Category: H2H

H2H · quilt alongs · stash

16 Patches & Hands2Help Challenge

renegadequilter3 Comments
My friend Sarah who blogs at Confessions Of A Fabric Addict does an amazing charity quilt challenge each year.  Its the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge and this year prior to the start of the challenge she is hosting a quilt along.  For the quilt along Sarah is having us make 16 patch blocks and then over the next several weeks she is showing us different ways to set those blocks in a quilt top.  I (think) that I have always participated in the H2H Charity Quilt Challenge and I have always enjoyed the process and paying it forward with quilts.  So when Sarah announced the quilt along I had to jump on board.


For the 16 patches I went digging through my stash.  Like many quilters out there I am trying to sew from my stash as much as possible this year.  For my first set of blocks I decided to use up some of my pinkish fabrics.  They range from the notorious paper doll fabric to some floral fabric.  LOL

Sarah’s instructions for the various methods of constructing the blocks has you using 2 1/2″ squares or strips.  The same instructions can be used for any size of squares or strips and so based on my fabric I decided to cut my strips at 4″.


These 16 patch blocks go together quickly especially when using the strips of fabric method to construct them.  I made a couple of strip sets cut them up and made some blocks to see what they looked like.


I sort of flew by the seat of my pants putting this one together.  No real plan.  I sewed up some strip sets.  Made some blocks and put them up on the design wall. 


I love my design wall.  I played around with the layout of the blocks.  I don’t have the greatest light in my sewing area but it works for an overall layout.


I decided on this for the final layout.  Just putting the blocks together side by side.  Sarah has a layout on her blog using pinwheels.  I love how the 16 patches look with the pinwheels and I think that is what I will do with the fabric below.


I got most of this fabric from a friend who was cleaning out her fabric so its fitting that it ends up in an H2H quilt.  I think that I will cut 2 1/2″ strips for this quilt.

I encourage you to hop over to Sarah’s blog and check it out.  The 16 patch blocks are fun to make and its for a great cause.  Its also a good way to sew your stash.

Happy Sewing

charity · H2H

Hands2Help!

renegadequilter4 Comments
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

charity · H2H

H2H 2013

renegadequilter6 Comments
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

H2H · http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · quilting

Misc Stuff

renegadequilterLeave a comment
i haven’t been up to much in sewing land.  i am getting ready to tackle my next quilt for quilting.  i think 4 more left to go after this one.  i think.  although i try and not to think about it too much.

i plan on spending sometime this weekend with this quilt.
i did have some happy mail this week.  i got 16 fat quarters in the mail of Flea Market Fancy that i won from the H2H Challenge that i did.  the fabric came from Miki who blogs over at mikisquilts – thanks for the fabric i have been wanting some of this for awhile now.

last week i got these two blocks in the mail for my bee block group.  they came from Charlene and Christina.  thanks ladies.
happy sewing
H2H

H2H Quilts

renegadequilter8 Comments
here are my H2H quilts for this year.
if you don’t know what H2H (Hands2Help) is then you need to hop over to Sarah’s blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict and read about it.  its a yearly thing that spreads the quilting love to those in need.

for this quilt i busted into my Make Life stash and just put together a fun and cheery quilt.  this quilt will be going to The NOLA Project and on to a grade-school child in the St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans that was hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Katrina.
this quilt is going to the Happy Chemo organization which provides quilts and comfort for chemo patients.  i did a quilt for a man for this charity.  this fabric was given to me from Sharon.  thanks Sharon.  my thought was to use this fabric for the Happy Chemo charity since cancer affects everyone and sometimes its hard to find quilts that are manly.

here they are together.  both in the mail headed to their final destinations.  like i said above – if you are not familiar with H2H go check it out and maybe next year you will want to jump on board.
happy sewing
H2H · http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · Tula Pink

