Hands 2 Help 2018

Hello, quilting friends!

In December, I had a bad fall. It ended up with not being able to quilt for a long time. A week ago, my Physical Therapist okayed me to go back to action. Back to quilting! Back to swim aerobics! Back to leaning over to pick up something off the floor! Cautiously back to picking up things! Cautiously able to vacuum and other household chores, which I haven't even tried yet! Back to being able to do the dishes and empty the dishwasher! I'm so happy to have a clean kitchen again!

In consequence, my quilt for my grandson's graduation, in five days, is not done. My quilt for his brother, who is one, is not done. My family is understanding and I love them for that.

It also means that I wasn't able to finish my quilts for Hands 2 Help. When I told Sarah about my dilemma, she very graciously offered to quilt them for me. What a sweetie!

Both quilts are done by a Jelly Roll Race. If you haven't done one before you won't believe how amazingly quick they are! It requires one jelly roll and about three hours and, ta da!, the top is done!

Here is the first quilt top. I call it Coded Message. There are variations to the Jelly Roll Race. One of them adds a 2" x 2" square of a plain fabric between each strip you join together. The trick is to cut about 18" off of the first strip you sew. If you don't, all the plain squares will line up on one side of the quilt! I had this great idea to use a different size "square" to make the quilt a bit bigger. I chose to make it 2" x 4". Fortunately, I didn't en up with all my rectangles on one side, but they are a bit wonky in where they line up.

Because of the weird way they are spread around the quilt, it looked like a stamped computer card. Those of you who are old enough will remember that the only way you could program a computer was to write the code onto 3" x 6" (approximately) cards. The information was punched into the cards and then run through the computer. It was one card per line of code. If you've ever seen how many lines of code there are for a simple program, you can appreciate how many hundreds of cards you would have for just one program.

When I was in college in the early 1970s, it took a huge room, probably larger than a basketball court to house the computer. If you want an example, watch the movie "Apollo 13" and watch the control room scenes to give you a picture. Also, pay attention to how they figured out math problems. On a chalkboard, plus they used slide rule. Look it up on google, you'll be amazed at how complex math was done in the 70s. And this was invented in the 17th century.

But I digress...

The yellow plain rectangles looked like the punch-outs on the computer programming cards.

This is what Coded Message looks like, posing with my cactus!

These are close-ups of the different designs on the strips.

 

The second Jelly Roll Race that I made was the traditional way. I called it Far Out. I guess you can tell I was a 70s kid. Actually, in that decade I graduated from High School, graduated from College, got married and had two children! Far Out was a common phrase from the 60s & 70s. And with me, the 18s.

There is such a mix of different styles of fabric. You just have to stand back and look at the mod-podge and say..."Far Out!"

Far Out, again with cactus. It really liked loose threads.

 The close-ups:

Thanks to wonderful, dear Sarah for holding Hands2Help each year! There is so much work to put it together...and it's all for charity. There are three different charities to choose from and each quilter chooses who to send her quilt to. Double thanks to Sarah for finishing up my quilts for me.

Looking Back and Looking Forward #8: Wherein We Weep For Last Week

Yes, alas, dear readers. I am almost a total failure on last week's goal. It was my lofty goal to complete 45 more blocks for my dear lad's and grandson's, Firstest, graduation quilt. 'Tis not for lack of fondest love for my dearest boy nor lack of fabric, but because the ordinary time was filled with other tasks of pressing importance. What tasks, ye say? The formidable task of juicing all the lemons and oranges from abundant orange and lemon trees, the multitudinous running of errands, buying the right color of fabric, visiting with most noble daughter and offspring, and various lowly housecleaning duties..

BUT FIRST!  

Sarah Craig over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict is at it again! Sarah is the originator of  the annual Hands2Help. She has an indomitable spirit of giving and caring. She spends a majority of her time making, quilting and helping others make quilts in what she calls a "Quilt Ministry." Sarah gathers quilts from a group of friends from her church and from people wanting to donate, and then gives them to people who need them in her church. She has given quilts to people with cancer, for wives, husbands or children who have lost their parent/spouse unexpectedly, someone who has lost a loved one, someone who is dealing with serious medical issues or someone who went into hospice, plus many more!

You'll not find a more crazy-busy quilty person around than Sarah. You'll find on her Make a List Monday post each week her list to-do list for the week. I read it each week and am exhausted just at what she has set out, and usually accomplishes, each week! She goes beyond the Ministry and does commissions for t-shirt quilts, quilt patterns, has Quilt-A-Longs, phew...does she even sleep?

