New Summer Block Drive

Hello Quilters! Time to wrap up the Winter block drive here at CiL and move onto Summer. This time we are doing a disappearing nine patch block inspired from the blog Chris Knits Sews, she is doing them for a Rainbow Scrap challenge this year.

For each block you will need (9) 5" squares from:

• blue (true blue, not teal or aqua)
• white/cream 
• black/grey
• (if you want inspiration, I realized it's the same color scheme as this block drive we did years ago)

This is a good way to use up leftover charm pack squares if you have them. You will also need 1.25" strips from the closest thing you have to a cheddar yellow (can be a textured solid or read-as-solid.) You'll need (6) 1.25" x 5" long strips and (2) 1.25" x 15.5" per block.

Sew your squares into a 9 patch with the yellow as sashing between the blocks. Press seams toward the sashing.

Now comes the disappearing part. Slice your block through the middle in both directions. You can find the middle by measuring 2.25" from the sashing seam line into the center blocks.

Rearrange the blocks as you like, turning them so that 2 of the littlest squares are diagonal from each other in the middle and the other two are pointing out at opposite corners

Sew the blocks back together and press. You're done! My math says your block should be 15", but mine was 14.75", so don't stress if you aren't perfect.

This block drive is open to anyone who wants to participate. The blocks will be assembled into quilts for families who lose a loved one in East Texas hospitals. You can make as few or as many blocks as you want. I don't know exactly how long this drive will run, but probably through October or so. If you need the mailing address please email me at CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com.

New Block Drive!

 Yes, I know it's well overdue, but at long last I have a new block drive for Covered in Love.  I really like this block and Claudia did a great tutorial on her blog. 

Visit Claudia's blog to find the fabric requirements and the link to the tutorial. This makes a 12" finished (12.5" unfinished) block. You'll need 4 different fabrics, but not very much of each one, so it should make a good scrap buster, too. 

Our color scheme for this block drive is warm colors and light neutrals. So that means reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks, plus any off white or white neutrals you want to add. See the color wheel below for an example of warm colors.

This block drive is open to anyone who wants to participate. The blocks will be assembled into quilts for families who lose a loved one in East Texas hospitals. You can make as few or as many blocks as you want. I don't know exactly how long this drive will run, but probably through April or June. If you need the mailing address please email me at CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com.

Happy Sewing!

CiL Block Drive {Summer 2025}

It's time, finally, for another Covered in Love block drive! Historically these have run for 2-3 months, but since I can't seem to stick to a deadline I'm just going to say that this drive will run until at least the end of September, possibly longer.

We are going to be making larger blocks than usual this time around, based on this quilt that Lori sent in. I'm sure this block has a name, so if you are aware of it please comment. I'm calling it scrappy pinwheels.

The instructions to make the blocks are below. In case you have never participated in one of our block drives before, anyone can make blocks and you can make as few or as many as you like. Send an email to CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com to get the mailing address to send them in. I will mix them all together and our volunteers will help to make them into quilts that will be given to grieving families in the hospital. (If you would like to volunteer to help assemble blocks and/or quilt please reach out!)

For each scrappy pinwheel block you will need:

• 4.5" x 41" strip of a low volume fabric (white, off white, light tan, light gray)
• (2) 2.5" x 41" strips of colorful, highly saturated fabrics (please stay away from pinks/purples)
• 6" sq of a colorful, read-as-solid or solid fabric

Sew the strips together as shown, with the wider light strip on one side and both colors strips on the other side. I had long enough pieces of (3) fabrics to make just one 41" strip set with the same fabrics. Since this is meant to be a scrap buster feel free to use multiple fabrics within the same block. You can make multiple, shorter strip sets. You will just need a total of (about) 41 linear inches of strips per block.

Here's where it gets interesting. Fold the strip in half longways, right sides together, and sew the free side of the light strip to the free side of the 2.5" strips to make a long fabric tube.

Now begin to cut triangles from the strip tube. Align you ruler with the point at one side and the other side hitting at 6 3/8" on both sides of your ruler (red dots). 

After aligning your ruler you may want to put a strip of tape on your ruler marking the edge of the fabric strip to make future cuts quicker. 

Continue down the strip set, flipping your ruler back and forth, to cut triangles. You'll need (8) of these folded triangle blocks.

Each block will have just a few stitches at the tip that need to be picked out so you can unfold them. Then press your blocks and square them up to 6" sq. 

Arrange all your blocks as shown and sew together. As I said before, it's ok to have several fabrics within the same block to use up your scraps.

Your finished block should measure 17". Please sew a line of stay stitching around it to keep the bias edges from warping. Just increase your stitch length to 3 or 4 and sew about 1/8" from the edge all the way around.  I'm looking forward to seeing the blocks you make! 

