Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge Week #2 - The Schedule!!

 

Hi, all!

Slowly but surely, at least on my end, things are moving along for this year's Challenge!  To date, we have 83 people signed up to participate, and I so love seeing both all the old friends on the list and the new ones we get to make as we go!! There's still plenty of time to sign up to participate, and don't worry - there's no horrible pressure or major commitment!  It's not the end of the world if you have to drop out along the way - so go ahead and sign up if you are interested!  There will be fun things going on here every Sunday to keep you engaged (and to keep the Challenge top of mind!) so choose a way to follow the blog if you want to keep updated.  I like following by email best, because every time there's a new post on a blog I'm interested in, it shows up in my inbox.  But you do you!

This week I'm going to share the calendar for the Challenge this year.  We've got some great guest bloggers in the works, plus we'll be doing some giveaways along the way specifically for those who are signed up for the Challenge (another reason to fill out that form!).  Here's the plan....

March

19 - First day of signups

26 - Signups continue, calendar shared

April

2 - Guest Blogger

9 - Guest Blogger

16 - Check-in and Giveaway!

23 - Guest Blogger

30 - Guest Blogger

May

7 - Check-in and Giveaway!

14 - Guest Blogger

21 - Guest Blogger

28 - Final Link-up Begins

June

4 - Final Count and Giveaway!

There will be some changes this year as we strive to make this an enjoyable experience for everyone.  Bear with me as we work through all this together!

If you missed the signups post last week, here's the form again.  NOTE:  You will need to scroll down through multiple questions, then PRESS SUBMIT to complete your signup.  Please don't miss that step!  You will receive an immediate confirmation that you have completed the form after you submit the form.

Are you working on your quilts yet?  I know I have several going in my head as I sit here on a deck looking out at Mobile Bay - but no sewing machine this week, so no quilt tops for me!  Once I get home (and the taxes are done!) though, Katie bar the door!  

Hugs!

Sarah

PS If you have talked to me about doing a guest post this year, please check your email so we can get the schedule finished!!!

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? 63 and Counting!

 

Hi, all!

It's Friday again, and we all know what that means - - - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!!!  Let's go!

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It's been a busy week around here, finishing up some things for the quilt ministry and getting ready for vacation!  But I've got a few big things I'm whooping about this week....

This year's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge has opened up, with sign-ups starting last Sunday, and we already have 63 people signed up!!  I'm still getting my act together and slowly getting organized, but it's so good to see people ready to jump in and get started.  If you haven't signed up yet, click here and fill in the form you'll see partway down the page.  You'll need to scroll down to fill out questions that don't show in the box.  Be sure to click SUBMIT at the end so all your hard work doesn't go to waste!

And I do have a request - if you are interested in doing a guest post, please email me at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com as soon as possible, as I'm trying to get that all set up next.  I'd love to be able to announce them in this Sunday's post, but time may be my nemesis!

The second big thing we're whooping about around here is related to March Madness.  My husband graduated from the University of Miami (FL) many (many) years ago, and he is over the moon excited that both the women's and the men's basketball teams have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen stage of the tournament!!   We often joke that when he went to school there, you could go to a school football game for $2, sit on the 50 yard line, and be alone - but the band was amazing!  So we are on pins and needles waiting to see how the Canes do this Friday, hoping they advance to the Elite Eight.  Just remember, it's all about the U!

And the last big thing?  I went to my doctor yesterday and she said my CT scan looked excellent and said I didn't need to come back and see her for six months!!! Those words were music to my ears and definitely had me dancing in the aisles!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up?

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

Are You Ready For The Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge 2023?

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's that time of year again, and although I'm only slowly getting my act together, I've decided the best way to begin is by taking the first step - and that's opening up sign-ups for this year's Challenge!  I know that many of you have already been working on quilts, and many have contacted me asking if we will be doing the Challenge this year.  Many many thanks to Mari for taking up the reins last year and managing the pull all this off when I wasn't able to!  It's a challenge in itself but so worth it!

