Announcing CiL's New Block Drive!

Hello, stitchers!  Summer is coming and it's time for a new block drive for Covered in Love.  This one will run from May through the end of June, so if you want to join in with us, please do!

Something extra special is happening with this block drive: for the first time ever we have a guest host!  Cynthia from Quilting is More Fun Than Housework has graciously offered to not only longarm the quilts from this drive at-cost, but also to assemble the tops!  We're also going to be using a block design of hers, one she developed for her great "Scrap-a-Palooza" series.

(Edited to Add: View finished quilts here)

Everyone needs to contact either me or Cynthia for her address to ship blocks! 
(Comment or email CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com)

These scrappy string color blocks are super easy to assemble and can by put together in a variety of ways. I made a quilt with this tutorial from my own strings a while back.  We're going to stick to the same color scheme Cynthia used in her example quilt, blocks in red, orange, yellow, and purple.

You can find Cynthia's tutorial HERE.  Blocks will finish at 10.5" square.

Covered in Love gives comfort quilts to patients who pass away in the hospital, which the families then get to keep.  If you want to help out we'd love to have you sew along with the block drive!  Make as many or as few blocks as you want and send them in to Cynthia by the end of June.  Comment (make sure I can contact you) or email CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com for the address to send blocks.

If you blog about working on these blocks, or any other charity sewing, you're invited to join the linky. Every Wednesday!

You can check out finished quilts from previous block drives here.

Linking to Oh Scrap!

Team Effort

The finishes I have to show this week really belong to other people. Covered in Love has always relied on the generosity of the quilting community, and these two quilts were definitely a team effort!

This oversize disappearing nine patch was a UFO given to me by Tricia. I assembled the blocks and a local quilter named Kathy free-motioned it.

I assume these fabrics probably came from a layer cake.  They're all sewing themed with pins, needle, scissors and other paraphernalia. Cute!

This fall colored top I've had for a while now, it came from Jo in North Carolina. It's backed with the nice print Gail from Oklahoma gave me and was also quilted by Kathy!  The backing's a little hard to read, but it has words like "friendship, home, memories".

Thanks to everyone who supports CiL! Both of these are in the donation stack now.  CiL gives quilts to patients who pass away in the hospital.  If you want to support our effort one great way to help is the bi-monthly block drives.  Come back tomorrow (Saturday) to see the new block drive announcement for May/June!

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Listening to...yes, it's another musical! This week has been a theatrical marathon seeing all the spring shows opening around here (Sat- Brighton Beach Memoirs, Sun- Boys Next Door, Wed- Peter and the Starcatcher, Thurs- Shrek, Sat- Alton Brown, Sun- Hair) so it's what's in my head!

Sew Some Love

Welcome to the Sew Some Love linkup!  Please link-up any post about a project you're sewing for charity.

Happy hump day! I hope you've all gotten more sewing done this week than I have. At least my do. Good Stitches blocks are done.  I've also been cutting into some hand-dyed fabrics that Jean from Connecticut sent me.  I'm thinking about a braid pattern for them...

Covered in Love has been so blessed by donations from quilters, I want you all to see what each other have going on!  For purposes of the linky, I'm going to define "charity" really generally.  If you're sewing a quilt for you co-worker's mom with cancer or your friend's uncle who lost his home, that totally counts!  Anything you're sewing out of the goodness of your heart for someone outside you immediate circle of family and friends. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Some Quilt Charities:
Books and a Blanket - quilts for needy children in central Texas, promoting literacy
Covered in Love - quilts for mourning families
Kennel Quilts - small quilts for animals in need
Margaret's Hope Chest - several programs for children and adults
My Very Own Blanket - quilts for children in foster care
Ovarian Cancer Quilt Project - quilts auctioned to raise money for cancer research
Project Linus - quilts for children in the hospital
Quilts Beyond Borders -  quilts for poor children around the world
Quilts for Kids - quilts for abused and ill children
Quilts of Valor - quilts for veterans
Threading Hope - children and families in poverty and war torn countries
Victoria's Quilts - quilts for cancer patients
Wrap-a-Smile - quilts for children treated for cleft palate on medical missions
Wrap Them in Love - quilts for children

If you know of any that need added to the list let me know!

Guest Post Today

As many of you probably know, Covered in Love was one of the lucky recipients of quilts from the Hands2Help quilt drive last year.  CiL was blessed with 50 fabulous quilts and it was such a boost to our supply, so I was thrilled when Sarah invited me to write a post to encourage this year's quilters!

It's up today, so pop on over to Confessions of a Fabric Addict to see my guest post.

Quarter Cabins Finished

Just in time for the next block drive to start, I've got all the January-February quilts finished :)  The Jan/Feb block drive made quarter log cabin blocks in cool colors and those became 6 lovely quilts to comfort families who lose loved ones in the hospital!

Today I took pictures of the final 3 quilts to be finished.  These all finished at 60"x72" and were quilted with a quick stipple.

I went to work this week for the first time since the news article came out and a lot of the doctors, nurses, case managers, etc. said nice things to me about the project, so kudos to all you guys who help out!

Amanda from Louisiana has been a big supporter of CiL for a while now. Recently she sent me a bunch of yardage for backings from a store that was going out of business. There were some great fabrics in there, including this cool bee/leaf design that went perfectly with these quilts.

The current Covered in Love block drive is wrapping up soon, but there's still time to make blocks if you want to.  More info here! 

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Oh Scrap!

Listening to...Alexi Murdoch. Some nice mellow music.

Sew Some Love

Welcome to the Sew Some Love linkup!  Please link-up any post about a project you're sewing for charity.

I've been continuing to work on the "tulip" blocks DeeDee sent me.  I decided to add some more blocks to keep the flowers company in their garden.  The bird and frog blocks are from Lorna's Elephant Parade QAL.

I hope you had a great Easter! We had a nice day at home and I made a bunch of pickles from this book. Can't wait to try them!

Covered in Love has been so blessed by donations from quilters, I want you all to see what each other have going on!  For purposes of the linky, I'm going to define "charity" really generally.  If you're sewing a quilt for you co-worker's mom with cancer or your friend's uncle who lost his home, that totally counts!  Anything you're sewing out of the goodness of your heart for someone outside you immediate circle of family and friends. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Some Quilt Charities:
Books and a Blanket - quilts for needy children in central Texas, promoting literacy
Covered in Love - quilts for mourning families
Kennel Quilts - small quilts for animals in need
Margaret's Hope Chest - several programs for children and adults
My Very Own Blanket - quilts for children in foster care
Ovarian Cancer Quilt Project - quilts auctioned to raise money for cancer research
Project Linus - quilts for children in the hospital
Quilts Beyond Borders -  quilts for poor children around the world
Quilts for Kids - quilts for abused and ill children
Quilts of Valor - quilts for veterans
Threading Hope - children and families in poverty and war torn countries
Victoria's Quilts - quilts for cancer patients
Wrap-a-Smile - quilts for children treated for cleft palate on medical missions
Wrap Them in Love - quilts for children

If you know of any that need added to the list let me know!

Got the Blues

Happy Friday! I hope you haven't got the blues this week.

During the Jan/Feb Covered in Love block drive, for whatever reason, I ended up with an excess of blue blocks. Putting many of them together into a cool blue top seemed to be the best solution.

This quilt is blue with brown backing, so it will be perfect for some manly-man. No purple in sight!

Like all the block drive quilts, this one will be donated to dying patient in the hospital.  Thanks so much to every one who supports Covered in Love!

Covered in Love makes quilts of comfort.  The latest CiL block drive will run through April. If you want to help make blocks for grieving families we'd love to have you. More info here! 

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Oh Scrap!

Listening to... Blue men.  Sticking with the theme.

Sew Some Love

Welcome to the Sew Some Love linkup!  Please link-up any post about a project you're sewing for charity.

I got back into my UFOs this week and pulled out these tulip blocks Dee Dee sent me ages ago.  There were finished blocks, un-assembled pieces, and partially constructed blocks in all stages.

I needed to cut more 2.5" tone-on-tone white squares to finish the blocks, but my GO! Cutter made that a snap.  Now I've got (61) scrappy red tulip blocks ready to become a top.  I've got some fun ideas for this one.

