Quick trip to Austin

 

String and Things

Hello everyone! We're aother week closer to Thanksgiving here in the US. I'll be making a firm stance on the issue of sweet potato pie vs pumpkin.  Sweet potato is clearly superior, and if you don't think so you just haven't had a good one yet! ;)

The 4 quilts in this post were assembled and quilted from block drive blocks by Pam M. I have all the blocks from last January's drive assembled into tops but haven't made backings for most of them yet.  

I'm afraid CiL is going to have to skip our Nov/Dec block drive this year. I know that will be a disappointment to some of you! You are welcome to continue contributing to the Sept/Oct drive and sending in tops and UFOs.

Due to some things in my real life I haven't been able to keep up with the block drives and I need to get some quilts finished here. Fortunately, CiL has been very blessed with finished quilts and supporters helping to get quilts finished so I have plenty stashed up to keep us going.

In fact, I delivered 30 more quilts to the hospital today! The chaplains said it was a busy week and they had given away 7 by Wednesday.  So rest assured that things will continue, just taking a break on the block drive to give me a little breathing room. 

More Stars and Stripes

Another week, another finish post! I'm sorry I missed posting last week. I made a quick trip to San Francisco to visit a friend. I've always wanted to go to that city and had a great time! 

This week I have more red, white, and blue quilts to show. These first 4 were assembled and quilted by Pam M from block from the July 2021 block drive. I hope some of you can find your blocks in these photos. I took close ups of some of the coolest ones.

San Francisco was awesome and I'm looking forward to going back again soon. We walked a lot to visit different areas of the city and my legs and feet got so sore!

In the Castro I found a cool shop that had a section of quilting fabrics, housewares, souvenirs, toys, and in the back was a hardware store! Of course I got a couple cuts of fabric, I can't resist. 

We also walked through Golden Gate Park one day. Well I say "walked through", we covered less than a quarter of it, maybe a fifth. It's so huge! Coming from such a rural area it's cool and overwhelming to be in a city that has so many options for activity and entertainment.

On Sunday we went to an open studio event in an old military industrial area and visited lots of different kinds of artists. Really cool stuff, it reminded me of studio tours and gallery walks in Santa Fe. 

We drove down to Santa Cruz one day on the Pacific Coast Highway and visited some beaches, saw some sea lions, stopped at some coffee shops.  We packed a lot into a 3 day trip.

Last up is a group quilt made by Gail, Linda, Jeanie and Mary. I really like how the second to last border is white with just occasional strips of squares.

View of San Fran at night.

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1000 so far! The September/October block drive is live now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. (The Nov/Dec drive will be up fairly soon, keep an eye out. But until then you can always contribute to the Sept/Oct one.)

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

Stars and Stripes

Happy weekend again quilters! Fall is finally here, and I even officially had to turn on the heater for the first time! Our little town's annual harvest festival will be this weekend and I'm looking forward to all the festivities. 

These four quilts from last summer's RWB block drive were pieced and quilted by Linda D on her long arm. (Linda is a rockstar.) I tried to get some decent up-close shots so you could see her choices for the quilting designs. 

Enjoying the cooler weather, I've been walking at the nature preserve most days. It's 3 miles round trip to the river and back.  

I see deer, wild hogs, snakes, frogs, turtles, so many birds, and lately lots of small alligators.  I think they must be a couple years old? About 3ft long with the tail. I haven't seen full grown alligator in a couple years, but I know they are always nearby. 

The kitties are enjoying their heating pad at night and they get under the covers if it becomes too cold.   I don't remember ever owning a pair of sweatpants? But I bought some recently and they're amazing. I'm living in them at home. 

The response to the July/August block drive supporting Project Linus was very strong! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share with you yet, but I've been in contact with Cheryl and she was overwhelmed (in a good way) with your generosity.

She said they have stacks and stacks of blocks and some very excited quilters who are getting to work making quilts. I hope to have some progress photos to share with you at some point, but just know that they are very much appreciated. 

Hope you are all well and enjoying your Fall! 

He gave me a warning hiss but didn't move

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1000 so far! The September/October block drive is live 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 

Orphan blocks playing together

Hello, friends! Louise here to share more of your donated orphan blocks. It's so satisfying to find a group of friendly blocks to play nicely together into a finished quilt. Let's start with this one in red, black, and cream. It started with two sets of bear paw blocks. The ones across the bottom came to me as separate blocks, and the ones at the top are 3D and were already sewn together. That thin red line is a skinny flange. These was some extra bear fabric so I added that elsewhere for continuity. 