For H2H (Hands to Help) lovely quilters sign up to make a quilt or two, (or three or four!) for a charity. She has three different charities you can pick from, or you can choose for yourself! (Click on the linky button at the top of the right sidebar)

I have done this before and it is so much fun! There are also prizes! Hurry up! Go to Confessions of a Fabric! What are you waiting for? You can come back here and read on my progress/goals, but first click over there to sign up? If you lack incentive...those who sign up before March 17, you're entered in a giveaway!

And now that you have signed up to make a quilt, we continue with our regularly broadcast (show) blog post!

Looking Back

High on my euphoria of completing 45+ blocks the previous week, I set my goal last week again to make 45 blocks. Hmmm, well, *stutter*, uh-hmm (cough), I did get some blocks done. I made four blocks--ta da! Also, I completed 14 half-blocks.

I had completed a number of blocks and half blocks using the light grey I had chosen. Unfortunately that grey showed as white when put up on the design wall. (see post here, complete with pictures) So off I went to Joann's to see if a better grey in Kona had appeared on the shelves. I hit pay dirt. I also did some switcheroo-ing since the new grey was darker than the medium grey. So the new grey became the medium grey and the previous medium grey became the light grey. If you get my drift.

I had already ripped apart the blocks with the wrong grey and at my Thursday Quilty Time with my friends, I started putting the new grey on the previous blocks. And that is how I ended up with four completed blocks and 14 half blocks.

Looking Forward

Sorry to be repetitious here:

1.  Sew 45 blocks for Firstest's graduation quilt.

If I can somehow conjure up some extra time, I would like to:

2.  Finish RSC green block. (post on my RSC goal this year)

3.  Make my March renewed block-of-the-month. (post on my BOM challenge)

I'm hoping you are going to have a wondiferous week of quilting!

Reminder! Check back in on Thursday for this month's Book Corner post. Here's the first one.

Reminder #2! Visit the blogs that I link this post to, on the ride side bar and sorted by day of the week.

Nyd din dag. (It's Danish for "See you later." I'm Danish! (partly), (like one third), (just to be honest). 

H2H 2015 Square Dance

This year I participated in Hands 2 Help Quilts for charity.  The pattern was a fun one. The colorway and designs are not quite in my comfort zone because it's kinda' modern. I buy charm packs when I find them on sale to use for quilts. This was a charm pack called Waterfront Park by Michael Miller. The pattern was one I bought because it looked easy and I try to find easy patterns for charity quilts.


This year I chose Layers of Hope - Quilting 911. The quilts donated to this wonderful group go to 911 Telecommunications Operators (911 Dispatchers) and their families when they are going through difficult times. They are given to the dispatchers or their families when they are ill, have had to go through a loss or tragedy. The purpose is to give them comfort and support during that time. It is a way of paying back and thanking them for all the significant things they do as dispatchers and making a difference every day.

Square Dance

I think the turquoise binding pulls the quilt together and gives it the pop as if the fabrics don't do that enough! Then I found this great backing that is somewhat like ticking. It was a sheet that I had saved to use for a binding someday, and it worked perfectly here.

I chose a wavy quilting pattern for the quilt. I see many modern quilts with simple flowing design and that helped me to choose this one. I was fortunate to have bought a ruler to make scalloped edges on quilts; I adore them so! Of course, as is usual for me, I haven't done one yet! On the opposite side of the ruler was a wavy pattern that I thought was just the ticket for quilting. I traced the lines and then did free-motion for quilting.

The binding was the continuation of a method I had tried once before: machine binding. For a first attempt it was presentable. This second attempt turned out much better!

I found these most helpful tutorials from Nancy's Notions and Cluck Cluck Sew. I started with Nancy's tute that I found to be the clearest instructions on the video. I switched over to Cluck, Cluck Sew because she had very clear pictures of the final step of sewing on the binding. There are two methods of the last step of binding. Nancy showed how stitch in the ditch from the front of the quilt. Cluck, Cluck Sew demonstrated how to sew from the back side of the quilt. I chose to sew from the front since I would be able to see what it looked like as I went along. I knew if I tried it from the back, it would probably look straight until I turned the quilt to the front and found a wandering line.

The picture below, on the left, shows the finished binding. The picture on the right shows the binding strip where it joins once you are finished. I found a super-duper method of the finishing step on Nancy's Notions tutorial on binding. No longer do you have to pull the two strips and cross them while struggling to keep the quilt from bullying its way to obscure your strips! Truly! 

For those of you who just can't wait to see the method on the video, which I highly recommend, here is my explanation. I don't claim you will be able to follow my attempt her, but now you have been warned! Basically, you cut the end one of the strips at a 45' angle and press under a 1/4" seam before you start sewing on the binding. Next you put a small strip of 2-sided fusible web, like Steam-a-Seam 2, along the 45' cut. Once you have sewn the binding to the backside of the quilt and returned to your starting place, you tuck binding that does not have the cut. After that, you take the seam with the fusible web and place it over the other and press it down joining the ends together. Finish stitching the binding and Voila! you have it. No nasty tug o' war with the final step. Now you may run to You Tube (from the link above) and find out what in the heck I was talking about! Don't say I didn't warn you!