For those of you who may be new, this is a Challenge to make comfort quilts for others in need.   We try to focus on smaller, lesser known charities (although some old favorites will be returning!) rather than the larger ones that receive plenty of donations during the year.  Or if you prefer, you can donate your quilts locally.  This is a great option if you are outside of the United States, or if the cost of shipping is prohibitive for you (along with everything else these days, it seems!).  The charities often take a wide variety of sizes and types of quilts, so there's something for everyone, whether you like to make baby quilts or lap quilts, or even if you only like to make tops.  

And here's some info about this year's charities....

Little Lambs Foundation of Utah

Little Lambs is returning this year as one of our charities.  As in most states, the foster care system is in dire need of assistance, and Little Lambs does excellent work in Utah providing comfort kits for children from newborns to 18 years of age.  Ted and Stefanee have been doing this for many years and it has been our privilege to be part of their work.  Although you can send larger quilts if you want, this is a great place to send baby quilts, approximately 36-40 inches on a side.  And they have a partnership with Give Back Box so that you can send your quilts for a highly reduced price.  And you can stuff that box with up to 70 pounds of donations, so feel free to send them multiple quilts, or anything else that is on their wish list!  You can find out more information on the services they offer at littlelambsofutah.org.

Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo

Emily's project, Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo, is also back this year.  It's always a favorite, and those quilts do so much good for so many! Quilty Hugs gives quilts to cancer patients through the Rack Pack, Primary Children's Hospital, and various chemo labs.  They are given to the patient for their own personal use.  Emily accepts quilts of all sizes, from 48" square to twin size (approximately 65" x 88").

Victoria's Quilts Canada

Linda Miller has once again volunteered to be a collection point for quilt tops for Victorias Quilts Canada.  Here's a little bit about their organization:

The mission of Victoria's Quilts Canada is to provide handmade quilts to people living with cancer in Canada.  By providing these quilts we hope to bring physical comfort to those dealing with cancer, was well as spiritual comfort in knowing they are not alone in their struggle.

Donations for this charity will be a little bit different, so take careful note:  quilt TOPS only, measuring 50" x 70", made of 100% cotton.  Linda is located in Canada, so this charity will be particularly convenient for our Canadian participants, and if anyone elsewhere chooses to participate, the postage will be significantly reduced as opposed to mailing a completed quilt.  

Mennonite Central Committee

While the Mennonite Central Committee, or MCC as it is best known, is not a small charity group, they have a new program underway that may appeal to some of you.  

One of their many ministries is the comforter program.  By the end of 2023, their goal is to donate a grand total of 45,000 blankets to our global neighbors who are dealing with conflict and disaster.  Linda Miller is volunteering to be a collection point for comforter tops, which she will then take to her local MCC resource center to be tied into comforters.  They have more people ready to tie than they have sewists, so they welcome tops.  This year there is so much need in Turkey and the Ukraine, and my own personal hope is that many of the tops they make will go there!

THIS DONATION WILL BE TOPS ONLY.  The tops can be fancy or utilitarian.  The fabric does not have to be 100% cotton, either, so this is an opportunity to use up fabric you may not be able to use elsewhere!  You should use new or nearly new fabric, and they prefer twin size (60" x 80") but will also accept double size (82" x 90").  As you only need to make tops for this donation, the shipping will once again be less than sending a finished quilt.

I hope to have one more group to add to this list, but I am still waiting for confirmation from them!

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I'm still working on the calendar, but you should have until sometime in early June to complete and donate your quilts or quilt tops.   I should have all that info ready for you next week!

And now for the sign-ups!  Thankfully, I re-learned how to use the Google Forms that has made this task much easier over the past few years, so we have this much easier way to get info.  None of your information will be used for any purpose other than the Hands2Help Challenge - you won't be put on a mailing list to be sold, I promise!  But it helps me keep things straight and organized, so please fill out all the fields carefully.  (Also, please ignore where it shows my email address and says "switch accounts".  I have no idea why that is showing and can't figure out how to make it go away - and have no idea what would happen if you should switch accounts!)

Be sure to scroll through all of the questions and click the Submit button at the bottom of the form!  

Let the fun begin!!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Finding Joy...

 

Hi, all!

Another week has come and gone, and it's Friday once again!  We all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on - so let's go!

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I've got something a little bit different to share today.  As I've mentioned here before, I've been working out on the treadmill, trying to get back into shape so we can really enjoy our trip to Italy this fall.  I am still amazed at how out of shape I got last year!  

