Rounding up the Strays

Happy weekend friends, I hope everyone is doing well! I had a very relaxing 2 weeks off and now I'm back to the hospital grind. School has started again and I have a new group of anxious future nurses to warp *ahem* I mean teach.

Pam recently took on my stash of leftover string blocks from the past 5 years of January drives.  This quilt is made of the 12.5" blocks. There are several different designs, but they still go together really well.

These leftover string blocks from a pre-2019 string block drive were assembled and quilted by Pam too. Many of these blocks came from Karen M and Christy G. Thank you Pam! Clearing out these lingering old blocks is so satisfying.

Priscilla sent in this HUGE top a while back with really scrappy blocks based on the 2019 Fall split nine block drive.  This top measures something like 100"+ x 90", so I took the opportunity of have it quilted by Denise and Kay. The ladies recently acquired a long arm and needed some quilts to learn on before taking customer quilts. They did a great job!

This is the memorial at my work for our hospital employees lost of Covid. Unfortunately it will probably continue to grow.  Hug you loved ones close and get vaccinated! You might save your own life or someone else's. 

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

Finally Wrapping Up 2019 Block Drive

Yes, that's right, these quilts are late-finishers from the Sept-Oct 2019 block drive.  These four tops were sent in by Gail and "aged" for a while until Linda quilted them! Perhaps a record for longest block drive running?  

Honestly it's nice to have quilts pop up so long after a drive, makes the design seem special again. And of course Linda's wonderful quilting puts them over the top. 

I had to take a picture of some of the backings, too. Gail always sends in the best backings with her tops.  Aren't these batik butterflies a beauty?

I really enjoyed sharing some of my favorite things to watch with you last Friday and I got some great recommendations, too.  I hope some of you found something you like to watch.  

Lovely swirly feathers, they look like butterflies.  

This drive is a good reminder of why I like half-square triangle designs so much.  They are just so versatile and can be laid out so many different ways.  

Sweet flower quilting!

Believe it or not, this backing is actually more saturated and deeply colored in person!

This lovely blue patchwork top was a bonus one sent along by Gail and finished by Linda.  It's so charming and cozy looking.

As much as I love elaborate swirling quilted feathers, I'm a sucker for geometric designs like these double zigzags.

Linda sent along this quilt of her own as an H2H donation.  I'm pretty sure the block is one of those where you sew one block and then cut it apart, similar to a disappearing nine patch, but I'm not sure what the original block was. 

A close up of the awesome back-and-forth wiggles quilting.  Thank you so much Linda!

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 700 so far! During May/June Tammy is hosting our block drive on her blog.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

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

May-June CiL {Split 9 Patch Round 2}

Hello quilters! Sorry I mixed up my days last week and left you all high and dry on the plan for May-June.  I'll talk about it in this post while you enjoy the pictures from the Split 9 Patch Drive wrap up.  The top 5 quilts on this page were assembled and quilted by me. In total this drive made 14 quilts!

Traditionally (for the past 3 years I think) Covered in Love has taken a break from block drives this time of year. This isn't so much to give you a break as to give me a chance to catch up on the blocks and tops here. (Not that I ever catch up, but I do try to keep from falling any further behind.)

I know that due to COVID this year many people, including me, have had more time at home than usual and you're eager to continue sewing. However, I'm going to need these 2 months off to try to balance the tables a little between the blocks you send in and the blocks currently on my shelves.

To fill the Covered in Love shaped hole in your sewing schedule these next 2 months here's what I would recommend:

• Contribute to Jack's Basket (a baby quilt only take (9) 12.5" blocks from one of our block drives), or one of the organizations in this year's Hands2Help drive, or a local cause
• Make masks or surgical hats for folks in your area
• Start making red, white, and blue star blocks for the July-August drive
• Or....

If any particularly intrepid folks would like to volunteer to assemble and/or quilt blocks from previous CiL drives I can ship you the blocks, backing and binding, pay for batting if necessary, and pay return shipping. Kathy, Tammy, Mel, and Nancy have helped for years and I'm looking for a few more good (women).

Now, this is a big commitment. Time, up to several months, isn't really an issue but I must have your assurance that the blocks will kept safe and if anything stops you from finishing you'll return them (no questions asked).  I feel that you all place a great deal of trust in me when you send in your blocks, that I will make sure they are used well, and I have to pass that trust along to other volunteers.

That being said, if you want to use your May-June down time quilting for the cause (or want to ask me more questions about it) please drop an email to CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com!

Speaking of volunteers, this quilt was assembled by Nancy from the central Texas area. She added the border and sashing and her friend Jenn then long-arm quilted it.

If there are any long-armers who would like to help but can't offer free services, send me an email.  Thanks to generous donations we are able to pay some to help offset the costs of professionals who donate their services. 

This would be the last post for these split nine quilts, with a total of 14.  (You can see the post with the first 8 quilts here.)  But, I happen to know that one of the unopened boxes on my floor contains 5 more tops from Gail. So you can expect a bonus post, probably in a few months!

Fudge helping me model one of my new masks for the hospital

Y'all stay safe out there!

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

Bold and Bright {Split 9 Patch Round 1}

Back in Sept-Oct last year Covered in Love made these split nine patch blocks for our block drive.  The quilts are nearly all done and I can't wait to show them to you!

The first quilt was assembled by volunteer Nancy K. and quilted by Jenn S.  Those two ladies make a great team!

This one had a few backward blocks, which I didn't notice at first but it actually adds a lot of interest.

Cynthia, a professional long-armer, also donated her time and skills toassemble and finish seven quilts for CiL! Thanks to generous donations from supporters we were able to compensate her for her supplies and shipping costs.  I'm not putting all the pictures here because I want you to go look at them on her blog!

Sundae is taking sheltering in place seriously.

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 500 so far! The March/April 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

Sept-Oct CiL Block Drive

Hello quilters, and welcome to the Fall 2019 Covered in Love block drive! For anyone who is newer around here, CiL runs block drives every 2 months to make quilts that be given to families in the hospital grieving the loss of a loved one.

For September/October we're making these bright and cheerful split nine patch blocks based on a tutorial from Jenny in my Nurture circle group. Anyone can participate in this drive and you can make as few or as many blocks as you like. Just follow the tutorial below and get them in the mail by the end of October. Email CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com for the mailing address.

This tutorial makes (2) 12.5" blocks at a time. It's a great block for using up smaller pieces of fabric and scraps. Start by cutting:

• (3) 5" yellow squares
• (3) 5" red squares
• (6) 4.5" low volume (mostly white/light) squares
• (6) 4.5" "cool" colored (blue/purple/green) squares

Mark and diagonal line in pencil on the back of the yellow squares. Match each yellow square right sides together with a red square and sew 1/4" to both sides of the line. Then cut apart on the pencil line and press. Trim to 4.5".

Arrange the half square triangle blocks and other squares as shown into 9 patches, keeping the reds toward the low volume side and yellows toward the cool colors.   Sew together into a completed 9 patch and press.

(Edited to Add: View some finished quilts here)

That's it, simple block! It's essentially a giant half square triangle so there are infinite ways to arrange the blocks into quilts. Thanks to all of you who consistently participate in block drives! This is a major way that Covered in Love gets the quilts that we distribute in the hospital. Over 500 quilts have been given to mourning families in the past 4 years thanks to your support :)