Hands2Help - Meet Guest Blogger Carole With A Hometown Heroes Idea!

Hi, all!

It's time for another Hands2Help post, and this week our guest blogger is Carole, who blogs at From My Carolina Home.  Carole designs beautiful quilts and hosts mystery quilt-alongs for her designs, which are always named for dances.  Her current mystery is the Pachanga, which always makes me think of Dirty Dancing - how about you?  

This week Carole has a great suggestion and tutorial for our Hometown Heroes project, so let's get started!

Oh, and don't forget - this is a check-in week, so if you've got some progress to share, you can link up at the end of this post.  I can't wait to see what you've been working on!

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Thank you, Sarah, for putting this super charity event together again for another year.  I'm Carole, and I blog at From My Carolina Home.  I have to say I was so inspired by your idea to make something for our heroes of the pandemic.  There are so many I would like to thank, and a small project makes a great way to thank a lot of people.  These could be made by your guilds for presentation to ER units, fire departments, vaccine clinic personnel, or other people who made a difference this past year.  So, here's a quick tutorial for you!

"You're a Star" Pillow or Wall Hanging

1 6-1/2-inch squares

4 4-inch scrappy squares

4 4-inch background squares

4 3-1/2-inch background squares

2 strips 1-1/2 x 12-1/2 inches

2 strips 1-1/2 x 14-1/2 inches

1 14-1/2-inch backing

Fiberfill stuffing

Embroider or paint “You’re a Star” on a piece of fabric and cut to 6-1/2-inches square. 

Pair the 4-inch scraps with the 4-inch background squares, mark a diagonal line on the background, and sew 1/4-inch away from the line on either side. 

Cut apart and press, square to 3-1/2 inches.  Arrange embroidered square, HSTs and 3-1/2-inch background squares in a star block as shown.  

Add border strips, beginning with the 12-1/2-inch long one on opposite sides, then add the longer strip to the remaining sides. 

Place block and backing right sides together and sew along the edge leaving a space for turning.  Turn right side out.  Sew in the ditch between the border and block the same way, leaving a space in the same area.

Stuff pillow with fiberfill.

Sew the remaining ditch.  

Sew the last opening closed either by hand, or by machine continuing the stitching all the way around the pillow for continuity.  

 

Give to someone who has been a star in this pandemic time.  This same idea can be made into a wall hanging as well.  I'd love to see your creations too, anything inspired by my blog, on the Friends of From My Carolina Home Facebook group, accessible from my blog's Facebook page.  Thanks again, Sarah, and happy sewing everyone!!

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Now, didn't I tell you true? That is a fabulous idea, and makes it so easy to share some love with our pandemic Hometown Heroes!  Thank you, Carole, for this fantastic tutorial.

And now it's time for you all to show off what you are working on for Hands2Help!   It doesn't matter if it's just a little, or if you have finished and gifted your quilts already - just take some time to cheer on your fellow H2Hers!  Link up below - and if you don't have a blog or Instagram, you can email me a picture you want to share at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com, and I'll pull together a post to show off your stuff.  (FYI I usually put all those submissions in one post, so try to get them to me by Thursday morning so I can put them in Friday's post!)

Hugs and see you next week!

Sarah