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. 

"Family Ties" CiL Block Drive

Hello quilters! It's time for a new Covered in Love block drive. We run these block drives every three months to create quilts for dying patients in Texas hospitals.  Anyone can participate and you can make as few or as many blocks as you like.  If you need the address to send blocks please email CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com.  This drive will run July-September. Now, onto the actual block!

This time around we will be doing a version of the free "Family Ties" pattern from Riley Blake. I just resized it to make a 12" block.  We will be using the color scheme from the palette below from Design Seeds. The "darks" are aqua, true blue, navy, red, maroon, light red (but not pink), and the "lights" are very light sky blue, light grey, and you can add white.  You can see an example of a quilt my do. good stitches circle made from this same color scheme a few years ago here (it's the second one down).

For each block you will need to cut (4) 7.5" squares, (2) light and (2) dark, plus (4) 2.5" squares, (2) light and (2) dark.  These measurements give you extra so you can trim down to size later. (There are only 2 light squares in my photo, it should be 4, that was a mistake). Remember that you can flip over fabrics and use the back side to make them lighter.

Mark a diagonal line on the back of your large light squares, match each one with a dark square, and sew 1/4" on both sides of the line. Cut apart and press to make (4) half square triangles (aka HSTs), square these up to 6.5".  Also cut all the small squares diagonally.

Trim a triangle off the corners on the outside of the HSTs by aligning the 45 degree line on your ruler with the side of the block and placing the corner of the block where the 1" line and 45 degree line intersect.  Then sew one of the triangles from the small squares into place, sewing a dark triangle onto the light side of the HST and vice versa. Press the seams (I recommend pressing open) and trim again to 6.5".

If you're making more than one block you can shuffle around the sub-units to create more variety. Arrange (4) 6.5" blocks with the dark small triangles toward the center, so it makes a light-colored ring, and sew together.  I did adjust the measurements after I made my block to make the small triangles even smaller, so don't be surprised if yours looks a little different from mine.

The block should finish at 12.5" square. Since it has bias edges all along the outside please do sew a line of stay stitching, with a long stitch length, 1/8" from the edge all around. It will help them keep their shape until they are sewn into the final quilt.

And that's it! I hope this will be a fun block for you.  It's a take on our usual summer red-white-and-blue drive with a more narrow color scheme. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the blocks you make! If you want to see previous CiL drives and the quilts we've made together click here. 

Obligatory cat photos. Mom's dog put a hole in his lambchop toy and I brought it over to repair. Fudge was surprisingly into it.

2nd Quarter Block Drive

Hello quilters! It's time for the second CiL quilt drive of the year. I know that the previous drive was a little complex, this one will be easier hopefully. 

These two quilts were made by Donna J and dropped off recently and I thought the design would make a perfect CiL block drive. It's a super simple scrap buster, specifically binding scraps if you make yours at 2.5" wide like I do. This block is appropriately called the Potato Chip block, betcha can't make just one!

For a color scheme look for fabrics with a warm, saturated, farm-house kind of vibe similar to the two quilts shown, nothing super bright.  And you'll need some low-volume (not bright white) fabrics for the inner ring.

Cut (12) 2.5"x4.5" pieces from your darker fabrics and (6) 2.5"x4.5" pieces from the low volume fabrics.

Start assembling from the inside as shown.

The block should finish at 12.5" square.

In case you haven't ever participated in a CiL block drive 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 June. This block drive will run for 3 months, from April-June. All the blocks received will be combined into quilts for families who lose loved ones in east Texas hospitals. 

Thank you to Donna J for the inspiration, and I can't wait to see the blocks you all make!

Linking to Finished or Not Friday

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!

Another Block Drive

 Hello quilty friends :) As you have heard, the Covered in Love block drive is currently taking a break over the holidays. I know this is a time of year when many people don't have a lot of time for quilting, but there are also a lot of you who are jonesing for something to do!

With perfect timing, Cynthia at Quilt is More Fun Than Housework has decided to start another program similar to CiL where she lives! She will be supporting her local hospital's Palliative Care Program as well as some other needs with quilts.  

She's just posted her first block drive request and if would make me really happy if you would send her lots of blocks! The block drive is super simple and in great colors (well, some of my favorite colors.) You can find all the details on Cynthia's blog HERE. 

Cynthia has been a great supporter of Covered in Love. Every year she takes some of our blocks to finish into quilts. She also guest-hosted a block drive once while I was out of town.  She's the best and I am thrilled she's taking the CiL concept and applying it locally!  Please visit her blog and think about making some blocks.