Baby Hugs for Jack's Basket

Some happy little quilts this week! Christine B. sent in several tops with backing a while back for Jack's Basket along with a donation for CiL.

For anyone who hasn't heard of them, Jack's Basket is a charity that gives "Welcome" baskets with fun stuff and educational materials, and support resources to families that have a new baby with Down Syndrome.  

Jack's Basket is one of my favorite charities that to give to when we have extra materials or things that don't work well for CiL.

I follow Jack's Basket on Instagram where they post pictures of cute babies with their baskets and I have spotted quilts we sent in several times!

The first 4 quilts came from Christine, these last 2 came from Frances B. I love how bright they both are.

Speaking of "bright". I saw a meme this week about how all the orange cats in the world share a single brain cell that they have to pass around. Obviously Fudge doesn't get his turn very often ;)

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 800 so far! The September/October drive is running now, check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

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

A Basket Full of Quilts for Jack

Happy Friday! I normally get my posts ready on Thursdays but I got behind this week.  The quilts I have to show this week aren't for CiL, but they are charity quilts!

Since I'm settling into my new quilting space I wanted to work on some smaller projects and Christine from FL had sent me 5 baby quilt tops for Jack's Basket all kitted up with matching backing and bindings.

These 5 baby quilts were the perfect way to break in my new space with some quick projects for my other favorite charity ;)

Jack's Basket gives education and supportive Welcome Baskets to babies born with Down Syndrome.  The remind families that their baby is beautiful and deserves to be celebrated during a time when that message has often gotten lost.

They appreciate having quilts to place in their baskets and I enjoy sewing these smaller quilts from time to time.  Besides Christine's kitted quilts I also had 2 small flannel tops from Priscilla that I finished and added to the box.

Seven cute quilts off to welcome new babies, and my new sewing space is officially in business!

Speaking of the new space, I promise to make a separate house-tour post this weekend and tell you all about it!

The kitties got a tree for Christmas

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 500 so far! The Nov/Dec drive is going on now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

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

What to do with a modest baby?

A friend of mine is expecting a new baby soon, and so far the little scamp has kept their bits covered during the ultrasounds. I suppose they are modest?

I started off to make a gender neutral baby quilt using my 60 degree triangle ruler and pulling a color scheme to match this Van Gogh fabric I've had a long time.

In the end, I decided that one was too boy-ish. So I made a little girl quilt, pulling colors from a southwestern flamingo fabric I've had a long time. I think I must have found it in a remnant bin?

I found a bunch of too-cute fabrics for the front and some fat quarters to make the backing.  Once the mystery baby makes their debut the other quilt will be sent to Jack's Basket to celebrate another beautiful baby.  I delivered the quilts, along with an addressed envelope for Jack's Basket, to the Grandma-to-be over Christmas so she can take them to the birth.

Over the holidays I had about 3 weeks of downtime. A great opportunity to be surrounded by family, friends, dogs, and babies. I drank a lot of coffee, slept late, took the dogs for long walks and read a whole bunch of books.  Now I'm back home and back to work and gradually getting back into the swing of sewing.  I hope your holidays were also restful and enjoyable and your new year is off to a good start :)

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 400 so far! The Jan/Feb drive is going on now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

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

Quilts for Rock Stars

Sometimes it's fun to sew for the other end of life :) Jack's Basket is my new favorite charity for kid quilts. They welcome new babies with Down Syndrome with a gift basket and encouragement for their parents.

They appreciate baby quilts to add to their baskets and I'm just about to mail off these 6. It's been fun to do some smaller quilts and put old UFOs to good use. The herringbone string blocks, above, were originally intended to be a larger quilt but they've been sitting a looong time.

"Made from 360 tiny pieces. Small things make a huge impact."

I made customized labels for each one. The strings and small squares got similar labels about the big impact of small things.  Hopefully something that will resonate with the parents.

This is the block I asked for from my do. Good Stitches group this month. (Block source) I got into my scraps and cut enough little squares to make a baby quilt and then some.

This guitar has been hanging around a while.

It was the first thing I sewed last year after my eyes recovered enough to make out the lines on a ruler after eye surgery. I had no intentions for it, I was just getting stir crazy to sew!

I paired it with some cool fabrics and made a label that says "Already a rock star!" (With the nerd glasses and the bow ties maybe I should have said "already a hipster singer/songwriter" but that doesn't have the same ring.)

