares many free tutorials, but she also designs the cutest quilts and sells the patterns in her on-line shop.  All of her blocks are traditional piecing, not paper-piecing, so if you can follow a pattern, you can make these (says the paper-piecing-challenged queen!)

And finally, tasty things.  This year during lockdown we discovered a world of food and cooking.  One of our favorites, and oh so easy, is ramen.  Not just the 25 cent plastic bags, but fancy, delicious ramen that looks like you got it in a restaurant.  We still buy the Maruchen packets for the noodles, but then the changes start.  Use 2 cups of real broth or stock (I like the boxed versions) and add shredded meat or tofu (a great way to use up leftovers), veggies (the whites of green onions, fresh mushrooms and shredded carrots are good to add at this stage), and bring it to a boil.  Toss in the noodles and boil for two minutes, or until the noodles are as done as you like.  At this point, you could add shredded fresh spinach or kale if you like. Put broth and noodles in a bowl, and top with fresh cilantro, sliced green onions, chopped nuts, sesame seeds, or if you are feeling really fancy how about a soft boiled egg?  Here's a really easy way to make soft-boiled eggs in an instant pot - I don't usually soak them in the marinade, but I do ALWAYS release the pressure immediately after the cooking time is done, and dump them in an ice water bath before peeling.  They turn out perfect every time!  Our local noodle shop runs about $15 for something this gorgeous - and you can make it yourself for next to nothing!

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Now it's your turn!  As you can see, it doesn't have to be anything fancy - but someone will appreciate what you have to share!  I'll leave the linky party open until next Saturday, 3/27.  

And be sure to come back next Sunday and Meet the Sponsors!  We have some great sponsors this year and I know you'll be excited.  

Hugs!

Sarah