Hands2Help 2017 Quilts

i save quilts through out the year for the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  there is no rule saying you have to make them from the time it stars until the time it ends.  if that was the case i might get one quilt done.

below are the quilts that i have happily sent off.

this pattern is called 3 Layer Cake i saw it made up in a quilt store in Bend, OR on my last trip to Sisters.  the store was out of the patterns so i had them order me one and mail it to me.  before i got the pattern i bought 3 layer cakes because i assumed that is what i would need to make the pattern.  in short... it's not.

a fun twisted 4-patch that a friend of mine showed me.

i think this is the Mod 9-patch pattern from the Moda Bake Shop.

a pattern from the Easy Peasy line of patterns.

i found this pattern in a jelly roll pattern book.

self made cut and construct as you go pattern.  the fabric sizes that i had really dictated to the results of this quilt.  it was fun to put together.

go check out Confessions of a Fabric Addicts blog to see all of the other quilts that people have made for this years H2H Challenge.

happy sewing

Hands2Help!

its time for Hands2Help! hosted by Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  i must confess.  the quilts i am donating this year have come from my stash of quilts.  they haven't seen the light of day for sometime.  somewhere in the process of making them i fell out of love with them.  i like them just fine but don't love them like they deserve to be loved.  so they go to the quilt stash which i pull from as the need arises.  as such is the case with Hands2Help!

i love using my passion for quilting to make others happy.  i think i have participated in Hands2Help! since Sarah first started it.  i might be wrong but....  

anyways, when i saw Sarah's post about it this year i knew that i was going to participate but that the quilts would come from my stash.

this first quilt was a mystery quilt i started 10 years ago.  it has been finished for about 3 or 4 years.  at the time i started it i had never done a mystery quilt and i also did not know i do not like white as a background fabric.  i do now.  i hope that whoever gets this quilt will give it the proper love it deserves.  this quilt will be going to someone who was impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

this next quilt has about 8 million pieces in it.  not really.  but when i started it i was sure i would never finish it.  i think that is when i stopped loving it.  yep, right from the start i knew it wasn't meant to be mine.  i finished it anyways.  i am like that.  i rarely get rid of a WIP.  self torture?  maybe.  i just like to finish things.  this quilt will find a new home through Happy Chemo.

true confession on this quilt.  it was a BOM from JoAnn's that was on clearance for almost nothing.  i like to call these BOM quilts 'quilting for dummies' - not insulting anyone at all with that comment - the fabric comes pre-cut and the instructions are fail proof.  

yes there is applique involved and even a little embroidery so its not really 'quilting for dummies' but that is just my name for those things.  i made this quilt thinking i would give it to my oldest niece.  that didn't happen so it went into the quilt stash.  this quilt will meet up with its new owner through Quilts of Compassion Disaster Response Team.

there you have it.  my contribution to this years Hands2Help!

i love the thought that these quilts will bring comfort and warmth to another person during a trying time in their life.

happy sewing

H2H 2013

as in years past i have participated in the Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge hosted by Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict. since life has been so crazy for me these past few months and i haven't been keeping up on my blog reading the sign ups slipped past me. that didn't mean i couldn't participate. i contacted Sarah and told her i have two quilts already to go and would it be ok to use those for this year's H2H. the answer was yes. so here are this year's H2H quilts.

this quilt above will be going to Happy Chemo

this quilt above will be going to Quilts Beyond Borders - Ethiopian Initiative

participating in H2H is a nice reminder to be thankful for what i have and the life i have been given.  even though it hasn't been sunshine and rainbows for me lately i feel good knowing that these quilts will put a smile on another person's face.  so many people have been kind and caring to me these past few months that i sort of feel like i am paying it forward.

thank you Sarah for leading up such a great cause again this year.

happy sewing

Hands2Help Challenge

its that time of year again.....

Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict is hosting the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge again this year.

its a great opportunity for you to give with your talent & share your creations with those in need.  Sarah has picked two amazing groups this year for the quilts to go to.

i encourage everyone to hop over to her blog.  check it out.  sign up.  get involved.  remember. 