Last, I made 3 of these black and white and bright quilts. I had cut string scraps down to 2.5" for binding, but had way more than I needed. Plus white fabrics aren't ideal for binding.

I sewed them together jelly roll race style with bright scraps in between.  (I also incorporated some of the skinny strings I cut before). Nicki was so generous to give me to permission to use some of the binding she has sent in for CiL.  I had dyed some rainbow and it was so perfect for these quilts. (Besides Nicki's bindings all the rest of the materials for these quilts came from my stash, nothing donated to Covered in Love).

"You are a rainbow in a world of black and white."  A rainbow, and that's the truth!  Can't wait to get these in the mail.


Kitten update: they're doing fantastic and getting ready to go to their long term homes!

Waffles and Fudge end a play session with a nap

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 400 so far! The Nov/Dec drive is going on now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

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

Love for Jack's Basket

Jack's Basket is my new favorite charity! They provide gift baskets to families welcoming new babies with Down Syndrome.  Back in June some of you made little quilts to send to them. Elana sent me a top, backing, batting and binding to finish and I sent it in with one of mine.

I was so excited to see Elana's quilt had found its baby! See the quilt in the basket? What a gorgeous baby! It's nice to do some sewing from time to time that isn't for Covered in Love.

Elana's pretty, bright string quilt

I inherited a bolt of grey jersey a while back from my mom, intended for a project that never materialized.  I decided to combine it with my stash of fleece and minky remnants and make baby blankets.

I made 3 large blankets, about 40"x55", using the fleece blanket braided edge technique. 

And I made 10 smaller blankets about 36" square with raw edges. Since neither fleece or jersey ravel I just used a triple zigzag around the edge.

Having a new baby with Down Syndrome can be surprising, scary, and isolating. Jack's Basket delivers more than blankets, toys, and literature: they deliver hope.  Baskets, and more importantly, the volunteers who deliver them, assure families that they aren't alone, that their baby is beautiful, and that their baby has a bright future.

I've got a couple yards left on the bolt of jersey, so I plan to make some more blankets before too long, but for now I put these in the mail. 

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 300 so far! The Sept/Oct drive is a repeat of one of my old favorites, the grown-up eye-spy quilt.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

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

A Quilt for Every Baby

As all quilters know, every baby needs a quilt! Is there a better excuse to play with fun fabrics, experiment with new quilting designs, and whip out a quick finish than a new baby? I can't think of one.

I made this quilt for my cousin's soon-to-arrive baby boy from a Gingiber "Thicket" charm pack and panel.  I made this one for his older sister two years ago.  Unfortunately, not every baby is welcomed to the world with the fanfare they deserve.

When a baby is born with Down Syndrome doctors, medical personnel, and even friends and family can be negative and less than tactful about the diagnosis.  Parents are often in shock and unsure of the way forward.

An unexpected and unknown diagnosis can be scary for new parents, but Down Syndrome is nothing to be sad about.  (By the way, there's a lovely story here about grieving the child you expected while loving the one you have). I have the privilege of being friends with a young lady with Down Syndrome and I can tell you she is a delight!  She's smart and hilariously funny and full of love.

Jack's Basket is a charity that meets parents in the confusing days right after their child's birth and gives them a gift basket full of useful items, information about Down Syndrome and local support groups, blankets and clothes.  More than that though, Jack's Basket gives them hope. Hope that their baby is beautiful and has a bright future. Hope that other parents have been here before. Hope that different is not a bad thing. 

 

I have loved seeing updates from those of you gifting blocks to Briawna while CiL's block drive is on hiatus.  Thank you! You can certainly continue to contribute to her in June but I wanted to recommend another great charity to you.  Jack's Basket appreciates baby quilts to add to their baskets.  36" square makes a large baby quilt, that would take just 9 of CiL's usual 12.5" blocks.  

If you make a quilt for Jack's Basket please leave a comment or email me a photo, I'd love to know!  If you just want to make a top you can send if to me and I will quilt it and send it along (email CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com for the address.) 

Jack's Basket
2960 Snelling Avenue North L-105
Roseville, MN 55113

Thank you all for your support and patience while I am catching up. I have already quilted over a dozen quilts and I can't wait to share them all with you.  This week's quilt delivery to the hospital put us up to 331 quilts total.  In the meanwhile, thank you for sharing the love!

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