My husband introduced me to an iFit trainer named Tommy Rivs Pusey when I started walking.  Tommy has an interesting story.  He was a world-class runner, doing marathons and ultra marathons, and also had a PhD in physical therapy.  But in early 2020, he became sick.  At first they thought it was covid, but it turned out he had a rare blood cancer that was very advanced.  He started treatment for that, was in the hospital for months, where he also came down with covid.  He nearly died, but when he was finally in remission and back at home, he decided to work back up to running again.  He has done a series of "recovery" training series on iFit, and they are perfect for what I need, as well as for his own recovery.  And he's interesting!  They are filmed in beautiful locations, and he shares history of the area while we walk.  

But what brought on this post is what he shared today as we walked around the Tre Cime mountains in Italy.  He said (and I'm paraphrasing) to be sure to celebrate the small victories along the way. To congratulate yourself as you work your way towards a goal.  And isn't that exactly the purpose of Whoop Whoop Fridays?  Not necessarily a finish, but celebrating the little victories as well.  Stretching the anticipation of reaching a goal.  Finding joy in the process!

He also said something during another walk that really resonated with me.  Again paraphrasing, he said "The danger is not in setting our aim too high and missing it, but rather in setting it too low and reaching it."  So never be afraid to set big goals, and then celebrate the little victories along the way!

With that said, here's my little victories this week...

Borders! I put lots and lots of borders on tops this week, although this is the only one I took a picture of.  So this is going to have to represent the six tops that have moved one step closer to being ministry quilts.

I continued working on my fabric stash, and I'm so happy with the results!  I still need to organize the prints by color, but every piece of fabric in the second and third row (and one bin on the fourth row) has been gone through and is at least a yard.  Neatly folded and stacked!

These bins are full of fat quarters (on the left) and half yards (on the right).  I'll probably organize them by color also, at some point.

And these bins have 5" strips (on the left) and 10" squares (that big stack on the right!)  I'm not quite done yet, so there will still be some more to fill these storage containers.

And while I was looking in the bins for quilting fabric that needed to be folded, look what I found hidden in the back of one!  (Lilli has some strange organizing techniques, I think.)  I completely forgot I had this beautiful bundle of Grunge, and now I need to think of something special to make with it!

But the cleaning bug didn't stop there! I also did some cleanup at church in the quilt room when I had to be there extra early Sunday morning.  Several countertops got the once-over and saw some daylight!

And last but not least, I made a pan of cornbread from SCRATCH!  I haven't done that in a while, but I didn't have any of our preferred box mix on hand (FYI Krusteaz Honey Cornbread is amazing!) and I needed some to go with our chili, so this was the result.  My husband, the cornbread connoisseur in the family, said that it was very good (and he is very smart!)

So - - - for all the little victories - - - can I get 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

Make-A-List Monday - Obsessed!

 

Hi, all!

Monday really snuck up on me this week, because I have been totally obsessed with one of my tasks from last week!  Let's see how that list went...

1.  Meet with a quilting customer Tuesday morning.

Done!  I have a lovely top to quilt for her, while she works on the next one!

2.  Pull together more "kits" to quilt at church Tuesday night.

Done!  The other ladies and I worked so hard to get a large box of tops all sorted out and backs and borders pulled.  Now comes the harder work of getting them ready for quilting!

3.  Quilt ministry quilts!

I didn't get to this one because.....

4.  Start on a reorganization of my fabric stash.

I started this one!!!  And wow, did it grab my attention.  I have gone through five bins of fabric now, and here's just a bit of what I've done...

Four new bins of fat quarters, plus three bins of half yards;

Two tubs of 10" squares!

And three of these lovely organized bins with "more than a yard"s!

I had so much fun going through all some of my fabric that it was hard to stop and do other things that I should be doing!  It was kind of like opening a time capsule - as I did it I remembered the quilts that left the remaining fabric in my stash.  And now it is starting to look so much better - I can't wait to finish it up!

5.  Start prepping handwork to take on vacation in a few weeks.

Another one of those things I didn't get to...

6.  Start prep work for Hands2Help 2023!

Mentally, yes, totally!  But beyond that, no.

