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I really like hand-me-down projects. They introduce an element of mystery and challenge my skills and assumptions.

The bag held a pile of friendship stars. Some had names written on the seam allowance, leading me to believe they were part of a long-ago block exchange. Some spin one way, and some another. Maybe that is what held the original maker back?

They finish at 6″ square, so, to make something of a usable size, something would need to be added. Sashing is an easy go-to. But, what color? Not white. Not cream. Not black. None of them worked. Oddly, as ...

There were 21 blocks in the bag. The construction technique is one I am not familiar with, so making more wasn’t really an option, but 20 blocks was enough to make a baby quilt.

A quick trim squared them up to 7″.

The blocks are interesting, but not enough on their own. What was needed was sashing, something dramatic, to complete them.

I settled on 2-1/2″ sashing with coordinating colors in the cornerstones.

And matching binding.

Look around your sewing space and see if you have a bag of possibilities. Sashing might be just the thing you need ...

There were around 200 4-patch blocks, most alternating background/print, and some, what I would call, mixed patches. All came together in a box.

They had issues–mostly inconsistent seam allowance. And some people might have considered them dated.

But there was something interesting about them. So, first things first–Square Up. I chose 3-1/2″.

Alone they weren’t enough to make a sizable quilt, so I explored a number of different options for the alternating squares–too light, too dark, too dull, too print-y. None were quite right. Then, I remembered, when struggling with colors, there are a ...

It started as a block. A LARGE block–25″. It was beautiful, and someone worked very hard on it. And abandoned it. And it was lonely.

What to do…

Well, I also “happened” to have (if you believe in coincidence) these leftovers someone shared with me. The colors worked. The strips weren’t very big and about 3/4″ across, finished. I cut them into 2″ wide sections and pieced those together.

Also, found this lovely yellow in my stash with just the right print on it. I love being lucky, don’t you?!

Around and around until there were ...

I recently saw a curtain rod quilt hanger on someone’s blog (probably yours…feel free to remind me and I will add the link).

It was exactly what I wanted. (NOTE: The quilt shown is a new Second Chances Quilt that will be published soon. )

Good husband was glad to help (or said he was) and now I have a lovely addition on the wall above Machine #2 (belonged to my maternal great grandmother). YAY ME!

Here are the links to what I purchased. Not an affiliate, but in case you want a lead: ROD and CLIPS.

I enjoy thrift stores for many reasons, but, while I always check the fabric section, I rarely find anything that suits me.

But today…

WOW! I am so pleased: 14-1/2 yards for $1.60/yard.

Can’t beat that. I see a quilt kit, backs for a twin donation quilt and three baby quilts, and red dots (because a person can always use red dots). YAY!

What if you have a pile of color-coordinated bits and pieces, but they aren’t the same? Can you combine blocks, crumbs and braids? Well, you can try.

I used the existing crumb blocks as a starting point. They measure 6-1/2″. Cutting, turning and trimming the braids yielded enough parts to create seven more blocks. For a baby quilt, 9 blocks is enough. NOTE: You could create this same pattern using any 6-1/2″ blocks you might have laying around.

NOTE: These blocks have a lot of bias edges. Consider starch to stabilize.

Add a border around each block ...

Possibly it was always this way, but it seems that the rise of pre-cuts has led to certain sizes being used more often in piecing quilts.

Because of that, sometimes you can take leftovers from different projects and find that they can play surprisingly well, like little kids who just met on a playground.

Just start trying to match things up and see what happens.

Well, there you go!

It doesn’t take long to finish when the pieces have a common denominator, in this case 2-1/2″ squares.

You could make the same design from scratch with those mini-charms ...

What to do with three blocks?

Maybe a table runner? Wall hanging?

The good news is that you don’t have to create something from scratch. I did a quick search for “table runner 9 inch blocks.”

This near perfect solution came up: A free pattern from All People Quilt. That is the website associated with American Patchwork and Quilting, a magazine (in addition to the Online Quilt Magazine, of course) that is worth subscribing to. Yes, the block style isn’t the same, but everything else checks out.

