Quiet Patchwork

Happy Friday everybody! This week's quilt is the mellow older brother of the bright patchwork I posted a few weeks ago.

This pretty patchwork of 4" squares was made by picking a focus fabric and then pulling fabrics that matched it.  It's a Covered in Love quilt and, in fact, is already up at the hospital!

Meloney worked her magic again and quilted lovely leaves all over in a green thread.

The picture below shows a good closeup of the quilting and the center fabric was my "focus fabric" which inspired all the other fabric choices.

If you'd like to join in with Covered in Love's mission you can learn more on the main page or check out the block drive.  The current Covered in Love block drive just began and it's a simple patchwork in Fall colors  This drive will run until the end of October if you want to help out.  More info here! 

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

Susannah in the Fall {Block Drive}

Time flies, and some how just like that it's time for another Covered in Love block drive! There was a wonderful response to the July/August star blocks, so I hope you will all like this block as much.  I thought that with it getting toward Fall we would do a simple scrappy block in Fall colors.

This block is called "Scrappy Susannah" and you can find the tutorial HERE on "A Bright Corner".  Our color scheme will be different from hers, but otherwise that tutorial is correct.

 

an example of Fall colors

 Please select scrappy colors in the "Fall" color family. Think dark reds, browns, oranges, and golden yellows.  For the background (white in the tutorial) choose an off white or natural fabric, prints and scrappy are ok.  For an example of a previous block drive that used Fall colors you can see the "leaves" blocks from 2015.

(Edited to Add: View some finished quilts here)

Covered in Love makes quilts to give to patients who are dying in the hospital which their families can keep.  At this time we have delivered over 220 quilts, thanks to so many quilters who have joined in!

I know a lot of you are old hats at these blocks drives, but there have also been several new quilters joining in the past few months! Basically, anyone can participate in these block drives and you can make as few or as many blocks as you like. If you participate this month that doesn't mean you're "signed up" for next month. You can do one block drive and skip the next, however is convenient for you.  Email me at CoveredinLoveTx@gmail.com to get my address or leave a comment here and I will email you, just make sure I can reach you.

done. Good Stitches {Sew Some Love}

Welcome to the Sew Some Love linkup!  Please link-up any post about a project you're sewing for charity.

I've talked before on here about my wonderful do. Good Stitches sewing circle.  These are the latest two NURTURE circle quilts to be completed for Covered in Love.

These two quilts were made in block-drive style by the ten members of our circle. Then Carla assembled them and Gabby quilted them. Didn't everyone do an awesome job?

The top quilt is made from the leftovers of "X Marks the Improv" blocks and the bottom one is the "Supersized Castle Block".  They're in the stack for the next delivery to the hospital. What have you been sewing for charity?

An InLinkz Link-up

Some Quilt Charities:
Books and a Blanket - quilts for needy children in central Texas, promoting literacy
Covered in Love - quilts for mourning families
Kennel Quilts - small quilts for animals in need
Margaret's Hope Chest - several programs for children and adults
My Very Own Blanket - quilts for children in foster care
Ovarian Cancer Quilt Project - quilts auctioned to raise money for cancer research
Project Linus - quilts for children in the hospital
Quilts Beyond Borders -  quilts for poor children around the world
Quilts for Kids - quilts for abused and ill children
Quilts of Valor - quilts for veterans
Threading Hope - children and families in poverty and war torn countries
Victoria's Quilts - quilts for cancer patients
Wrap-a-Smile - quilts for children treated for cleft palate on medical missions
Wrap Them in Love - quilts for children

If you know of any that need added to the list let me know!

String Quilt Eye Candy

This week's finishes are twin string quilts.  Mina sent in a big ol' stack of string blocks and Kathy was so wonderful, she assembled and quilted them over the summer!

I like how Kathy made two different designs with the string blocks.  As I was taking these photos I found some cute surprises in the fabrics.

Like those fish, above! Someone is going to get a kick out of those fish, I just know it.  I visited with Chaplain Perry the other day and noticed he only had one string quilt left from last year's batch. He admitted these are some of his favorites. 

Halloween mummies, witches, and black cats

As Louise said in her post, scrap quilts really are special because they give people so much to look at and to connect to.

Butterfly kitten wearing a tutu? Why not?!

