Orphan Block Potholders

Every so often I end up with an extra quilt block and they have been piling up. So, I turned them into potholders.

I experimented with different binding techniques and loops.

The grandmothers flower garden is from years ago. Once I realized I wasn't going to piece enough for a quilt, I made them into some blocks and then did nothing with it (the other block I made was much bigger and is going to become a table topper).

These are from semi-recent quilts. One block is from this quilt. And two are from this quilt. I guess that means that they aren't orphans. Since they were small, I just added a border big enough to make them potholder sized.

My favorite potholder came from my least favorite (and oldest) block. This was from a quilt done long ago that I learned many lessons from. The first was about contrast: the white and yellow looked great together at the quilt store but they didn't have enough contrast and the block didn't look right. That was the only block I made of that colorway. I put the yellow aside and found another fabric to use. The other lesson had to do with the quilting itself and how not to quilt (and I don't want to go into the sad details now).

I had been looking at this block for years trying to decide what to do with it. Adding the applique to match the binding was the perfect way to bring it back to life.

All in all, this was a fun project. I turned leftovers into something useful and good looking. I'm almost hoping to find some more orphan blocks (I know there are some more around somewhere) so I can make some more.

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