'you get what you give'

WIP Wednesday

so what have i been working on.  i have been sewing & i have been unsewing which is something that we like to call 'successful training'.  hahaha. 

a couple of quilt camps ago a few people got on the jelly roll race car quilt kick.  at the time i did not.  i though about it & thought about it.  i thought of ways to change it up some.  make mine a little different.  i am a renegade after all.

in McCall i decided it was time to make the jelly roll race car quilt.

so, i took my jelly roll, trimmed the salvage edges & cut them in two.  instead of 40 strips i had 80.  instead of mitering the ends i butt seamed them.  then i started to sew the 1st seam.  my jelly roll has directional fabric in it.  i realized that if i put the quilt together like the instructions said that i would have snowmen standing on their heads.  i only did the 1 seam in McCall before we packed up & came home.

a few days of being at home & i decided to unsew that 1st seam.  all 800 inches of it.  for some reason i could not have my snowmen standing on their heads.  yes, i am crazy.  but, at least i admit it.



so, here it is.  my renegaded jelly roll race quilt.  if i was in a real race i would have been black flagged for going too slow.  i love that all of my snowmen are going the same way so if 1 stands on his head they all will be standing on their heads.

i have 2 borders to add to the quilt.  a narrow solid brown & then a wider print from the same line.

i make & sell handbags at a local artisan barn & they were out so last night i took these to the barn.  a little bit of variety.

for the camp in McCall i thought it would be nice if each of us brought fabric so i could sew up a pillow case to donate.  we got the fabric but the sewing up part didn't happen until this past week.  they are washed & ready to be delivered.

lastly, i must share.  back in March or April when i saw Countdown to Christmas from Sweetwater i knew i wanted some.  so my friends who have a quilt shop near by ordered my a fat quarter bundle.  i has forgotten about it until i got the email explaining why i didn't have it sooner.  no big deal.  i have no plans for it except to sit and look at it.  i love this fabric.

i hope everyone is having a productive week.

WIP Wednesday

its nice to finally (sort of) be back into the swing of things with regards to sewing. i have gotten a few things done this past week.

i wanted/needed (what the difference?) an instant gratification project. so i made this nice large tote. its an Atkinson Designs pattern from their Big Bags, Little Bags book. i am not sure how to describe the fabric that i made it out of but i found it at Joann's & it was only $2.99/yard. it the type of material that the reusable grocery bags are made out of only tougher.

this really isn't a WIP item. it might be someday but as of now i prefer to call it a weak moment. i randomly check the Missouri Star Quilt Company's Daily Deal page to see what they have on special. needless to say one day it was a Sherbet Pips jelly roll & of course it was on sale so it found its way to my house.

not sure what i will make with it but it is yummy.
i finished my 1st quilt top for the H2H Challenge. i didn't follow a pattern. my goal was to use any much of the fat quarter's that i was given as possible. i have 2 small pieces left & they will be pieced into the back of the quilt.
my other sewing accomplishment this past week was finishing up these star blocks for my Opening Day quilt. i got the last few finished last night & laid them out on the floor. i still have some tweaking to do with the layout but overall i am pleased.

what project are you sewing on? i would love to hear about it

"It soars inside my soul because of you. All that innocence that you inspire"

Showing My Cards

i am showing my cards in this post.

my blog sub-title says ' from fabric to finish and everything in between'. this is the in between part with a little fabric thrown in. although sewing, fabric & quilting is usually fun & happy stuff truth be told we all have a life. a life in the real world that gets yucky sometimes. i am just like the rest of you. i don't live in a land of rainbows & cotton candy i live in reality & i don't want my readers to think otherwise.

this past week has been one of the roughest weeks i have had in a long time. work has been crazy. we have been short handed. customer's want stuff 2 days ago & somehow their poor planning is our fault. battling suppliers over stuff that shouldn't be an issue. it seems like it has been a constant struggle all week. in dealing with this stuff my normal work is not getting done which adds to the problem. not to mention that my health has taken a downward turn during this process as well.