Finally Swooning

renegadequilter3 Comments
i am finally swooning
and i couldn’t be happier who i am swooning with
i have had this little stash of Tula Pink’s Parisville living with me for some time now.  i knew that i just couldn’t make anything with it.  i knew that i wanted to make a quilt that would showcase this line of fabric. 
somewhere over the past few months i got hit in the head out in blogland by all of these swoon blocks.  i am a little slow to catch on but once i did i knew exactly which quilt i would be making with my Parisville stash.  the blocks are 24 1/2″ x 24 1/2″ with larger pieces to show off Tula’s amazing work.  i struggled a bit with the background color.  if you know me then you know i almost never set anything in white/neutral/cream fabric.  i wanted a solid but nothing super dark.  after much deliberation i ended up with a light purple.  totally not me but i love it.

so…  i have one block done.  i started it a couple weeks ago and finished it today.  i did have a trip to Chicago in between so i am not a total slacker.  i still have a few or more quilts that need to be quilted and bound and that is still my main focus.  but, i was itching to start on the swoon blocks and quickly became frustrated.  a friend suggested that once i completed either quilting a quilt or binding one that i make another swoon block.  i loved the idea.  thanks Sarah.  i already have my next quilt basted and ready to be quilted.  i need to make another swoon block.
i might also be doing a little something with this stack of lovely fabric.  i know.  i know. i have quilts to quilt and bind.  however, i also have quilts to make for H2H.
check back to see what becomes of these fat quarters.
happy sewing
charity · H2H

Hands2Help Challenge

renegadequilter1 Comment
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’
bags · H2H · Sisters · Tula Pink

Sisters Bag

renegadequilter1 Comment

ok, so this is my 3rd attempt at this post. 1st it posted last week without pics. 2nd i re-did it this morning & went to post it & the words were gone. grrrrrr……………… i am not loving Blogger right now.
each year i go to Sisters for their Outdoor Quilt Show. i go with with a group of friends & i have a rule that you must make a bag to take to Sisters. so this is my bag for our 2011 trip.

the fabric is Prince Charming by Tula Pink. laminate on the bottom and regular cotton on the top.

i used the Teardrop Bag pattern from this Amy Butler book. i mainly followed the pattern with the exception of the pockets on the inside. i did those a little different.

i love how the 2 frogs show up on the sides of the bag. this was my 2nd attempt at this bag. the 1st time i had the frog in the middle & with the pleat you couldn’t see him. so i cut a 2nd bag & like this much better.

a shot of the inside of my bag. i used a magnetic closure on the bag. i like the kind that are sewin in on the wrong side of the fabric. with these you are not pulling at the fabric each time you open your bag.

so there you have it. my 2011 Sisters bag. i got a lot of comments on it while i was at Sisters. people liked it because of the colors & shape. then they realized that there were frogs on it & liked it even more.
i use the bag often & really enjoy it. i have a couple more posts from my trip to Sisters that i hope to get up this week.
on another note. the quilt top that i made for Venezie Designs was featured here in a blog post. also, you should go check out Sarah’s blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict & see all of the quilts that were made for the H2H Challenge.
H2H

Hands 2 Help Update

renegadequilter3 Comments

I JUST REALIZED THAT I TOOK DOWN THIS POST………. NO IDEA WHY…. SEE I REALLY DON’T HAVE A BRAIN……

the Hands 2 Help Charity Challenge quilts have been shipped. whew. i wasn’t sure if i was going to get that done before i leave for California tomorrow. in the box is a total of 4 quilts. 3 from me and this 1 from my friend Barb.
Barb did a simple Turning Twenty. i love how it shows off the fabric & the quilting on it is amazing. it was done by a local quilter.

her backing fabric is adorable as well. very fun & playful.

this is my 3rd one finished. i think i showed pics of the top awhile back. i finally got it quilted and bound. i had a fight with my machine on this one. breaking threads, needles and such. it think its time for a much needed service.

so, there are the 4 of them. ready for their new homes in Romania. i love the idea that someone in another part of this world will find comfort in something that i made.

i know that we are all busy with life & such but if you have the chance to help someone with the comfort of a quilt. do it. take the time. it will be time well spent.
a huge THANK YOU to Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict for putting this all together. Sarah you are an amazing person who has one of the biggest hearts i know of. i am so lucky that our paths crossed in blogland.