Christy's Cozy Shirtings Quilts

I've been needing to, and wanting to, get these tops that Christy sent in  to CiL quilted for a while.  Christy makes a lot of quilts with shirtings, which are fabrics recycled from men's shirts.   You can see some of her previous quilts here.

I love the color palettes this creates, and I think the shirts must be a nice reminder for families. 

I think this large quilt with the vertical strips is especially cool.  

It got a great backing, too, made from leftover bits of backing from all the red, white, and blue star quilts from last July's block drive that we have been gradually finishing.  I was able to make two if these backings. 

Cute little churndash quilts with some pinks and purples.

All the quilts got an easy stipple that made them crinkle up really well in the wash.

Speaking of the wash, my over-worked, second-hand dryer quit working this week and had to have some repairs. On the bright side, the entire thing can be taken apart with a screw driver.  Thanks to my dad we're back in business.  

I'm glad it's back in one piece. I certainly won't miss the sound of the cats rolling the displaced dryer drum across the floor like a hamster wheel at 3 am...

For the most part I was able to find plaids, flannels, homespuns, and other fabrics that generally matched the tone of the tops to use for the backs.

Nice simple pinwheel design but it looks so warm and cozy in the blue and yellows. 

Besides her shirtings tops, Christy also sent in a few others (including some I haven't quilted yet). This red, white, and blue star quilt is counting in with last year's batch of July Stars.  

Christy said it's a Quilt of Valor Mystery Quilt by Alycia Quilts.  I checked with Alycia and she says the pattern is Under the Starry Sky and is available on Etsy.

I've just finished up another long week at the hospital, now I'm relatively free for two weeks (it's a weird schedule).  Hoping for some sunny days, or at least less rain, so I might get some more photos taken!

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 700 so far! During May/June Tammy is hosting our block drive on her blog.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finished or Not Friday

H2H Round Up #1

Happy Friday! I'm the happiest of all, I bet. I worked long days at the hospital this week and I am beat, you guys, so this post is going to be a lot of pictures.  Hands 2 Help has been a huge blessing to CiL this year already. Here's a rundown of some of the quilts that have arrived so far.  Laura sent in this huge modern triangle quilt which as already gifted to a pregnant woman who lost her husband. 

Doris said she adopted the one on the left as an orphan WIP from Diann at LittlePenguinQuilts. The one on the right was a top from her friend Nancy, both intended to be finished for donation.  Doris finished them on her longarm and CiL is the lucky recipient!

Amber sent in these two quilts. I especially like the one on the right with the interesting shapes and the rainbow colors.

Carol made this huge, beautiful batik quilt in ocean tones.

Becky, a fellow Texan and nurse, made a little bit of a drive to meet me one day and deliver a LOAD of goodies.  Three finished quilts, four that only needed binding, and about 17 tops with binding and backing.

Becky's haul included several quilts well suited for men.

I quickly finished the 4 that only needed binding, to add to the 3 that were done. 

These two patters are so interesting to look at next to each other.

Odd one out I photographed last. I love the batiks!

Kathy W sent in this batik and the super cool flaming quilt. I'd like to get to know the person who matches to that one!

Adele D sent in these great masculine quilts and the star quilt below.

Anita sent in this pinwheel quilt.

Karen M sent in these 4 really nice quilts.

I especially love these masculine quilts. the quilting on the one on the left is amazing!

Beryl sent in this huge sampler quilt.

Elizabeth K sent in this cool green quilt.

And last, for now, Linda M sent in these two beautifully quilted quilts.

Thank you ALL! 

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 700 so far! During May/June Tammy is hosting our block drive on her blog.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finished or Not Friday

Finally Wrapping Up 2019 Block Drive

Yes, that's right, these quilts are late-finishers from the Sept-Oct 2019 block drive.  These four tops were sent in by Gail and "aged" for a while until Linda quilted them! Perhaps a record for longest block drive running?  

Honestly it's nice to have quilts pop up so long after a drive, makes the design seem special again. And of course Linda's wonderful quilting puts them over the top. 

I had to take a picture of some of the backings, too. Gail always sends in the best backings with her tops.  Aren't these batik butterflies a beauty?

I really enjoyed sharing some of my favorite things to watch with you last Friday and I got some great recommendations, too.  I hope some of you found something you like to watch.  

Lovely swirly feathers, they look like butterflies.  

This drive is a good reminder of why I like half-square triangle designs so much.  They are just so versatile and can be laid out so many different ways.  

Sweet flower quilting!

Believe it or not, this backing is actually more saturated and deeply colored in person!

This lovely blue patchwork top was a bonus one sent along by Gail and finished by Linda.  It's so charming and cozy looking.

As much as I love elaborate swirling quilted feathers, I'm a sucker for geometric designs like these double zigzags.