So while I got a lot done last week, I really need to concentrate on things other than my stash this week, no matter how obsessed I am with continuing to organize it!  Here's my goals for this week...

1.  Prep work for H2H 2023.

2.  Borders and backs for ministry quilts.

3.  Then, maybe, more fabric organizing!

4.  Handwork for vacation.

I think I can get excited about the handwork for vacation - I'm planning to cut the borders for my hexie quilt so that I can hand stitch them to the top.  Definitely good for long car rides and lazy evenings!

So now I really need to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Organization Rocks!

 

Hi, all!

Time sure flies when you're having fun, and another week has come and gone! It's Friday again, and you know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Let's go!

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After all the quilting and binding I've done over the past two weeks, something got into me - a major urge to clean up!  I've been doing some deep thinking about my stash while doing all that quilting and binding, and finally just jumped right in with guns blazing!

Wait!  I know that sounds terrible - but I'm not getting rid of anything, just changing my methods a bit.  I realized that I had a lot of very small pieces on my yardage shelves, so I started going through them.  I took one bin at a time and sorted the fabric into three piles - pieces that were a yard or larger, pieces that were at least a half yard but not a yard, and pieces that were less than half a yard.   

Then I got down to the serious work!  Pieces that were a yard or more were easy - they just got folded and restacked in the bins.  They look like this now...

Nice neat stacks!  That final bin contains some fabrics that I tend to sort out by type instead of color - solids, homespuns, and batiks.  I'll add to them as I find more in the remaining bins.

The next step was to take the pieces that were a half yard or longer.  From those I cut lots of fat quarters, and look at this fabulous storage!

These clear bins from Target hold the fat quarters perfectly and they are stackable, too!  I haven't organized these by color yet, but will eventually.

Any fabric that remained after cutting the fat quarters, and those pieces I sorted out that were less than half a yard, was cut into either 10", 5", or 2.5" strips, starting with the largest possible cut and working down.  From those 10" strips, I crosscut 10" (layer cake-size) squares...

...and managed to fill up this storage box!  I've had it for a while, and it had about an inch of 10" squares in it, but now it's full.  And it was so fulfilling I went to Target to get some more of these storage bins!

The 5" and 2.5" strips I have stacked up, and will probably eventually put them in their own storage boxes in this form.

I'm also accumulating quite a stack of 10" strips of various widths that I can see becoming a scrappy quilt someday - these are the leftovers at the end of a 10" WOF strip.

And then there's the stack of strings (pieces wider than 1" but narrower than 2.5") left over at the end.  The top pile is WOF strips and the lower one is shorter strings.

It's amazing to me how many smaller pieces of fabric I weeded out of my yardage stash!  It feels so much easier now to find what I need, and I know if it's in the bins, it's at least a yard.  So many small pieces made it difficult to find anything, and when I did see something I liked, it usually turned out to be too small.  This is much better!  

Now I just need to keep my fingers crossed that I don't run out of steam before I finish up the remaining seven bins.....

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop??'

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping 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

Make-A-List Monday - Chugging Right Along!

Hi, all!

Wow, did this week just fly by!!  But it was a good, productive week, so let's see how I did on last week's list....

1.  Deliver quilts to church.

Done!  Take a look at all. those. quilts!  That's the combined product of Piper, Susan, and me for one week - thirty quilts!

2.  Pick up a new stack to work on this week.

Done!  This is the stack I picked up last Tuesday - and nine of them went back to church on Sunday.  The other two were still in the dryer!  And I picked up five more to bind on Sunday.

3.  Finish the final tutorial.

Done!  We revisited the Supernova quilt tutorial, and this is my most recent version...

4.  Help my SIL with the grandkids while my daughter is out of town.

Done!  It turned out to be pretty easy - just one afternoon!

5.  Quilt as many ministry quilts as possible.

I didn't quilt any this week, but I did put binding on 16 quilts that will be added to our piles!  Here's my stack just from today...

6.  Clean off that table top in my studio!!!

Done Done Done!!!  I am thoroughly excited about this - because the table top went from this....

...to this!!!

I wish I could move that large brown and white basket, but it holds my trash bag - because SOMEONE likes to steal things out of the trash so I have to keep most of it up there out of reach.....

