January 2024 CiL Block Drive

 At long last I am pleased to announce another Covered in Love block drive! This drive will run from January - March (3 months). 

In case you haven't ever participated before, the idea in a nutshell is that you can make as many or as few blocks as you like. Contact coveredinlovetx@gmail.com for the mailing address and try to have them in the mail by the end of March. All the blocks received will be combined into quilts for families who lose loved ones in east Texas hospitals. 

photo by Elizabeth Hartman

This time around we are going to be making Mod Mosaic blocks from the pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.  Follow this link and scroll to be bottom to download her pdf tutorial. For you blocks please use any bright, saturated fabric scraps and white sashing. Trim your blocks to 12.5" x 15.5".  Email or comment if you have any questions and have fun!

String Block Quilts, 2 Years On

At long last, I think all the quilts from the Jan/Fab 2022 string blocks are done! This isn't the wrap up post, but it should be the second to last batch. 

I noticed this little embroidered dragonfly hiding on one of the blocks. Little surprises like that are the best part of scrappy blocks!  

All of the quilts in this post were finished by Linda on her long arm. These string blocks would never have gotten done without Linda's help!

windmills and the Eifel Tower

I have news which I know many of you have been eagerly anticipating! CiL will have a block drive starting in January!

I'll have the post up this weekend with instructions for the block drive, so check back to see. I don't know if we will be back to having block drives consistently every 2 months or will continue to skip around, but it's a start. 

If you squint you can see the flower FMQ design

Don't forget that Cynthia is also running block drives every 3 months for Compassion Quilts. She has a very cool log cabin block drive going right now.

CiL has had a great few years. We're now in four hospitals in North-East Texas and have distributed almost 1,400 quilts since starting in 2015. 

piggies! and a woven sort of FMQ design

The past year or so without block drives have given me time to breathe and rediscover the importance of personal quilting for me. Thank you for all being patient! I hope you'll enjoy the block drive I've chosen.

These photos may have been the last ones taken on the side of my porch. As I type the handy man is at work putting on a porch roof and screening it in. The kitties are getting the biggest Christmas present of all this year!

They are scared to death of all the banging, but I know they'll love being able to go outside once it's finished. (The real reason for the roof is to finally stop the leak around my front door, the Catio is just a bonus.) 

 Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Happy holidays

 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love this time of the year! I love the lights and the music and the cooler weather, the only problem is it goes by so fast!

All of the quilts in this post were made my one of CiL's faithful long-armers, Linda. 

Linda's been working hard the past few years helping to assemble and quilt our block drives, but she also makes her own quilts and sometimes donates them.

Linda has a great eye for color and pattern and she is a busy bee! She's one of the folks who keeps CiL afloat.

Our community has really gone all out for Christmas this year.  The nearby town had a Celtic Christmas festival weekend and I enjoyed a show at the local theatre with bagpipers, drummers, dancers and folk singers. 

(There's no particular Scotch or Irish heritage in our area, I assume they just thought it would be a fun theme?)

The school had a Christmas festival on Saturday and the music and general hubbub was clearly audible from our house. 

Hope you're enjoying this Christmas season, wherever you are!

Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Just some life photos...

I don't have a quilt post ready this week, so here address some snap shots instead. 

I made some Christmas ornaments with that baking soda dough that's been everywhere on the internet recently. Most of them are still drying but I've been experimenting with paint techniques on some of the broken ones.

Fudge-roo, aka Roo-cifer, aka Roo-cephus was having some serious separation anxiety last Sunday and spent a couple hours in his baby carrier while I did chores, because he's just a little baby :)

After my parents' last dog passed away they continued their habit of throwing food scraps into the dog bowls on the porch. This is one of at least two very bold and very fat possums who comes for dinner on their porch every night.

It's been wonderfully cool at night and the kitties are enjoying their heating pad very much. Fudge usually spends the entire night on it, but Sundae gets too warm after a while and moves so she only has a leg on. 

By the way, Cynthia recently launched her latest Comfort Quilt block-drive. It's a really cool modified log cabin block, can't wait to see how they come together!