All I have left now is to bundle this baby off to Layers of Hope and let it find its way to a deserving new friend.

Hands to Help 2015

What Made Me Smile Today

Beware! The mice are congregating!

Kaiju, my cat, loves to gather her toy mice in one place. The other day I awoke to find this mouse conference going on in my hallway. 

It’s the first weekday of Spring Break and it looks like I might be able to quilt! I am still worn out by this cold.

Enough whining!

It’s that marvelous time of the year when Sarah Craig, of Confessions of a Fabric Addict, starts Hands2Help Challenge. Quilters are invited to make quilt(s) for charity. With three charities to choose from it gives any quilter a chance to make a quilt for a cause dear to their hearts.

It’s Sarah’s fifth year offering this charitable event. Along with joining, there are lots of fun in sharing, prizes and web get-togethers. I started just last year and eagerly looked forward to this year.

For more information, click on the badge at the top of the right sidebar. You can still sign-up. The initial joining in time ended on Saturday. It means you missed one giveaway, but you can still get in on all the other fun.

I had already started my first; hopefully, there will be more, quilt. I started in January. It will be going to Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo.

I’m always looking for easy quilts to make for charity. I found one that used a charm square pack. It’s called “Square Dance.” It was designed by Gigi’s Thimble. Apparently I found this easy and fun pattern in 2012, so I think it’s not produced anymore. But there is always eBay.

I’m always a sucker for buying pre-cuts when they’re reduced in price. Hence, I have a bunch of different ones in a drawer. I had a charm pack that looked bright and cheerful, so it got the honor of showing up in this quilt.

Disclaimer: I’m not a modern type quilter color person. I’m very traditional in a lot of aspects, but I know others love the modern quilts. So I’ll confess right here that I don’t like the fabrics in the charm pack. But someone will!
I do love the grey fabric that has been showing up in quilts lately. Grey has become the background color. I actually had enough grey fabric from my Aunt Marie’s stash.

I think it’s going to be great. Here’s my progress so far.

I do like the squares with birds on them. The ones with dots are cool because they remind me of braille. Unreadable braille, but still braille! I teach blind and visually impaired students; I read braille. Nope…not with my fingers. I read it visually.

My other favorite fabrics are the ones with the trees and blossoms. As you can see, my choices are the most traditional of the fabrics.

For those of you who were around in my era,…here’s the real square dance!

The BYU Homecoming Parade 1975
Our club, the Y-Squares, dancing in the parade.
I'm the one with the orangish dress on the right.

I hope you will join in Hands2Help!

I’m hooking up with the blogs on the right sidebar; they are in order by days of the week. Thank heavens for these marvelous bloggers who have linky parties!

Flamingos Winging Their Way to Their New Home

Ta-da! The charity quilt for Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo is on its way to find its new owner.

I am excited to donate this quilt and hope it will bring comfort to its owner.

I spent all of last week quilting and trying to quilt the quilt. I’ll admit it, right here and now, that I’m not the best quilter in the world, USA, California, Santa Rosa, ummmm, on my block. Let’s face it…I’m a lowly beginner.

I have three basic meanders: stars and loops, hearts and loops, and stars, hearts and loops! I decided that on this quilt, with so many choices, to do loops, hearts and stars. (Does it count as another type of meander if I list the items in a different order?) Hmmm…guess not, eh?

You might recall in the post where I unveiled the flamingos that I had a run-in with loops on the back of the quilt. I must admit that I behaved in an unseamly behavior as I handily dispensed with all the loops.

Fast forward to this past week…I had success in my meanders. Humbly I admit that some of the stars didn’t quite make all 5 points and some hearts looked deformed. I did the “Quilter’s Visual Test.” You know the one: if you can’t see any mistakes when riding by on a galloping horse…it’s good! Mine was good. And I didn’t even have to take off my glasses.

When it came time to do the borders, I looked for a good design. I consulted with my admired quilters: Leah Day and Lori Kennedy. I settled on a spiral pattern from Leah Day, which is listed in her “Super Beginner” group. I did lots and lots of practice before I gamely started on my quilt.

My borders are in black. The visibility of my meanders on the body of the quilt, I decided that quilting in black was the best gambit. It did mean, however, that the back side of the quilt would have black spirals against the cheddar. There wasn’t much of a choice…

At first when I looked, during quilting, at the black on cheddar, I wasn’t too impressed. But once done, I loved the affect of the squares that were made by the borders.

Again, wobbly and most spirals looked funny, but I found myself definitely enjoying the movement and rhythm of quilting them. There might be hope for me yet!

