using orphan blocks

Oh Scrap! : Orphan Blocks from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

In a previous post, you may remember I shared a quilt top that was rescued from an estate sale. Not only did a number of quilt tops make their way to me but a TON of orphan blocks also were rescued.

This week I spent some time pressing them and sorting them by size. (A few other orphan blocks made their way into the stack too). I wanted to be sure I knew what exactly were in the bag that was donated. I think many of these were actually UFOs but their fabrics and other blocks are long gone.

There ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under oh scrap! , scrap quilting , using orphan blocks

Orphan Block Quilt Finish from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

A few months ago, one of my friends came across a bunch of orphan blocks in her sewing room.

So she thought she would bring them to me to see what I could do with them...

I was intrigued by these 9" economy blocks. There were six of them and I thought they would be a great place to start. Matching the color had me stumped for months. I kept digging through my stash looking for something to match them. I finally found some pieces in my Kaffe Fassett stash.

She also gave me some small hourglass blocks and some ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 year ago. under compassion quilts , donation quilts , finished quilt , using orphan blocks

Another Quilt from Orphan Blocks from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Remember all those orphan blocks a friend recently gave me?

Well, I am still making quilts with them! There were a number of pineapple blocks in the stack. Some were cut in two and a few needed to be finished.

For the center of this quilt, I took one of her blocks and put four pineapple blocks cut on the diagonal around it. I added n some strip sets that I had hidden away in my orphan block stash. Two big pineapple blocks on the top and bottom made a great vertical center.

On the side edges, I used another ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 year, 5 months ago. under finished quilt , scrap quilts , using orphan blocks

Orphan Block Quilt Finish from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Earlier this month, a quilty friend of mine gave me a giant stack of orphan blocks. I was in heaven and started sewing right away.

I think this was the last photo I had shared. I pulled out some of the blocks from the bag and decided to make a kid's quilt.

Well, I have already sewn them into a cute little quilt. I wanted to use a print background and I knew the blocks would get lost as they were, so I framed them in a rainbow of solids - all from my scrap bins.

I didn't have ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 year, 6 months ago. under donation quilts , finished quilt , scrap quilts , using orphan blocks

Oh Scrap! : Orphan Block Bananza from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Saturday, I sewed with some good friends. It is always nice to spend a day with other quilters.

While I was there, one of my generous friends gave me a giant stack of orphan blocks. She does a lot of donation quilts for kids so I find these blocks loads of fun. I plan on making a few quilts that I will gift back to her so she can donate them to the organization of her choice.

As soon as I got home, I instantly organized them a bit and started putting some up on the design wall. Not sure ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 year, 6 months ago. under oh scrap! , scrap quilting , using orphan blocks

Stash, Scraps, and Orphan Blocks from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

There have been so many things going on in my quilting life, it has been hard to keep track of them.

I have been consistently working on finishing old UFOs...

I have been trying to keep up with all of my RSC projects...

I am making quilts for the next Scrap Mixology Module....

Placemat project bits are everywhere...

And I have been working on making one of my quilt buyers a stash of small quilt.

Back in mid-March, I shared how I was turning some leftover strip sets into some fun blocks. I pulled a bunch of odds and ends ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years ago. under baby quilts , finished quilt , using orphan blocks

March Placemats from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

March was a very productive month for my placemat project. I finished a total of 19!

For those who are not familiar with this project - at the end of the year all of these will go to my local Meals on Wheels to be handed out with one of the holiday meals.

I finished up the last of the brown mats I started in February. Five I framed in a dark brown binding and five I framed in a lighter brown.

I don't have a lot of small yellow scraps, so I was only able to finish up four ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years, 1 month ago. under donation quilts , finished quilt , placemats , using orphan blocks

More Play with Leftover Stripsets from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I continue to work on making some baby quilts for one of my quilt buyers.

She plans on donating them so I want to keep the costs down as much as possible.

I thought I would dig through my orphan blocks and pull a few more leftover strip sets. The ones I used on these blocks were actually really odd shaped (sorry, no photos). They were improv pieced and a circle was cut from them. I decided I could still make them work by cutting away the curvy parts and ending up with a triangle. I found some older stash ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years, 1 month ago. under affiliates , baby quilts , using orphan blocks

That was Fast! from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Just a few days ago, I shared how I was using some leftover strip sets to make a fun little baby quilt.

I loved how it was turning out so in no time I am ready to share my finish!

I started out with these leftover strip sets that I adopted from a friend.

I dug through my stash and found a fun print that I liked with them and started making some large HSTs. Then it was just a matter of playing with the layout.

I decided to go with this barn-raising design.

Originally, I thought this chevron pattern ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years, 1 month ago. under baby quilts , finished quilt , using orphan blocks

Oh Scrap! : Playing with more Orphans from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Most of this last week was spent traveling to events but I did find a bit of time to sew with some leftovers. I decided to put aside the orphan blocks that I had recently put up on my design wall. I posted about it here.

I have been wanting to make a pile of baby quilts so I decided instead to pull some other orphan blocks and make something with them.

This time I pulled out some more strip sets that were leftover from a friend's project.

I dug around my stash and found this older Alexander Henry ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years, 1 month ago. under baby quilts , oh scrap! , pattern bundle , scrap quilting , using orphan blocks

Trash to Treasure from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

If you have followed this blog for any amount of time, you know I love to turn trash into treasure.

