Hands 2 Help 2017

Sarah, who writes Confessions of a Fabric Addict, announced this week is the start of the annual Hands 2 Help (H2H) quilting charity. Each year she selects several charitable organizations and quilters from all over the world make new quilts to donate.

This year there are three charities. International Institute of St. Louis helps refugees and new immigrants integrate into American life and promotes ethnic and cultural diversity. They are asking for twin sized quilts, and suggest patriotic or nature themed quilts. Happy Chemo provides quilts for people of all ages who are undergoing chemotherapy and quilts can be any size from 48"x48" to 65"x88". And finally, Camp Hobe is a summer camp for children with cancer and their siblings. Their quilts should be 45"x60" or larger and geared toward kids six and older.

Last year I made two quilts for one of the H2H charities, Covered in Love. This year, my goal is to make one quilt for each of the three charities plus at least a quilt top for Covered in Love as well. I will continue to support Project Linus, but my next quilt for them may wait until after the H2H challenge ends in early June. 

I don't really like to work to a deadline, since there are so many unpredictable things in a boat's schedule. But charity work makes my heart sing, and Sarah has done a huge amount of work to set up this challenge. She was particularly moved this year to find a refugee support group that could handle the distribution of (potentially!) scores of quilts, and I know that took some sleuthing on her part. She has also lined up lots of sponsors who are encouraging us with fun prizes. Plus, she has guest bloggers, linky parties, tutorials, and an unflagging enthusiasm for her own prolific charity work that is contagious. I kinda want to be Sarah when I grow up!

So I'm going to buckle down and sew up some quilts. I have several WIPs (works in progress) that will be good matches and I'm especially eager to make some more bright, cheerful kids' quilts. You know that's right in my wheelhouse! The twin size for International Institute will be my biggest challenge, as that's a pretty large piece to quilt on the Juki. But, heck, if a family can leave everything they know behind, travel to America with almost no possessions, searching for a better life, then I can certainly put on my big girl panties and make 'em a large quilt.

If you're a quilter, I hope you'll consider joining in. Most folks choose one of the charities and donate one quilt, so you have plenty of time to get that finished by the June 2nd deadline. Sarah's introductory post for the event is here, and you can sign up at that link. If you sign up before March 18th, you're eligible for prizes, but you can join in later, too.

If you're not participating, you can help by leaving an encouraging comment or two on the blogs of those who are. I love reading your comments, and try to respond to each one. (If you don't hear back from me, you might be a no-reply commenter. Click here to see what that means and how you can fix it.)

I'm currently traveling back to New Orleans from a five day trip for my nephew's wedding in Canada. Right before this trip, I had a bad cold and didn't sew for days. So I apologize for the lack of new photos and using last year's H2H photos in this post. But the good news is that there's a good chance we'll be able to move back into the boat next week and I'll be back in my quilting studio. Hooray! That means I can start basting up quilt sandwiches and finish up some of the tops I've made while confined to our tiny, temporary RV quarters. Good thing, because my Hands are rarin' 2 Help!