my health + stress = bad things

on top of that you throw in some disappointment whether it be in myself or others & you have the makings of a rough week.

its times like these that i have those conversations with myself in my head. you know the ones. "come on you can make it through this" "you are stronger then you think" "its just a bad day tomorrow will be better" "you are never dealt more then you can handle" yep. i have had them all. did they help? who knows. all that i know is that its FRIDAY & this week is about over which i am very grateful for.

when things are not going the right direction for me i do my best to find the silver lining that is always there. yesterday i got an email that brought tears to my eyes & a smile to my face. my SIL sent a pic of my nieces which was priceless. totally made me realize that even though there is crap going on i still have a wonderful family that is full of love. i will share the pic at some point in the future for now i just want to treasure it.

another great silver lining from this week was this.

my friend Sharon gave me this fabric. yes i said gave. her husband dropped it off at my work & it was during a time that i was elbow deep in something & didn't get to thank him. Sharon was going through some fabric, came across this & realized she didn't have a need for it anymore. i told her i would be interested because i know someone who likes that sort of thing & i could make them a quilt. so, thank you to Sharon for being a silver lining in my week.

when things get crazy for me & i get off of center i turn to things i know to bring me back. my two of my favorite things are music & sewing. so, yes itunes is playing as i am typing this & DMB is assisting in the re-centering process.

this is some of the sewing that has taken place this past week. block #11 from the Fat Quarter Shop's Mystery BOM. i also put together a bee block as well. i don't want to show that until she has gotten it.

another thing i have been working on is organizing my scraps. yes you read that right. crazy as it sounds my scraps have been driving me nuts. they have been residing in this large tote for sometime now. when i go looking for something you can imagine the mess it makes. that is what brought about this organization project. i have began by sorting them into piles of color range. if i come across something that is 5" or wider & the full WOF then that goes into a separate pile. fat quarters into a separate pile as well. this is my progress so far. i am surprised at my stack of reds. i am planning on getting through it this weekend. i have a couple ideas on storage so check back to see how that goes.

last but not least this morning i received another silver lining. i told you about the challenge that my friend Sarah over at Confessions of A Fabric Addict issued to all of us quilters. Sarah posted this morning that she had 48 people sign up. that means 48 quilts will be made & taken to Romania. me being me signed up to do 2. my 1st partner is local. my friend Barb is joining in the fun & we will be exchanging our fabric on Monday. huge Thank You to Barb for taking on the challenge. my 2nd partner is Larissa from Australia. yep, Sarah went international with this challenge. the response to this challenge puts a HUGE smile on my face.

i hope that you all had a survivable week & that an amazing weekend is ahead for each one of you.

remember "make the best of what's around"

A Good Cause & A Bag

awhile back i did a post about using our sewing talents for a good cause.

with that said i would like to let you know about a fabulous cause that is right up our alley. my friend Sarah who blogs over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict has put together a challenge for all of us. its called Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge.

PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.

go visit her blog & learn about this amazing cause & how you can participate.

life if getting back to normal for me - again. i have lots of stuff to share with everyone, even stuff from quilt camp which was at the beginning of March. i am beginning with my favorite thing that i started at that camp but only recently finished.

the zipper bag as i call it.

i bought this pattern last summer on my annual trip to Sister's. the shop had one made up & it was love at first sight for me. needless to say i came home put the pattern away & sort of forgot about it. off & on i would come across it looking through my patterns. i would begin to read the instructions & put it away again. then i was digging through my fabric & the light bulb in my head went on.

this fabric + this pattern = wonderful

the pattern is No. 106 The Bijou Traveler by Serendipity Studio

the fabric is Montana Modern from Benartex

once i had this figured out it was time to study the pattern. i normally read through a bag pattern once or twice before i make it. i have made a lot of bags & a lot of the time the basic construction is similar. not the case with this one. this one had a big zipper, a grommet & didn't go together the way i normally make bags. the reading continued. i probably read the pattern about 10 times before i cut the fabric as i did not have room for error. the pattern is well written i just didn't want to screw up the bag.

