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Sometimes I am given scraps, or even a partially finished quilt, that just isn’t my style. But, it is an opportunity.

It pushes my creativity, design skills and problem solving abilities. It makes me a beginner again. It makes me learn.

Sometimes a not-my-style quilt is just what I need.

ps–Judy asks a good question: What was I actually given? AGAIN, I didn’t take a picture of the starting point. But, there were a few pinwheels finished, with a dark purple strip sewn to one side. There were several sets of squares (light purple and background) sewn ...

It isn’t my usual style, but I do like it.

Small (32″ x 32″) and sweet.

The back isn’t my very favorite, but it did use fabric that I had on hand.

And finished! Another warm baby in the world.

That pile of scraps has become two baby quilts.

They are about 35″ x 37″. And it is fun to see them side by side.

They still need quilting, but soon…

Is this something you would like a tutorial for?

It is hard for me to believe, too. But Sparkle Jane is a grown woman and recently engaged.

He is a really good man, and they have been dating for over 1-1/2 years. We like him a lot and feel really good about the arrangement.

Which brings me to my point.

Many have you have watched Sparkle Jane grow up. Others are more recent arrivals. But, all are invited to help make a wedding quilt for them.

It will be based on this pattern: Heart-Blocks-Pattern.pdf (cluckclucksew.com)

And these colors.

Make one block either 4″, 6″, 8″ or ...

Sparkle Jane spotted it, wadded up in a pillowcase in a scrap bag. It sort of appeared at her shop, snuck in and left without a word. Many mysteries…

And she brought it to me. “Mom, you can do something with this.”

Well, I can try, but what is it?

It appeared to be a fairly large vintage flimsy that had most likely been washed. It was so tangled I couldn’t even flatten it out enough to see what it was.

So it sat for a while. But, while I was home with Covid, it became interesting. What is ...

These jelly roll leftovers came in a scrap bag. After the last batch, I vowed to take some process pictures of making a quilt with the leftovers.

This will be another coin quilt. Can you see it?

For several years I have kept and counted my empty spools at the end of the year. Silly? Maybe, but the art teacher enjoys them, and I enjoy the counting.

The total for 2020 is 48.

Here are past years for comparison:

2019: 23

2018: 23

2017: 36

2016: 40

2015: 103 (the year of partial spools and the 52 in 2015 project)

One of the fun things about Adoptable Quilts (a collection of leftovers, orphan blocks, and coordinating scraps) is that it probably isn’t something you would have done in the first place.

They are also low cost emotionally and financially. I like to look at them as a puzzle or challenge…There IS a quilt in here SOMEWHERE!

This is a lot of light pastels. Not my usual color run. But there is potential.

Successful adoptions generally find or make a common denominator: color, size, pattern, something.

This time there are a lot of 2-1/2″ strips (some sewn into ...

These two little quilts were made by a different member of Sparkle Jane’s (Daughter) charity sewing group.

But, we did the binding, using our scrappy binding bundles.

Quick and easy, and pretty good looking.

This past weekend did not go as planned. A Saturday morning visit to a walk in clinic with Husband turned into a trip to the emergency room turned into a nearly three day hospital stay.

We are home now, and he is on the mend, but, WOW, that wasn’t what I had planned.

Once I could leave the hospital to get some supplies, I grabbed a quilt.

Stitching down binding is a great way to pass the time. And quite a conversation starter.

And it is finished. Welcome Home to a future owner. And welcome home to Husband.

As part of Daughter’s charitable sewing group, we have made up some “kits” of scraps and orphan blocks and labeled them “Adoptable Quilts.”

Here is one I recently finished.

The scraps came from at least three different sources, but they were able to come together and make something that someone will be glad to wrap up in.

It is a little smaller than I might have liked, about 55″ x 65″, but at least it isn’t a pile of unwanted pieces, and it felt “done” when I got to this point.

If you are looking for a scrap quilt pattern that is versatile, good looking, beginner friendly, group friendly, quick and just plain FUN, you have found it: Welcome Home Quilt Block.

Yes, all of these are Welcome Home Blocks!

As long as the pieces match up, it does not matter what order you assemble them–traditional log cabin, court house steps, random–they all look good.

MATERIALS (for each block–it takes 48 blocks to make a 60″ x 80″ quilt)

From a variety of scraps, cut…

2 2-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ squares

2 2-1/2″x4-1/2″ strips ...

The first Welcome Home quilt is complete.

The blocks finish at 10″ and it only takes 48 to make a nice size (60″ x 80″) quilt. Perfect for a large, cuddly throw, a Quilt of Valor, or a twin size quilt.

Jennifer, who donated her quilting time, used an overall flower pattern with multi-color thread. LOVE IT!

We have another finished top waiting to be quilted, and more blocks in the works. To celebrate the season of giving, I am joining Susan in committing to make a block a day to #LightTheWorld. The Welcome Home block tutorial will be posted ...

I warned Husband that this was going to be a high sewing weekend. It was time to get those blocks finished!

He didn’t complain and even stepped up and did extra around the house. (You have to love a man who mops!)

And I finished the blocks. All 64 are complete. YAY!

Sparkle Jane (Daughter) has started a scrappy sewing group that meets at her shop once a month and makes items for donation.

The favorite project these days is the Welcome Home blocks (tutorial coming sometime soon) that are assembled to make large couch or twin sized quilts (60″ x 80″).

Sparkle Jane herself did the assembly work on my “new” Featherweight. It sews straight and true.

And in the end we had one completed top and only 6 blocks short of second. YAY! Next day scheduled for November 21.

It was a big push to finish before I start Teacher Work Days.  Once school starts intense projects are much harder.

This quilt was made for JoAnne by her mother Florence about 1976.  You can tell that Florence was resourceful.  She used the fabric she had.

Every block needed some repair, and that was how I approached it:  One block at a time.  You can read more about some specific repair techniques HERE and HERE.

Since the one-block-at-a-time system seemed to be working so well, I quilted it the same way–A meander-stipple around the birds in each block.  My ...

The entire quilt was a bit of doozy…30 of 30 blocks needing help.

For insight on how I fixed blocks with ruined backgrounds, see HERE.

Today I am sharing one way to fix a damaged applique.  I am not pretending this is a great way, but this block needed two different techniques. So it seemed a good example.

A previous repair had stitched netting over the damaged fabric.  I suspect much of the damage on this block, and a number of other places on the quilt, was due to a combination of different shrinkage after washing and very light ...

The quilt has 30 blocks, and not a single one didn’t need something.  Some were fairly simple, just restitching the ric-rack or mending a small hole, but a few were much more involved.

There is no batting, exactly, in the quilt.  Rather, a recycled, lightweight fleece served as both batting and backing.  There was also essentially no quilting.  Just some stitch-in-the-ditch at the sashing and between the blocks.  The blocks themselves are roughly 13″ x 14″. You can guess some of the problems that causes.

This block, and two similar to it, had ruined backgrounds.  The birds were in ...

This might be out of my league, but I was asked to do it by a long-time neighbor and friend of my parents.

Her mother made her this quilt when she was a young child.  It is much loved and is full of memories…

Each block and each bird have their own personality.

I am tentatively starting to work on it, making repairs one block and a time and hoping for a grand revelation on a finish.  It is mostly not-quilted and there is no batting…

Suggestions?  Ideas?  Encouragements?

What do you call a group of bears?  A SLEUTH!!  What a fantastic word.

And what a great description for this finally-finished project that started with Sparkle Jane, but eventually involved all of us.

A high school friend of Sparkle Jane was involved in a service project making charity bears.  There were leftovers and Sparkle said she could make some bears.  There was A LOT of leftovers.  In typical Sparkle style, she cut until she couldn’t cut any more.

And then it was time to stitch.  Each bear, of course, needed to be unique.

Then she got tired and ...