Linda sent along this quilt of her own as an H2H donation.  I'm pretty sure the block is one of those where you sew one block and then cut it apart, similar to a disappearing nine patch, but I'm not sure what the original block was. 

A close up of the awesome back-and-forth wiggles quilting.  Thank you so much Linda!

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 700 so far! During May/June Tammy is hosting our block drive on her blog.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finished or Not Friday

Julie's Bold, Bright Tops

Julie W. sent me a box of tops a while ago and I've been itching to quilt them just because I love her colors and fabrics so much!  With the current quilting blitz I finally got around to it.  Isn't this scrappy bear claw wild? And I had the perfect backing fabric for it.  

Julie must have a great stash. I recognize so many of the prints from popular fabric lines. All of the small prints will be perfect for a family to spend a long time looking over and finding fun things.  There are foxes and gnomes and mermaids.

There are seven quilt tops from Julie in this group, all quilted now and ready to go up to the hospital.  I'm going to be making a huge delivery sometime soon. 

Since this is a long, picture-heavy post I thought it might be fun to tell you about some of the things I have been watching/listening to while quilting all of these. 

For a while now I have been enjoying "Time Team", which is a British archaeology show that ran from the early 1990s to about 2012.  Typical for British television, it's educational and entertaining and the hosts are charming. I've learned a ton about British history.  You can find most of the episodes on YouTube and if you want to give it a try I recommend this one. 

Along sort of similar lines, I've lately started watching YouTube channels of some British mudlarks.  (Mudlarking is going out looking along tidal rivers and estuaries for bits of history lost in the river and hidden for years in the mud.) Last year I listened to this book on Audible about mudlarking the Thames in London which introduced me to the idea. 

The two Mudlarking channels I am enjoying the most right now are Si-Finds and Nicola White.  There's a video here where Simon finds an almost-intact Roman pot in the Thames estuary. The mudlarks find coins from the past 2500 years, buttons, clay pipes, horse shoes, glass bottles, pottery, guns, shrapnel, and the list goes on and on.  They try to research whatever they find, which is fascinating.  Some things they take to the museum and other less valuable things they upcycle or make into art. 

Taking a break from history, I spent some time watching Adventures with Purpose. These specialist divers from Oregon search for missing things underwater. They especially work to solve cold-cases of missing people who may be  in a car underwater.

I first heard of them in a newspaper article when they solved a 30-year-old missing persons case on a nearby lake.  They don't have the video of that case up on their channel yet, but there are several others, like this one. 

Tasting History with Max Miller has been one of my favorite YouTube channels for the past year.  Max blends old recipes (like really old) with hilarious bite-sized takes on history.  This episode on the history of pancakes is a good one.

Another food channel that I really enjoy is Binging with Babish, he specializes in replicating food from movies and TV.  Here's part 2 of the Lord of the Rings special.  

I love the pattern of this quilt. So simple yet so effective!  Love that backing fabric, too.

There's a soap-making crafter I like to watch, Royalty Soaps.  She only lives about an hour from me and her videos are really soothing. I like to watch how the patterns some out in the soap bars.  She also sells her soap online although I've never bought any. 

Lofty Pursuits is a candy making channel based in Tallahassee, FL. They make traditional sugar hard candy with images in the cross section.  My grandma used to get me a cannister of candy like this at Christmas. Similar to the soap channel their videos are really soothing to watch. Greg also mixes in a lot of history and background in most of the videos.  I have bought their candies online before and they are amazing.  I got the Thanksgiving assortment a couple years ago with flavors like honey ham (yes ham candy!), sweet potato casserole, and sweet corn.  It was like Willy Wonka candy.

A few honorable mentions:  Lost in the Pond in a British man who has lived in the US for a decade and makes videos about the differences between the UK and America. Adam Savage's Tested is Adam from Mythbusters.  He works on all kinds of projects in his "cave" while rambling about different topics. Good to put on and listen to while I'm also working on a project. Frank Howarth is a genius woodturner. The way his brain can manipulate complex shapes is astounding and he makes beautiful wood turned objects.  Similar to the candy and soap channels, it's soothing to watch.

Well, that isn't all but it's enough don't you think? I feel like this exercise of making a list of my Youtubes has shown us 2 things.  One, I watch too much Youtube, even if I am almost always doing something else while listening to it.  And Two, there's a theme to these channels and the theme is that I'm a giant nerd.  But we already knew that ;)  I hope you might all find at least one new channel you enjoy from these!

As much as I love bright colors, I have to admit that this last quilt with the mellow blues and greys is actually my favorite.  Thank you Julie!

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 700 so far! During May/June Tammy is hosting our block drive on her blog.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finished or Not Friday