i went to camp with all of the pieces and parts cut & ready to go. at this point i can't remember how long it took me to make it. it was the last thing i grabbed going out the door when i got the call that my SIL was in labor. i took it because so many other campers were eyeing it. when i left camp i had the short ends bound on the inside & just needed to finish binding the long curved top on the inside. i finished that last weekend & took the bag with me on my trip last week to New Mexico.

on one of the sides there is a pocket that is divided in the middle. the flap has a grommet in it so your headphones can come through it & your music player is safe inside. the flap/pocket closes with Velcro. the other side of the bag has one big pocket. it too closes with Velcro & is a great spot to stash your boarding pass & other essentials. zipper pulls on each end of the bag. the zipper wasn't as bad to put in as i thought it was going to be. i just read, re-read & read some more to get it clear in my mind.

the inside has pockets along both sides which you can make as large or as small as you want to. yes, that is a tennis ball that you see & no i do not play tennis. it works great for a back or neck massage just about anywhere.

it is a very large & spacious bag. great for traveling.

i will be making this bag again. i am sure it will go a little quicker then this one since i have one already under my belt.

If you give you begin to live.......

if you are a reader of my blog then you know that i am a fan of the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) & if you are new to my blog..... well now you know.

DMB has a song titled You Might Die Trying which is one of my favs. there is a line in the song that says 'if you give you begin to live'. i am a huge believer in the idea of giving & not just giving of money but of time or talent as well. therefore i am always looking for ways to give with my sewing/quilting talents. i think i get this from my grandmother who was very big in helping people out & donating her time to great causes.

i have completed blocks for 2 causes.

i have made 10 blocks for Beth over at Love Laugh Quilt who is putting together quilts for Japan. go check it out & participate if you can. thanks to Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for featuring Beth on her blog if it wasn't for that i wouldn't know about this great cause.

i also have made 8 star blocks for Moda's Just One Star project which i learned about from Rachel over at ps i quilt. go check it out & participate if you can as well.

its a great feeling knowing that i have contributed to some amazing causes. i know not everyone has the time to do a whole quilt. me included. but a block or a few blocks is something everyone has the time to do.

my motto is

You Get What You Give

Catching Up

this weekend is all about catching up on sewing related stuff.

while i was gone i got some envelopes in the mail.

which contained my Let's Bee Together blocks.

this one is from Carolyn.
this one is from Melinda.
& this one is from Bailey.
{thanks for the little gift}
********
now onto some recent fabric purchases.
while i was in Boise i visited a few fabric shops.

1st up is Quilt Expressions.
i found the floral print & darker lining for another Cosmo bag & got some dark basics for my stash because we all know i don't like setting quilts with light colors.
i also got this Moda Candy Bar box. i have been wanting to get one of these for awhile now but could never find one that i really, really loved. this one hit the spot with 'bliss'.
the best part of it was that is was on sale. the box was beat up a little but 'on sale' HELLO of course i had to snatch it up.

the next stop was Quilt Crossing.
1st of all i about pasted out when i saw Neptune there let alone the other Tula Pink that i picked up while i was in that shop. i also got some laminated fabric for yet another Cosmo bag.

my last stop was Hobby Lobby
i found this yummy fabric there which i think i am going to use to make another (what i am calling) the zipper bag. i can't remember the name of the pattern. i made one at camp which i have yet to show you but i will soon & then we will all know the name of the pattern.

currently i am working on some star blocks for Moda's Just One Star project which i learned about from Rachel over at ps i quilt. go check it out & participate if you can.

i am also going to make some blocks for Beth over at Love Laugh Quilt who is putting together quilts for Japan. again, go check it out & participate if you can. thanks to Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for featuring Beth on her blog if it wasn't for that i wouldn't know about this great cause.

i hope you all have a great Sunday & check back soon for a quilt camp wrap up post. its nice to be back home & back into my normal routine.