I also got some more faded quarter cabin tops quilted, so with any luck I'll get at least one bound by Friday.  I want to say a special thank you to everyone who supports Covered in Love.  CiL has been getting some local media attention lately and there was a nice article in the Sunday paper this week. I couldn't do it without you guys :)

Covered in Love has been so blessed by donations from quilters, I want you all to see what each other have going on!  For purposes of the linky, I'm going to define "charity" really generally.  If you're sewing a quilt for you co-worker's mom with cancer or your friend's uncle who lost his home, that totally counts!  Anything you're sewing out of the goodness of your heart for someone outside you immediate circle of family and friends. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Some Quilt Charities:
Books and a Blanket - quilts for needy children in central Texas, promoting literacy
Covered in Love - quilts for mourning families
Kennel Quilts - small quilts for animals in need
Margaret's Hope Chest - several programs for children and adults
My Very Own Blanket - quilts for children in foster care
Ovarian Cancer Quilt Project - quilts auctioned to raise money for cancer research
Project Linus - quilts for children in the hospital
Quilts Beyond Borders -  quilts for poor children around the world
Quilts for Kids - quilts for abused and ill children
Quilts of Valor - quilts for veterans
Threading Hope - children and families in poverty and war torn countries
Victoria's Quilts - quilts for cancer patients
Wrap-a-Smile - quilts for children treated for cleft palate on medical missions
Wrap Them in Love - quilts for children

If you know of any that need added to the list let me know!

New Block Drive Finishes

Another Friday and some new finishes to show! This time it's the first 2 quilts from the Jan/Feb Covered in Love block drive.  If you're interested in the block drives you can find the current one here.

During the Jan/Feb drive we made quarter log cabin blocks with a color fade and over 30 quilters sent in blocks.  I'm really thrilled with how these quilts came together. The colors are like jewel-tones.

Both these quilts finished at a nice size, 60"x72", and used fluffy wool batting.  These are the first two of what will be six quilts from the Jan/Feb block drive.

Spring is definitely here in Texas and the heat won't be far behind.  The end of my semester is sneaking up on me so fast now; it feels like this year has flown by! I hope things are going well and the weather is mild where ever you are.

Covered in Love makes quilts of comfort.  The latest CiL block drive will run through April. If you want to help make blocks for grieving families we'd love to have you. More info here! 

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Oh Scrap!

Listening to...an old favorite. I was fortunate enough to see flamenco dancing in Spain years ago and was amazed by how powerful and striking it is. Far from the delicate, feminine skirt-fluffing you see in TV and movies.

Sew Some Love Linkup

Welcome to the Sew Some Love linkup!  Please link-up any post about a project you're sewing for charity.

This week I finished sewing up the faded quarter cabin tops from the Jan/Feb blocks drive.  You can see them stacked at the bottom of the design wall in this picture, waiting for quilting.  These scrappy blocks were sent in by Priscilla from Connecticut and will soon be sewn up into a top as well.

Covered in Love has been so blessed by donations from quilters, I want you all to see what each other have going on!  For purposes of the linky, I'm going to define "charity" really generally.  If you're sewing a quilt for you co-worker's mom with cancer or your friend's uncle who lost his home, that totally counts!  Anything you're sewing out of the goodness of your heart for someone outside you immediate circle of family and friends. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Some Quilt Charities:
Books and a Blanket - quilts for needy children in central Texas, promoting literacy
Covered in Love - quilts for mourning families
Kennel Quilts - small quilts for animals in need
Margaret's Hope Chest - several programs for children and adults
My Very Own Blanket - quilts for children in foster care
Ovarian Cancer Quilt Project - quilts auctioned to raise money for cancer research
Project Linus - quilts for children in the hospital
Quilts Beyond Borders -  quilts for poor children around the world
Quilts for Kids - quilts for abused and ill children
Quilts of Valor - quilts for veterans
Threading Hope - children and families in poverty and war torn countries
Victoria's Quilts - quilts for cancer patients
Wrap-a-Smile - quilts for children treated for cleft palate on medical missions
Wrap Them in Love - quilts for children

If you know of any that need added to the list let me know!