Presenting: Your Orphan Blocks

 

Hello! Louise here, to share with you a couple of quilts I finished using YOUR orphan blocks. See one of your blocks in this post? Let us know in the comments! This first quilt started with the two sections of log cabin blocks in the center column.

Both came to me already sewn together, but not large enough for an entire quilt.

I love the soft blues and pinks of this one! It lingered in my studio until I gathered enough friends in similar colors to fill out a top. I grouped similar size and style blocks into three columns.

Some of the individual blocks are quite simple, like this bordered square. And some are as elaborate as the small pieced hearts. So cute! A pale pink background and my interpretation of Baptist Fan quilting finished this quilt up.

The second quilt is also laid out in three columns, but with a couple of twists. As I was looking through my collection of orphan blocks in greens and maroons, I noticed quite a number of pairs of blocks. However, each pair was a very different size from the next pair. So I stacked them from largest to smallest and made two very similar columns.

I love these giant hexagons! They arrived on my doorstep as triangles that I sewed together into the six sided shape. Look closely and you'll see they are kind of mirror images of each other.

The two matching outer columns have a cream background, while the center column is a metallic gold. All the blocks in the center are "singles," with no matching blocks, so this was a good way to let them shine. A donated pre-sewn binding in scrappy maroons makes a super frame for this piece. It's great to get bindings all ready to go!

The third quilt is a giant heart, resting on its side in this photo. Kat graciously snapped all the pictures at her house after I shipped the quilts to her. Since taking photos is difficult for me, I really appreciate that. Thanks, Kat! In this style quilt, I take orphan blocks of lots of different sizes that share similar color saturation and hue. In this case, the blocks all contain bright colors with few neutrals or browns. 

I then piece them together without sashing into a continuous slab. The result is a bit of a wild ride, a riot of colors and shapes! It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I admit I love this modern look. I also enjoy the mathematical puzzle of fitting all the sizes and shapes together with no gaps. Partial seams can and do happen!

The background is a cool gray grunge, which heps to contain all that exuberance and forms the overall big heart shape. Made with heart by you and me, this quilt will surely cover a family with love!

I hope you enjoyed seeing these orphan quilts, and maybe got a peek of some of your own blocks. Many, many thanks to everyone who donates blocks, UFOs, yardage and scraps.

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 800 so far! The November/December drive is running now, check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved.