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.

Comments

It's about time - the big reveal

My bright quilt was finished in June but I wanted to wait until both were done before sharing the pictures. Quilting the blue quilt didn't take long but finishing the binding sure did. I did procrastinate a bit as it was too warm to have a huge quilt on my lap for most of the summer. After this, I'll probably do all the binding on my sewing machine (and stick to smaller quilts). Notice the cut-out corners? That was a challenge. I found instructions here and it looked easy enough but I wished I had practiced some. After a lot of finessing I finally got good miters but I could have done much better. The cut-out corners allow the quilt to hang nicely over the edges of the mattress and it's a perfect match for a full sized mattress. But, the top edge isn't even close to the pillows. I wonder how the quilt fit on the bed it was made for. Here, at last, is the original quilt that I was copying. I just noticed - all of the baskets are

More Wildflowers of America

Since I have framed the stitched Bleeding Heart from Curtis Boehringer's Wildflowers of America I decided to track down the other 3 wildflowers that had I stiched earlier. I chose these flowers because they reminded me of the forests of Ohio where I grew up - Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Wake Robin and Bloodroot. The Jack-in-the-Pulpit and Wake Robin where both finished with fabric frames. This was a favorite finishing technique of mine for a long time. On the back they are dated 1999 - that was a while ago. I remember the quilt store where I purchased the fabric, but not its name. It's gone now but it was in an old Victorian house in Old Colorado City. The turrets where lined with bolts of fabric and hey had a great selection of plaids. I had never heard name Wake Robin before and it means nothing to me, but the flower is definitely a Trillium. Back then, I dutifully followed the pattern. Now I would have used the name Trillium or omitted the letters altogether. I do miss

Basted

A few weeks ago I was at the Local Quilt store basting my bright sampler. It's been ready to go for a while. I've been working on a baby quilt and it's now done. It's been a while since I've quilted so I'm glad I had a quilt to warm up on. Next I need to pull a folding table out of the garage and re-arrange my quilting space. This quilt will have a lot more drag than the baby quilt. I've also been looking at pictures of similar quilts looking for quilting pattern inspiration. I'm thinking of taking the easy way out and u se wavy lines like this quilt . I should start quilting next weekend!

Erica's Stitches

Search This Blog