And gives those blocks a second chance, and you a quick ...

Can you guess what these turned in to?

Come back in February and find out!

Susan shared a few of her bits and bobs with me.

The blocks were already 6″, so I did all I could with the assorted half-square triangles and leftover scraps, adding a few other 6″ blocks that caught my eye.

Those strips of 2″ squares became the border.

And, ta-dah!, a cute Christmas table topper or wall hanging. It finished at 30″ square.

Don’t give up on those bits and bobs (or odds and ends, or leftovers). Sometimes they are most of a pretty good idea and just need a little nudge to turn into a quick finish. That ...

Can four blocks, even fairly large ones (18″) make a quilt?

Well, they will need some help. In this case I used a simple 6″ block that could be repeated and serve as a sort of background and filler, while adding texture and interest. It uses 1 2-1/2″ square for the center and 2- 2-1/2″ squares and 2 2-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ strips to round it out. They go together really quickly.

Then a small stop border and a wider (3″ finished) outside border.

And, before you know it, you’ve got a quilt.

The minkee backing ...

I received a plastic bag mostly full of 2″ squares.

It felt more like a bag of scraps than a Second Chance possibility until I noticed that quite a number of the squares had been sewn together.

Some pairs, some 4-patches, some strips…Really quite a variety. And that is where the challenge came: Use EVERY seam that had already been stitched and create a quilt. Hmmm…

There were assorted pieces–quite a few 4-patches and then miscellaneous.

Solid rows of squares first.

Then add 4-patches (I had to make several more)

Then solid squares.

And a border.

A small ...

Remember the blocks I mentioned last week?

They are becoming what might be my FAVORITE Second Chances Quilt so far.

Finished project coming soon.

The blocks arrived, warped, wrinkled and neglected. They had languished for years and been through at least two previous owners. (Maybe this should be a “Third Chances” quilt?)

But, the fabric was interesting and the hand piecing was precious. The shine of the sateen begged, “It isn’t too late for me to be beautiful.”

First step was the square up the blocks. This was a worrisome because of the hand piecing, but it was mostly just points and distorted corners. They would still hold together. The chosen size: 11-1/2″.

Once squared up there were still problems. ALL of ...

I am so excited about my current Second Chances quilt.

Not ready for the complete reveal, but here’s a sneak peek…

I was excited to have a package of blocks and some extra fabric come my way. The tulip blocks were intriguing. However, there weren’t very many of them and the seam allowance wasn’t quite standard, making them an odd size. But, much too nice to throw away.

First I tried a variety of possible layouts, just seeing what might happen.

It needed a few more blocks.

And sashing.

What next? Sometimes with something like this you just need to experiment. The centers of the tulips were created with 2-1/2″ squares, so I started playing around with ideas ...

I was given this interesting pile of blocks. The colors were appealing, but they needed…a few things.

First trimming to a uniform size.

Then a layout. There weren’t enough, so it was time to find coordinating fabric. Part of what makes Second Chances quilts work in the end is the unexpected.

I made simple half square triangle blocks to match.

Then added borders.

And sashing.

And quilting and binding…Ta-dah!

This is my first minkee back, and I think I like it. Not for every quilt, but it works for this one.

Final size: 41″ square. This is ...

Some of those great scraps from Stephanie have found an idea.

And a purple patchwork project is in progress.

Diane sent me a Second Chances Quilt challenge. She had started this quilt and even cut much of the fabric.

Hmmmm…what to do? I didn’t want to build the tesselated star, but the fabric was already in triangles and rectangles.

Sudden inspiration struck…the triangles could be saved. I could cut a 2″ square and a 1-1/2″ square from each one. Yes, there was some waste, but not as much waste as doing nothing with it at all.

I decided to make snowball blocks in two sizes–6″ and 3″.

Each 6″ blocks uses 4 2-1/2 ...