I'm Back!

Yes, I'm back finally. Ten (12 hour) shifts in fourteen days -- remind me not to do that again!  School started back Monday and for now I'm back to me regular sporadic work schedule and plenty of sewing time.  I started out by spending all day yesterday camped in front of the TV, catching up on the DVR and putting together CiL tops.  I got the second Sun&Sea top together and three Patriotic Stars tops.  There were leftovers of both that, along with the lattice leftovers, will hopefully soon be combined into a few more tops.

Of course I had the dream team to help me arrange and sew blocks.  Rey is approaching 4 months old and continues to be the prettiest, sweetest, most purr-filled kitten around. She has not yet met a human-food she didn't like. When she gets big enough to jump on the counters we are going to be in trouble...

Rory has warmed up to Rey considerably but I wouldn't call them friends yet.  I think having then kitten around has been good for her, though, and helped to loosen her up.  They enjoy many spirited games of chase, and just when Rory thinks its safe to fall asleep Rey will come leaping off of some piece of furniture right into the middle of her.

A momentary cease-fire and mutual nap time, and a chance for me to use the "design floor" without them rearranging things.

In the mid afternoon the cats went up for a bit so the ferrets could get out.  The cats are a mild hindrance to arranging blocks and sewing... with the ferrets I might as well give it up until they're put back in their cage. (Believe it or not, the reason we have to separate the cats and ferrets is because the ferrets would attack the cats, not the other way around.  A full size cat is really bigger than they could handle, not that they realize that, but Rey is right in prime ferret-prey size range.  So until she gets full grown, never the two shall meet.)

I know the end of the month is when I normally announce the next CiL block drive, but we're actually going to be taking September off. I need a month to dig myself out from under all the blocks you guys have been faithfully sending in!  My summer travels put me a bit behind.  I will tell you that October's block is going to be a reprisal of last October's popular scrappy strings block, if you want to get a jump on them.

Sick Day Sewing

There's something depressingly adult about not being able to enjoy a sick day. Of course, no one enjoys being sick. But when you're little there is something to look forward to in an unexpected day off school -- sleeping in, eating popsicles, watching TV.  I know I'm a grown-up now because my primary thought is "I was supposed to be making money today, and I'm not."  See? Depressing.

After the meds kicked in I did perk up some and get in some sewing time.  This 60 degree triangle quilt is is for a friend. It's nice to take a break from Covered in Love sewing once in a while.

Hoping to feel better and back to work tomorrow :)

It takes a village

I am still working, but I did stop at home long enough to do a few fun things for CiL.  After I caught up on the mail I labeled these two quilts, and bound the pastel one.

This top was donated by a regular block contributor, Jo from North Carolina.  A wonderful local long-armer quilted it up for me and really made it sing.  If you're interested in a good longarmer you can contact June at junenyvall@gmail.com

This second quilt was a straggler from the H2H drive, made by Carolyn from Tennessee.   Thanks to all the on going support I took another batch of 10 quilts up to the hospital to resupply to chaplains.  This bring us up to 115 total! 

Nevermind the "soiled linens" bag, they're the best thing I've found for lugging quilts around and keeping them clean.  Remember, the August Covered in Love block drive is going on now if you want to sew with us!

A Temporary Absence

The first quilt top from June's Covered in Love block drive is together.  This one I put together in the same way the original pattern showed, the next one I'm going to "invert" the blocks as I had on previous design walls.

I wanted to let you know the blog's going to be quiet for the rest of the month.  I'm going on a trip, followed by 2 weeks of almost solid work in order to make some money before the semester starts.  Normally I save up some posts and schedule them for while I am out of town, but I'm afraid I'm all out of ahead-of-time posts. 

Don't worry, CiL will continue to gather blocks and quilts this month and the chaplains will still be passing them out at the hospital. Remember, August's block drive is underway now if you want to participate. I'll be back in September ready to hit the ground running!

Linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday.

Behind the Scenes Progress

I saw one of our quilts this week! I was walking down the hall at work and saw a young woman being wheeled out of dialysis with the pink and orange star quilt across her lap.  This one, pieced by Mina and quilted by JerriAnn.  It was probably given out sometime around last Christmas, presumably when a relative of hers was passing away.  It was a complete surprise to see that piece of Covered in Love in the hospital halls, in use as it was meant to be. It's the sort of thing that gives you a second wind to keep going.

In between a lot of summer travel and whatnot I've been plugging away on quilts.  We just recently got back from Airventure in Oshkosh, WI.  What a cool place!  It's doubtful that there will be a Friday Finish this week, but this is what I accomplished today:

7 quilt backings made, paired with their tops, and ready to baste. Not a very photogenic stage in the quilting process, but necessary.

I finished off the day in one of my favorite ways, watching Cutthroat Kitchen with Rey.  She welcomed us home from our trip very enthusiastically, full of purrs! I think Rory was happy to see us, too. She's just a lot less demonstrative in her affection.

I hope your week is going well! I am about to be off on a trip again Sunday but after that I'll be home and settled for a while.  Don't forget the August CiL block drive is going on now if you want to sew along.  A few early birds have already gotten their blocks in!