Jan-Mar 2025 CiL Block Drive

Happy New Year, Quilters! And welcome to the Jan-March 2025 Covered in Love block drive. To start off the year I thought we'd make a version of Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Mountain Majesty block.  I made a scrappy version years ago (above) and it is a fun block to make.  More details on the block drive "rules" at the bottom of the post.

I picked this color scheme: seafoam, grey-blue, brown, rust orange, goldenrod and butter yellow. Each block will need two fabrics that read as solid, textured solids and small prints are good. Make sure your two fabrics contrast with each other. The instructions make two mirror-image blocks at a time.

Start with two fabrics cut to 13.5" square.

Mark a diagonal line on the back of one of them from corner to corner. Place the squares right sides together and sew 1/4" on either side of the marked line. 

Cut on the line and press to make two half square triangles. Trim your HSTs to 12.5".

Stack the HSTs right sided up with the diagonals oriented opposite to each other. 

Cut vertical slices 2.5" wide through both blocks.

Separate the top layer from the bottom layer and reverse the order of the strips as shown above. Sew the strips together and you should get two mirror-image blocks measuring 10.5" x 12.5".

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. 

Tops by Becky {Merry Christmas!}

Merry Christmas, quilters! I hope you've all had a lovely holiday and are warm and snug. This week I have several tops donated by Becky. These first couple were quilted by Pam. I love the bold fabrics and how saturated the colors are.

Becky has a knack for choosing simple patterns and bold fabrics that really sing together.

Pam did a great job quilting this one with a stipple in the white spaces so that the texture enhances the design. 

Lastly, a really LARGE top of Becky's that I sent to Sundance to be quilted. I chose a pretty interlocking sort of geometric design.  Thank you to Becky, Pam, and Sundance!

2024 is coming to an end and I cannot believe it's 2025 already! CiL turns 10 years old in 2025! I will be resuming the Covered in Love block drives in January, so keep an eye out for that post soon. 

 Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Pantry Jars Quilt {Sorted}

Merry Christmas, Quilters! I am working in the hospital today, but I'm off this week. I hope you're all having a fun holiday. 

I thought I'd do a bonus post today to show a personal quilt I made recently. I like to listen to a lot of YouTube while I sew and over the summer I got into a food channel called Sorted. 

So I did what any reasonable person would do and made them a quilt! (You know what it's like when the inspiration bug bites.) I decided on pantry jars, which is a design I've never made before. 

I looked at a lot of quilts as inspiration and had fun adding elements like these books with funny titles from selvedges and the spice bottles and wine.

I also did several larger containers of fruit and veg in crates/boxes/bowls. I just stabilized those and then did raw edge applique.

I quilted wood grain on the shelves and the crates and stitch-in-the-ditch around the jars, and then stipple in the background.

To my surprise and delight the guys actually opened my quilts during a segment on their Christmas live show! The entire show is behind a paywall, but you can see most of their reaction here. 

I'm tickled by how excited they got about the backing. I bought 2 yards of a novelty food print and then pieced the rest from scraps. I guess all quilts are, by definition, two-sided? 

There's nothing more gratifying as a quilter than seeing something you made be appreciated and used in the spirit it was gifted.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

PS: the Covered in Love block drives will be back in January, so keep an eye out for that post in about a week. 

Tops by Jo

Happy Friday, quilters! I've got a few more quilts to show you this week. These tops were all made and sent in by Jo. this first one was sent in to Sundance Quilting to be finished.

Sundance did this cute ladybug motif, and I really like the rainbow backing and binding I found to complement it. 

This top, made from batiks, was quilted with a stipple by me here at home. 

For some reason this one didn't photograph particularly well. It's stunning in real life. 

I LOVE this quilt design with various sizes of flying geese. I really like the white space in it. 

It uses vintage 30's looking fabrics and Sundance did a big loopy flower design for the quilting.  Thank you Jo!! And Merry Christmas to everyone.

 Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Quilted by Doris

Happy Friday, quilters! Some neat monochromatic quilts to show this week. These were all worked by Doris, who has recently started to help CiL with competing tops.

This first quilt top in the bright, punchy orange was sent in by Nina. I like how random and busy the pattern looks, but the color scheme pulls it all together.

Next up, two tops from Judy G.

Both of these have just three fabrics, yet make a very effective design.

Simpler quilt tops are some of my favorites to send out to long armers because the quilting can really shine.

  

Thank you to Nina, Judy, and Doris!

Linking to Finished or Not Friday

A mix of modern and traditional

Hello, friends! Louise here to share a few quilts made with your donated orphan blocks. First up is a great mix of purples and greens, one of my favorite color combos. The blocks are set with a uniform pale gray sashing for a simple, masculine feel.

Here's another use of a gray background, but in asymmetric columns. Every block also contains gray, as does the scrappy binding. The occasional bright pops of color add spark and give it a modern vibe.

This quilt has also has a modern column layout, but the blocks and color palette feel very traditional. Flying geese, monkey wrenches, hour glasses, and more!

This quilt uses a cute cats-and-sewing panel mixed with orphan blocks. Because of your generosity, I can always find just the right color blocks to enhance sweet panels like this one!

These three small quilts all came from some big strip sets sent in by Kathy. She included a note that said she originally intended to use them for a pattern called Chimney Sweep but that Covered in Love could use them in any way we wanted. I chose to cut the sets diagonally and make Wonky Diamonds. The colors are so soft and pretty that I thought they'd make ideal neonatal quilts. Thank you, Kathy, for this fun project!

Here's a little piece made of scrappy red and green blocks. I think this is called Crown of Thorns? I love the secondary pattern that appears between the red circle shapes.

And finally, this quilt in true blues and beige/browns is one of my favorites.

Check out this panel of cathedral window blocks! I would have never tackled making these myself, but loved integrating them into a larger quilt.

And how about these "crazy quilt" blocks featuring embroidery, lace, fancy trims and buttons? So fun!

The center column is seven hexagon blocks, each with a tiny, homey central embroidery. Kat took close up photos of each sweet one so you can enjoy them as much as I did. My favorite is the teeny tiny sweater!

Many thanks to all the talented and generous people who sent in this huge variety of blocks. Your hands help cover our recipients in quilty love!