I discovered through the quilting of the borders, that my sewing machine has control issues. It’s sad but true. All had been going very well with my meander. I practiced the spirals on muslin sandwiches. Once I had the real quilt, it went a couple of vertical sashings then started looping in the back. I rethreaded the machine, practiced on sample sandwich and everything worked again. But then it started looping again. Sadly, this became a process. Each time after trying something new and getting a perfect back on the sample sandwich, all would go well and then it would eventually start looping again. I only had two horizontal rows to quilt, but just couldn’t get any cooperation from the machine.

Extreme frustration, anger and homicidal thoughts set in.

I stopped for the evening before I threw the sewing machines out the window. Then follow it out there with a chain saw.







Or start with a hatchet and turn it into something useful.




The next day I started with a different machine and finally got the quilt done. Breathe a sigh of relief.

I had decided to use a lavender binding that matched some of the flamingos on the fabric. I knew it would look good on the front, but wondered about it with the back. Silly me, I shouldn’t have worried. I absitively, posilutely love it!



And it is completely finished. It’s worth it because I want to give it to someone who will love it.

I’m hooking up with the following blogs. Hop on by to check out lots of lovely quilts! Their badges are in the right sidebar.
So Scrappy RSC Saturday
Patchwork Times
Show & Tell Tuesday
Fabric Story
Linky Tuesday
WIP Wednesday
We Did It Wednesday
WiP on Wednesday
Needle and Thread Thursday
Fabric Frenzy
Free Motion Mavericks
I Quilt
Fabric Frenzy
TGIFF
Finish It Up Friday
Sew Darn Crafty Linky Party

You might also be interested in:

Hand2Help: Flamingos

Pass The Peanuts, Please

Marvelous Marie #4Pixelated Posies

Hands2Help & Pinks Progress

Me, at 15, enjoying summer!

It’s the first week of “summer” for me. School is out and I’m looking forward to spending most of that summer in my quilting room!

Me, in my pj's in my favorite place: Home

I admit I’m a “homebody”, a lovely person who can't get enough of being home, someone who enjoys the warmth and simple pleasures of being home, someone who hides out in her house, quilting, as much as possible. 

This first week’s project is to finish my quilt for Hands2Help. I’m donating my quilt to Hugs for Chemo. I chose it because my Mom had chemo and I know how much a quilt would have meant to her.

My Sisty Ugler with friend in Honduras

It’s fun that this quilt is going to be a collaboration between her two daughters. When my sister, Sisty Ugler, decided to give up on quilting *gasp*, she gave me her stash! I didn’t have to wait for her to pass on to inherit it! The best of both worlds: I got her fabric and I have her!

I found this cool set of blocks for a quilt.

It is going to be such a cheery and colorful quilt. I love how funky it is—I never use these kinds of fabrics. But I love them.

What’s left to do is sash them, sew the top and quilt. In 6 days. I CAN DO IT—because I’m on VACATION!

The only other thing to accomplish this week is finish one block and make another for my blog hop post this Saturday. Look at the top of the right sidebar for the badge “For Pinks Sake”. Then look for me on Saturday!

Tally ho! I’m just can’t stop being giddy with summer-ness!

I’m hooking up with the following blogs. Hop on by to check out lots of lovely quilts! Their badges are in the right sidebar.
So Scrappy RSC Saturday
Patchwork Times
Show & Tell Tuesday
Fabric Story
Linky Tuesday
WIP Wednesday
We Did It Wednesday
I Quilt
Fabric Frenzy

Joining Up with Wonderful Hands to Help

I’ve only managed one charity quilt in my quilting life. My intent has been to do more but I haven’t followed through.
Enter Hands to Help Charity Quilt Challenge. Each year between March and June, quilters are challenged to make a quilt for charity. This year there are three charities to choose from:
        Quilts of Compassion
        Hurricane Sandy Survivors
        Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo

You can click on the badge on the right to learn more about the Challenge and find out about each of the charities. 

I hope you join along! 

Sarah, who writes the blog: Confessions Of A Fabric Addict, is an amazing person. She is a compassionate woman who runs a quilt ministry that gives quilts to those in need. She needs quilts to be donated also! 

In addition she hosts the very fun, Can I Give A WHOOP WHOOP on Fridays, runs a blog FOR quilters, BY quilters for sharing compassionate quilts: Quilts Are For Giving. 

And if you think that doesn’t keep her busy enough, you should read one of her Monday posts: Make-A-List Monday. It wears me out just reading it!  

I have chosen to make a quilt for Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo. This was my first choice because of my Mom. She went through chemo in the 70’s for breast cancer. I can picture in my mind how delighted she would have been to receive a quilt while in chemo. You can read more about my Mom’s story here.