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! One of the things I really enjoy doing for CiL is picking out the new block drives every couple months. I spend a lot of time thinking about block designs and color schemes and sewing out test blocks.  This month's block drive is a repeat of a very old drive in a new color scheme. I had fun making my test blocks and I hope you'll have fun if you decide to participate in the drive!

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
Jack's Basket - celebrating babies born with Down Syndrome
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!

Covered in Love Block Drive

Hello everybody and welcome to the Covered in Love Nov/Dec block drive post!  I decided to do another throw back block drive this month, but it was only the second drive we ever did so I think not many of you have done it before.

(I didn't actually get my 9 patches sewn together for the picture, but you get the idea)

Last time I called this Patchwork Mosaic, this time I'm calling it Patchwork Surprise. The blocks are simple 9-patches of 4.5" squares (unfinished, block comes to 12.5" unfinished).  Each 9-patch is made from a mix of pieced and solid squares.  Aim for 1-3 pieced squares per 9-patch and select the rest of your squares from print fabrics that match the color scheme below.

The colors are crimson, faded denim blue, dark chocolate brown, taupe, "snowy" greys, you can throw in some navy too if you want. Think dark, warm, snuggled-up-in-a-cabin-in-a-snowstorm, flannel blanket type colors.


You can make your pieced blocks in any design you like.  Keep it simple with a four-patch made from 2.5" squares, or a HST, or make it as complicated as you like, as long as the unfinished block is 4.5" and fits into your 9-patch.

The only difference between this block drive and when we did it back in 2015 is the color scheme. So note, your blocks should NOT be in purples and greens.  If you want to look at the old block drive post and the old finishes for inspiration you totally should, you can find them here and here.

same design - different colors, from 2015

When we did this before 9 ladies made two quilts. There are a LOT more of you now and I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Edited to Add: View some finished quilts here)

For anyone who is new to CiL's block drives, welcome! Anyone can contribute to these drives and you may make as many or as few blocks as you like.  Contact me by leaving a comment or email CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com to get a mailing address and try to get your blocks in the mail by New Years.  I put up a new drive every couple months and I try to mix them up so if one month you're busy, or it's not your colors, you can skip that month and join in the next.

Covered in Love makes quilts of comfort which are distributed to patients who pass away at an East Texas hospital. These quilts give the families something to take home to remember their loved one and find comfort in.  So far over 240 quilts have been donated!

Eat your Greens

Tossed salad and soggy crackers: that's what Paula who made this top named it. Isn't that too perfect? I love it.

The tops was made from a bunch of leftover pieces, including low volume four patch units (which she called soggy crackers). Such warm, soothing scraps in this one.

I backed the top with some fabrics sent in by Sandra and quilted it with a quick stipple.  Sandra has generously sent in several boxes of yardage to keep me in backings, so I can always find the perfect match for a top!

This next quilt came from my college friend's mom, Theresa. She was kind enough to send me a box of projects to finish so you're going to be seeing a lot of her tops in the coming months.

This nice flannel sampler came already basted to its backing and batting! I threw it on the machine the very day I opened the box and had a quick finish.

The flannel is super soft and cozy and I love the colors in this one.  It's a generous size and will make a great snuggle quilt for someone.

My new stray cat friend Radio was on hand of help with quilt photography. As you can see from the leaves on the ground the seasons are starting to change!  It's almost time for a change of block drives, too.  Keep an eye out for the new drive post to go up sometimes over the weekend, and if you're still working on October blocks now's the time to get them finished up!

I name him Radio because he never stops talking

If you'd like to join in with Covered in Love's mission you can learn more on the main page or check out the block drive.  The current Covered in Love block drive is a simple Fall-colored patchwork. This drive is almost over but there's still time to squeeze in a few blocks by the end of October if you want.  More info here! 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts and Finished or Not Friday

Sew Some Love

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

Recently a college friend's mom, who is a quilter, was kind enough to send me a great big box of tops and UFOs for Covered in Love. I've been working on making backings and getting them quilted little by little.  There are two of these small rail fence tops in pretty pinks and blues that I basted and quilted the other day.

I think these little quilts are so pretty, but I'd never have chosen the fabrics myself. Suffice it to say these are not my colors. And thank goodness for that! If CiL were only relying on me making quilts in my favorite colors and designs a lot of people would miss out on getting their favorites. 

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
Jack's Basket - celebrating babies born with Down Syndrome
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!

Scrappy: Bright and Happy

This weeks quilts are all about bright and happy colors! This first top donated by Priscilla from Connecticut. It's Bonnie Hunter's Boxy Stars pattern made in lots of fun scraps.

