Thursday, December 30, 2021

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. 

23 comments:

  1. Oh, so good to see your post, Louise! I miss your blog but see that you have been really busy making magic with those orphan blocks. I didn't see any of my blocks but I think the donated binding was some that I sent. I really like how you did that stacking of the different sized blocks in the second quilt. All are just lovely & will warm the hearts & souls of those who need to be "Covered in Love". Thanks & good to "see" you again!!

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  2. Woohoo, Louise!! You do such a great job with Orphan Block quilts. Hearing from you was an awesome way to end the year Covered in Love style!!

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  3. I love what you did with the maroon and green blocks. creative and attractive solution.
    the jumbled blocks into a heart was also a blast of creativity! Go Louise!

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  4. Those are great! what an perfect use of orphan blocks!

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  5. As always, I love what you do with orphan blocks, Louise! I recognize a couple of mine in these quilts and I'm so happy you put them to good use. Much better than languishing in my spare parts bin.
    Best wishes for a happy new year!

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  6. Louise, you really know how to make orphans shine! I especially love the heart.

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  7. Louise did those blocks proud!! I love how each quilt actually looks like they were almost preplanned. I hope everyone has a wonderful new year. Let's hope this one's easier and healthier than the last!

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  8. Wow, Louise, you’ve done it again! Every one of your quilts is a Master Class in how to put disparate blocks together. Beautiful!! I hope you and Sean are having a great holiday season!

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  9. I love the magic you work with the orphan blocks!

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  10. Louise, you are endlessly creative. How fun!

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  11. Waste not, want not and big quilty hugs can come from the humblest of parts! Love the "graduated sizes" and heart settings. Hope to participate in CiL again in 2022. Kudos to you and Kat for all you do!

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  12. Louise, Happy New Year! What an eye and so much creativity to put all those orphan blocks together into Lovely quilts. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Louise, I was so excited to see that you had a post. I always enjoy seeing your creativity with various donated blocks. You never disappoint me. You are really gifted with the talent to make them beautiful. Thanks for sharing,

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  14. Like the others, I am happy to see your post. You are so creative with those orphan blocks. All the quilts are lovely, and I'm sure will bring comfort to each recipient!

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  15. Happy New Year, Louise! I enjoyed this post very much. You have a fantastical skill when working with orphan blocks! Thank you (and Kat) for sharing!

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  16. Aw, thanks for all the kind comments! Wishing a safe and happy New Year to everyone!

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  17. What a fun job you did with the orphan blocks. I especially love the heart quilt. Your Baptist fan quilting is great..way to go on your DSM. Happy 2022.

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  18. Louise, you are the Queen of orphan block construction. The heart is particularly satisfying. Hope you are enjoying a warm and wonderful winter.
    Pat

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  19. So lovely to see/hear from you Louise! I just LOVE that heart-mashup-of-blocks quilt! Hope you and Sean are enjoying a wonderful calm winter.

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  20. Well done, Louise! It's so good to see you here.

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  21. Hey Louise! So nice you see what you've been up to. Always love seeing how you handle orphan blocks! Makes me want to make some orphan blocks just to play with! Hope all is good with you! Still don't understand how you get so much accomplished on a boat. You are amazing!

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  22. So glad to see Louise's quilts here! I love the heart quilt--her own version of a Gypsy Wife quilt!!! And I love the Baptist fan quilting!!!

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  23. I've missed reading your blog, but I'm happy to see you are still creating fabulous quilts. Your orphan quilts are like dear Forrest Gump's chocolate box. You never know what you'll find inside. It always amazes me how you can take what seem like unrelated blocks and turn them into beautiful, cohesive quilts. I hope we'll see more of your posts here on Kat's blog.

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