The gift of a smile at a really dark time is one of the very best things you can give someone, and something I really hope we're able to do with our quilts.

Some surprised-looking owls

If you'd like to join in with Covered in Love's mission you can learn more on the main page or check out the block drive.  The current Covered in Love block drive just began and it's a red, white, and blue star free-for-all.  This drive will run until the end of August if you want to help out.  More info here! 

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

MidWeek Round up {Sew Some Love}

Welcome to the Sew Some Love linkup!  Please link-up any post about a project you're sewing for charity.

I've been a busy bee lately, hope you've been finding plenty of time to sew, too. First of all I got the first two tops completed from the current Covered in Love block drive.

During the months of July and August any one can join in to make star blocks for Covered in Love through the block drive. Right now it looks like we're on track to make at least six quilts.

I also got my do. Good Stitches blocks done for the month. Louise asked for these wonky star blocks. By the time I made the 4th one I almost had it figured out!  Rory was critical to my success, of course.

Lastly, I got the "tulips" WIP out again and began assembling it into a top. This one started off from some orphan blocks that were given to me and has just grown.

That's my week so far in a nutshell. What charity sewing have you been working on?

An InLinkz Link-up

Some Quilt Charities:
Books and a Blanket - quilts for needy children in central Texas, promoting literacy
Covered in Love - quilts for mourning families
Kennel Quilts - small quilts for animals in need
Margaret's Hope Chest - several programs for children and adults
My Very Own Blanket - quilts for children in foster care
Ovarian Cancer Quilt Project - quilts auctioned to raise money for cancer research
Project Linus - quilts for children in the hospital
Quilts Beyond Borders -  quilts for poor children around the world
Quilts for Kids - quilts for abused and ill children
Quilts of Valor - quilts for veterans
Threading Hope - children and families in poverty and war torn countries
Victoria's Quilts - quilts for cancer patients
Wrap-a-Smile - quilts for children treated for cleft palate on medical missions
Wrap Them in Love - quilts for children

If you know of any that need added to the list let me know!

Grab Your Sunglasses

Watch your eyes, this is going to be bright!

This is the bright patchwork top I made from charm packs before the summer.  Meloney quilted it on her long-arm and she did a beautiful job with swirls in bright green thread!

This quilt is LOUD enough to stand up to green thread.  It's 54"x72", a good sized for covering up with on the couch.

This quilt has already been taken up to the hospital along with 19 others, bringing our total to 220 for Covered in Love!   220 quilts made by donations from quilters around the world to bring comfort to mourning families.

The current Covered in Love block drive just began and it's a red, white, and blue star free-for-all.  This drive will run until the end of August if you want to help out.  More info here! 

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

HOME!

Yes, I'm finally home from my summer in Santa Fe. It was a good summer, full of ups and downs. Nice to step back from working on CiL a bit, but of course that just meant I had different problems to focus on :P

Tent Rocks, NM

My summer included:

• a deathly ill dog, a midnight run around Santa Fe for blood to transfuse, and a miraculous recovery
• facial shingles (not mine) which invaded an eye and led to post-herpetic neuralgia
• a young-adult with Down Syndrome who caught chicken pox
• multiple dental surgeries (not mine)
• installing an IKEA kitchen
• attempting online dating (marginal success, mostly stressful)

I feel like I'm forgetting some things, but that's a start anyway.  I am glad to be back home to my regular, boring life!  I was greeted by a knee-high pile of mail. Opening boxes is always exciting! 

I've opened and sorted everything at this point. Yesterday I labeled all the quilts from the May/June block drive that Cynthia so wonderfully put together.  Look for a post on them coming soon. Today I went to the post office, working on getting fresh tops out to the volunteer quilters :) The kitties are happy to see me, of course. Rey immediately resumed her post as block inspector. 

There were some wonderful surprises in the mail.  Aurifil and QT Fabrics both sent donations to CiL, thanks to Nicki K. who took it upon herself to ask around for me!  I'll be posting more about them both later, but definitely think about showing them some love if you're in the market for thread or fabrics. 

Jovie, the day she came home from the vet

And of course there were lots of blocks, tops, and fabrics sent in by wonderful quilters around the country.  Your support not only keeps CiL going, but this summer it allowed me to go support my friends.  Thank you all!