And while I was at it, I cleaned off the other workstation table top...

It feels SO much better in my studio now!  Plus an added benefit - I found a few things that had gone missing when I cleaned up!  It's amazing how much easier it feels to work in a neater space.

So it was a very productive week, and I can only hope that this week is just as productive.  It's starting off well, with the five quilts I put binding on this afternoon.  Here's my list for the rest of this week....

1.  Meet with a quilting customer Tuesday morning.

2.  Pull together more "kits" to quilt at church Tuesday night.

3.  Quilt ministry quilts!

4.  Start on a reorganization of my fabric stash.

5.  Start prepping handwork to take on vacation in a few weeks.

6.  Start prep work for Hands2Help 2023!

I don't think I'll be bored this week, do you?  Bree and I have been enjoying the warmer weather outside, but we're coming up on some cooler and rainier days so it should be easier to work inside.  

And now, I really want to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Something Old, Something New - The Return Of Supernova!

 

Hi, all!

We have arrived at the last week of this year's tutorial series, and I've saved the best for last - Supernova!  This quilt has, hands-down, been my most popular.  I have pictures of the design made by so many people from Instagram and each is wonderfully unique!  I've personally made it at least six times, including a mini version using bonus triangles from another project....

The trick to making this quilt a wonderful experience for yourself is to take the time to square up your half-square triangles.  I know it's a hassle, but you will be so happy with the way your quilt finishes that it's totally worth taking the time.  

I highly recommend getting a Bloc-Loc ruler if you don't already have one - it makes the whole process of squaring up those HSTs so quick and simple.  I have two - a 6.5" and a 12.5" - and I've never had an HST block I couldn't simply square up using one of those two.  I'll admit that the 12.5" was an indulgence, but I wanted to make a Moda Love quilt using 10" squares and I was spoiled by my smaller Bloc Loc ruler!

And honestly, isn't that pile of trimmings pretty?  Such a nice sign that you've been virtuous!

So - - - are you ready to make one of your own?  Here's how!

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“Supernova”

A Stunning Stars Quilt-Along Quilt

This is a very simple one-block quilt; its secret lies in the layout.

Finished size:  approximately 60” x 60”

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS:  

1 3/4 - 2 yards of background fabric

2 yards (or equivalent) of print fabric; this could be yardage, fat quarters, or scraps.  There are 50 diamond shapes in the quilt, so you could use up to 50 different fabrics.

CUTTING DIRECTIONS:

From the background fabric, cut fifty 7” squares.

Take your print fabrics and choose one that will become the focal star.  From that fabric, cut four 7” squares.  From the remainder of your print fabrics, cut forty-six 7” squares for a total of 50 squares.

MAKING THE BLOCKS:

Take your background squares and draw a line from one corner diagonally across the square on the back of the fabric using a pencil or Hera marker. Pair one background square with one print square, right sides together.

Using the traditional method, make your half-square triangles (HSTs), stitching slightly less than 1/4" from each side of the center diagonal line. You will have 50 sets of two matching HSTs.  Trim your HSTs to 6.5” square.  Don’t skip this step - it will make your quilt go together faster and look better!

Locate your eight focal star HSTs to start your layout.

LAYOUT:

To get a similar look to the finished quilt shown above, use the diagram below to lay out your blocks.  (NOTE: The orange quilt shown in this post has more blocks than this quilt tutorial calls for.  Don’t use that finished quilt as your layout guide!)  

Start with the focal point star in the lower left quadrant, and work out from the star.  Step back often and check to see that your diamonds are going the right direction!  Fill in the gaps at the upper right and lower left edges with half diamonds, splitting up some of your pairs for the purpose.  Assemble the quilt top.  Quilt as desired! 

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And just so you can see some of the beautiful variations that this quilt can take...

And here's a peek at the beautiful backing I found for this year's version of Supernova...

If you make a Supernova quilt, please tag me on Instagram (@fabricaddictquilts) and use the hashtag #supernova. I love seeing them pop up - the variations are fabulous!!

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And that's the last of the tutorials for Something Old, Something New.  I hope you've enjoyed these, and found one or more to add to your repertoire of quick, easy quilts!  Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the beginning of this year's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge!

Hugs!

Sarah