I love how from a distance it almost looks like a color wash quilt, but when you get close up you see all the fun novelty fabrics. Meloney quilted this on her longarm with a pretty leaf pattern.

This top with bright, modern fabric on a striking black background was donated by Paula from Wisconsin and also quilted by Meloney. She used a variegated blue and white thread to quilt a stipple interspersed with spirals.

The backing on both these quilts came from fabrics donated by Quilting Treasures. They sent me five different cuts of extra-wide, tone on tone fabrics to use for Covered in Love.

Thank you to everyone who supports CiL and makes it a success!

If you'd like to join in with Covered in Love's mission you can learn more on the main page or check out the block drive.  The current Covered in Love block drive is a simple Fall-colored patchwork. This drive will run until the end of October if you want to help out.  More info here! 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts and Finished or Not Friday

New Favorite Way to Make On-Point Settings {Sew Some Love}

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

As I've begun sewing together the Scrappy Susannah blocks I wanted to try a different setting. This technique makes on-point settings SOOO much easier. I saw it here on Summer's Instagram.  Summer was making a rectangular quilt, whereas I made a square one.  First sew together a 4x8 top and then cut along the blue lines.

Flip those triangles over, sew them together, and then sew them to the larger triangle to make the other half of the quilt. Since you do end up with bias edges on the outside I sewed stay-stitching along what would become the outside edges before cutting apart the triangles. With 12" blocks this top finishes at about 68" square. What do you think? Does anyone know the original source for this technique?

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
Jack's Basket - celebrating babies born with Down Syndrome
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!

Tops to Quilts

Happy Fall, Y'all!  Well, almost. Today it was 90 degrees, but the two days before that it was cool and it's finally starting to feel like the seasons are changing.  The cooler weather always gives me a burst of motivation, so I got busy the other day and transformed some donated tops into finished quilts.

This beautiful batik jelly roll race came from Vickie in Ohio and isn't it lovely? I admit, batik fabrics are my favorites. Those bold, saturated colors!

I put together a backing from the gorgeous, hand-dyed, batik fat quarters sent to me by Jean from Connecticut. This bright quilt is going to be perfect to comfort a family through Covered in Love.

After that bright and a little bit wild top I quilted up this one, which is so serene and refined.  Priscilla from Connecticut sent this in.

Isn't the color fade so beautiful? And I love the borders.  If you want to join in with Covered in Love you can always jump into the current block drive, linked below.

 
If you'd like to join in with Covered in Love's mission you can learn more on the main page or check out the block drive.  The current Covered in Love block drive is a simple Fall-colored patchwork. This drive will run until the end of October if you want to help out.  More info here! 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts and Finished or Not Friday

Sew Some Love

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

Yesterday was the first day of cool weather here that actually felt like Fall! I can't wait for the cooler temperatures to get here to stay.  It puts me in the mood to sit down and sew up some of the beautiful scrappy susannah blocks coming in through the block drive.  If you want to join in with Covered in Love's block drive this one will run until the end of October :)

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
Jack's Basket - celebrating babies born with Down Syndrome
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!

Oh My Stars

Before you look at my post, go check out the awesome quilt Louise made for CiL this week with fabrics from Jean and Sandra!

This week the first finishes from this summer's Red White and Blue Stars block drive are done!  This year I tried to sort them more than I did last year.  This top quilt is mostly blocks with dark backgrounds, "vintage" looking fabrics, and off-white backgrounds.

All three of the quilts in today's post were quilted by the wonderful Kathy.  She's a dedicated local quilter who has helped Covered in Love a ton.

The above quilt was smaller stars floating on white backgrounds.  All of these finished at a very generous 60"x72". They are so cozy and will be perfect for someone to wrap up in.

I love all the variety of stars in these quilts. Nearly 40 of you participated in this block drive!

This quilt was more of a free-for-all with the stars, I didn't really have a theme in mind.

Aren't these stars cool?

Thank you to everyone who sent in blocks! Thank you to Kathy, my quilting hero!  In next month or so there will be more of these star quilts to come.

If you'd like to join in with Covered in Love's mission you can learn more on the main page or check out the block drive.  The current Covered in Love block drive is a simple Fall-colored patchwork. This drive will run until the end of October if you want to help out.  More info here! 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Oh Scrap!, Crazy Mom Quilts and Finished or Not Friday

Sew Some Love

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

The end is in sight with the star blocks from this summer's block drive. I laid out the last three tops on the design wall over the weekend.

Two of these are going to a local quilter, Kathy, to finish. Kathy is always willing to help however I need it. I can give her a bag of blocks and a few weeks later she'll bring back a finished quilt!  The world needs more Kathys, that's for sure :)

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
Jack's Basket - celebrating babies born with Down Syndrome
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!