Sometimes I know who donated individual blocks, others are anonymous. I know in this quilt, there are  blocks from Sandy and Jan, so their names are on the label among the cheetahs on the back. Donations of big chunks of fabric like this make great backings!

Next up is this brown and turquoise piece.

Many of the blocks were cut from a coffee lover's panel, so I ran with theme right up to the bean border.

I pulled a bunch of blocks around 6-7" with coordinating colors and added borders if necessary to make them all the same size. Wouldn't you love to see the whole quilt this fun diamond scraps block came from? (Edit by Kat: those are actually mine! You can see the quilt they can from here.)

Our next group came from my big box o' bright blocks. I pulled out a variety of 8.5" blocks containing pink, purple and other bright colors. I had seen a quilt with this offset row design on someone's blog and wanted to try it. Gray makes such a lovely neutral setting for brights, I think. The binding was donated, premade and hand dyed. 

Here's another way to have a bright, friendly group of 8.5" blocks play together. This drop shadow design is quite easy to stitch up and has a dramatic end result. The background is tiny triangle fabric that lets each block pop out and look three dimensional. 

I had some 8.5" tall blocks that weren't square, so I stitched them into the back with some chicken fabric, and this quilt is ready to comfort a family.

Finally, this bold quilt features brights with black for a stained glass kind of feel. The herringbone panel across the bottom is actually one of a pair. There is another similar one across the top that you can't see because of the way the quilt is folded for the photos. Those 2 panels were donated with cut off scraps from the same project, and I pieced the scraps into the center panel.

The blue and black star, NY Beauties and diamond below the crumbs really shine with the turquoise background, I think. And look at these beautiful heart blocks! So cool, and a great way to cover a family in love. Thank you to everyone who sent in a beautiful block or two or twelve! They may be awkward orphans in your stash, but they can always find a friend here. 

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1000 so far! The September/October block drive is live 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 

Edna's Quilts

Happy Friday, Kat here again. I've got three very cozy quilts sent in by Edna. The first two are quarter log cabin string blocks like we have made for the January block drive before. 

Edna always rounds the corners on her quilts and I love it. I don't know why I don't do that more often. Do you ever round off the corner on your quilts?

Next, this great scrappy star quilt with rainbow colors. Again, this would make a great block drive! So many ideas.

I love the simple cross hatch quilting. It's so soft and cozy. Thank you so much, Edna!

Here's a photo from my recent hiking trip to Boulder, CO.  This was taken at the end of an 8.5 mile loop with a 2800ft elevation gain to the top of that mountain right behind us. That hike kicked my butt!

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1000 so far! The September/October block drive is live 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 

More Goodies

Happy Friday, Kat here! Louise has been soooo helpful stepping in to create some Friday posts here at the end of summer when I got a little bogged down with life.  We'll still be alternating a little bit for a while. I know you all like to hear from her!  

Tina C sent in these first couple quilts, including this amazing sampler with a mix of techniques to make different image blocks. She also made this blue-green pixel quilt during the May-June block drive.

I'm happy to share that CiL has expanded into a 3rd hospital! This one is smaller and probably won't go through as many quilts, but they were thrilled to have them to share with the patients who do pass there. 

This very large Swoon quilt was sent in without a return address or name if anyone can claim it! 

Our newest hospital has an interesting history. It was originally a military camp, training base and POW camp around the time of WWI/WWII.  After the wars it was converted into a convalescent camp to isolate and treat those with TB in the miliary tents and barracks.  Ultimately it became a "chest hospital" with permanent buildings and a focus on TB and other respiratory diseases.  Today it is a full-service hospital, still with a focus on diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis, TB, COPD, and Legionnaires. 

Carol E sent in this simple, striking quilt that will be great for a male. It would also make a cool block for a block drive next time I'm feeling up for a simpler one. 

This next quilt with the Route 66 novelty fabric was sent in by Kelley. The really cool thing about this one is how much it resembles one I made before.  Back in 2015, I had pulled the same fabric from a remnant bin, I'm sure.  Kelley and I chose the same way to approach the quilt, choosing read-as-solid coordinates and making a simple patchwork. Amazing how similar two quilts can be completely by coincidence! 

I went on a couple trips recently and on one of them I acquired a new tattoo. I've been thinking about this one for a while and I love how it came out! 

Fudge likes it too.  Top to bottom the blocks are Storm at Sea, Dutchman's Puzzle, and Lonestar. 

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 1000 so far! The September/October block drive is live 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