And I have a real winner to share with you today!

When I was recently digging through my spare parts and orphan blocks, I came across a bunch of these leftover strip sets. They were 2.5" strips of solids that were cut up into triangles. These are the ends that are leftover.

I sewed a bunch of them together to form a block and then squared them all up to 6".

I then sashed and framed them in a ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years, 2 months ago. under baby quilts , finished quilt , using orphan blocks

Orphans into Placemats from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I have been continuing to make placemats for my yearlong project. I have been busily sewing turquoise crumbs this month. But I also pulled a bunch of orphan blocks to turn into some too.

I had a bunch of gray and red strip sets to make these large checkerboards.

A lone star block that made for a quick finish.

Some super old majestic mountain blocks that were perfect for this project. These orphaned blocks would probably never find another home.

And then some pink flower blocks.

I think there are two more made from orphan blocks but they are lost ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years, 2 months ago. under finished quilt , placemats , using orphan blocks

Oh Scrap! : More Orphans from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I am sure many of you realized that as I dug through my orphan blocks for my placemat project, I would get distracted and start some new projects. Not only did I put some blocks onto my design wall (that I shared last week), but I also pulled some blocks to start a fun little baby quilt.

Tucked away in a scrap bag I was gifted were some solid strip sets and triangles like the ones above. I cut the strip sets into as many triangles as I could make. They appear to be leftovers from a couple projects so ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 years, 2 months ago. under oh scrap! , orphan blocks , scrap quilting , using orphan blocks

A Halloween Finish from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Remember these orphan blocks I found in a bag of scraps dropped off by a good friend? Well, I am ready to share the quilt I finished using them.

I know many of you asked me how to make these blocks. Well, the truth is I could never quite figure it out. I think they were strip pieced using two fabrics. Cut and then sewn back together again. I believe they are one of those designs that when you sew them back together, you get a positive and a negative block. You can see what I am talking about in ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 years ago. under finished quilt , halloween quilts , using orphan blocks

From Trash To Treasure from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Every once in a while I dig through my orphan block and spare parts suitcase and see if I can put together a quilt from some of the items.

Not too long ago I pulled a bunch of green and gray items to play with.

I started in the center with a 12" leftover RSC block I had. Then I just added some strip piecing and HSTs and flying geese to build out the center. I used a gray solid where I needed to make some blocks fit or to add some separation.

I then used some green improve blocks ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 years, 6 months ago. under finished quilt , orphan blocks , using orphan blocks

Orphan Block Inspiration from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Remember these orphan blocks I decided to build a quilt around?

I had a total of 15 blocks that measured abut 6" square. I modified the blocks a bit and then pulled scraps in these muted shades to make a quilt.

Here is the quilt I ended up making. I wasn't sure I would have enough scraps in these colors but I ended up having plenty. I also had to make one more "orphan" so I could go with a 16 block layout.

These are not colors I use very often so it was nice to clean these odd ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 years, 6 months ago. under finished quilt , log cabin blocks , scrap mixology , scrap quilts , two bits , using orphan blocks

Almost Everything but the Kitchen Sink from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

While digging through some bags of scraps, I came across a bag of purple and turquoise leftovers. I think a friend had started a vortex quilt but decided it wasn't a process she enjoyed.

So I adopted the project years ago.

I was drawn to the colors so I decided to open the bag and see what I could put together. At the same time, I had my suitcase of orphan blocks out so I dug through there for anything that was in the same colorway. It wasn't long before I had big pieces of the quilt finished ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 years, 6 months ago. under finished quilt , scrap quilts , scrap vortex , using orphan blocks

Next Step : Blocks from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Remember these little blocks I created by slicing up some old orphan blocks?

(You can read about them here.)

Well, I pulled a bunch of scrappy strings in soft blues and greens and browns. I didn't think I had many colors in these shades but was surprised once I began sorting. I added in some cream and got to work making some of these 12" quarter log blocks.

I think I will end up with 15 blocks so it won't be a big quilt.

As I write this post, most of the blocks are almost finished - I am ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 years, 6 months ago. under log cabin blocks , scrap mixology , scrap quilting , using orphan blocks

Distracted from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Every time I start playing in my orphan block suitcase, I end up starting a lot of new projects.

I don't often have a large number of any one block but I did find 15 of these gay toned blocks. They measure (clos to) 6" square. I find them kind of boring as they are and I think that is why I haven't used them yet.

So today I was inspired to cut them all in half.

I them gave the pieces a flip and sewed them back together again. The next step was to trim them all ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 years, 7 months ago. under log cabin blocks , scrap mixology , scrap quilts , using orphan blocks

Oh Scrap! : Orphan Block Progress from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I have been finding some big blocks of time to spend in my sewing room lately - but the projects I am working on are all so time consuming. That means the progress has been slow.

This "medallion style" quilt from a bunch of orphan blocks is the project that is using most of my time. I spent the weekend finishing up the green round of blocks. Right now it measures about 36" square.

Next, I plan on adding some gray blocks to create one more round of borders. I will need to track down some scraps to create a few ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 years, 7 months ago. under oh scrap! , scrap quilts , using orphan blocks

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