Bits and Bobs

Happy Friday, quilters! I've got several quilts to show this week without any real theme.  First up are two tops by Kathy H that were quilted by Dee. Kathy got together with her friend Suzanne to make some tops for CiL and we've just gotten them all quilted. 

There were two of these mosaic block quilts and they're both stunning! I always see things like this and think, that could be a good block drive...

This quilt is simpler, but shows off the fabrics and the quilting panto more. 

The next top came from Jocelyn and was quilted by me. A nice scrappy design with great colors in a unique design. I just stippled it as usual.

And lastly, a top by Bev and quilted by me. Showing off a focal fabric with nice blue and yellow accents.

Fudge brought another bird in the house this week, and this one was already loose and flying around before I knew about it. You can just imagine the destruction when the cats are chasing a bird around the house, ricocheting off every surface. The bird eluded us for quite a while, and everyone laid down for a break. When I went looking I found he'd conveniently crawled into a plastic bag on a high shelf. He flew away just fine... I really need to block up the gaps they use to get into the porch.

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1700 so far! The Winter 2026 block drive is live now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

  Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Dee and Christy

Happy Friday, quilters! And Merry Christmas! I hope this post finds you warm and cozy and well ahead on your shopping and gift wrapping.

This week I have a few quilts to show you that were pieced by Christy, who does the amazing shirtings tops, and then quilted by Dee. I had found some backing fabric with a musical theme, so Dee used a panto to match.

I apologize for how flat and gray the photos of this quilt came out. I have no idea what happened to the light. I promise it's just as pretty as the other one. These masculine red white and blue quilts are always a huge hit.

Things have been busy here. We unexpectedly found two kittens living in our barn last Wednesday. They were very hungry, which made them easy to trap. They're and 4 months old but severely underweight (1.1lb and 2.5lb) and completely feral.

I've been trying to fatten them up and socialize them (guess which one is easier.) They have learned to tolerate me and I can now handle them both safely, but they still don't actually like humans at all. 

They are in LOVE with my big cats. Unfortunately, Sundae and Fudge were raised by humans and have no cat-manners at all. It is slow, but I'm hoping that fudge at least can learn to be friendly with the babies.

I am planning to keep them until they can be spayed/neutered (they are old enough now but too unhealthy) and then find them a home. They probably won't ever be lap cats, but they could be good mousers and farm cats.

Sage (grey tortie girl) and Sweet Potato (orange tabby boy)

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1600 so far! The Summer 2025 block drive is live now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

  Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Kathys & Co.

top by Kathy B, quilted by Dee

Happy Friday, quilters! This Friday I bring you a selection of tops made by two different Kathys and quilted by 4 volunteer quilters. 

top by Kathy B, quilted by Jenny

I was busy this weekend packing and shipping tops to quilters.  It inspired me to get busy myself and I have quilted 9 tops so far and plan to do 2 more tonight. 

Jenny S. did a lovely job quilting Kathy's big 16 patch with a feathery motif. For the top she used a multi color thread that perfectly complements the color scheme. I tried to get a good pic but it's much clearer in real life.

I love the backing choice and the multicolored binding. Great collab between these ladies.

top by Kathy B, quilted by Wendy

Last top from Kathy B., another 16 patch with a cute flamingo backing. 

We've been having a lot of strong thunderstorms here, lots of trees down and power out.  My little area has been quite fortunate, with the worst of it going just south of use repeatedly.  In between storms it's hot and muggy, I had to keep wiping the condensation off my camera lens when I took these pictures. I hope it's safe and dry where you all live. 

top by Kathy S, quilted by Pam

Kathy S. made this top with a block similar to the potato chip blocks we have in the block drive right now. 

Pam did a wonderful job with both of these scrappy quilts, giving them a cozy stipple.  Since 2020 Pam has quilted (and often also assembled) over 50 quilts for CiL!

top by Kathy S, quilted by Pam

Massive thank you to Pam, Jenny, Dee, Wendy, Kathy S. and Kathy B. I truly couldn't do this without all your help.

Pretty pretty Sundae checking out the high spot.

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1500 so far! The April-June block drive is live now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

 

 Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Jocelyn's Tops

Happy Friday, quilters! This weekend I have several quilt tops that were sent in by Jocelyn and finished by a few different quilters. Pam did the quilting on this absolutely massive card trick quilt. This photo really doesn't do justice to the size of it!

Next Dee quilted this very pretty, soft, flowery pink quilt. It's a little bit hard to make out the quilting pattern, but maybe you can see it in the photo below. It's a large flower motif with leaves.

The rest of these were quilted by Linda, starting with the small masculine quilt. Outdoorsy hunting and fishing novelty fabrics will be perfect for an older man.

Next up, this very cozy quilt is made from flannel. (I'm especially grateful that I didn't have to quilt this one! Flannel is so cozy, but so heavy to manhandle.)

Close ups of some of the fabric textures. I think this quilt was my favorite of the batch. 

And lastly, another pretty, feminine, pink, floral quilts. It's a little difficult to photograph such soft colors, but click on the photo to make it larger and look at the details. 

Thank you so much, ladies, for your beautiful work!

Sundae

 Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1400 so far! The April-June block drive is live now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

 

 Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Beth's Quilt Tops

GE Designs "Two Timer" in barn raising layout

Happy Friday quilters! Today's three quilt tops were all sent in by long-time supporter Beth T. These first two were quilted by Dee on her longarm.

This quilt was actually originally the backing to the one above, but we both felt it was too complex and would make a nice quilt on its own. 

Dee rustled up some muslin to back it with and quilted it with an autumnal motif.  Beth must have a beautiful stash because she always has the most well-coordinated tops. 

Beth makes a lot of her quilts with free patterns from GE Designs. All of these are from "Two Timer". Beth included a note that this last quilt was also originally intended to be a backing, but took on a life of its own.

Pam did a lovely job quilting this top up and getting it all done. Three cozy quilts ready for the hospital, thanks ladies!

Shenanigans on the catio

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1400 so far! The April-June block drive is live now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

 

 Linking to Finished or Not Friday

String Block Drive Wrap Up

The last (I think) of the 2022 String Block quilts are all done! Dee, a wonderful longarm quilter I met locally, took the last 7 tops off my hands to quilt.

Dee is excited to practice with her longarm and I am thrilled to have her help! She ended up using this nice wavy design on a lot of the quilts. 

Always fun eye-spy on these quilts. I found an octopus and a fox right next to each other. 

Our little corner of Texas was square in the path of the eclipse this week and got a full 4 minutes of totality.  Both hospitals had little events and I saw lots of pictures online of nurses and patients watching.

I did NOT work this past week and got some much-needed chores done.  My parents and I watched the eclipse from the yard; it was a very surreal experience! There was concern that we would be clouded over, but it was perfect. 

It wasn't as dark as night during the totality, more like dusk, but it was enough to get confused frogs croaking and owls hooting. It also got noticeably cooler.

Covered in Love continues to grow and bless many grieving families at 4 East Texas Hospitals. We're up to over 1400 quilts distributed!

This turned out to be a huge block drive. You can see the state map and totals below.  78 quilters made 28 quilts! 

In addition to the blocks, generous fabric donations allowed me to make all the backings for these.

I have to admit, this bright one might be my favorite. 

Massive thank you to Dee for helping to finally finish off this drive, only 2 years after it started, and thanks to all 78 of you who contributed!

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1400 so far! The April-June block drive is live now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.

 

 Linking to Finished or Not Friday