Studio, tierneycreates

From “Orphan Blocks” to Pillows

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

If you make quilts, then you’ve probably dealt with “orphan blocks” – the extra blocks you either made accidentally while making your quilt or intentionally to give you options when you laid out your quilt and made final decisions on what blocks you want to use in the quilt.

For years I’ve had these two “orphan blocks” from a Connecting Threads Minnesota Stars Kit I made at least 8 years ago.

Here is what the quilt looks like (it is currently serving as a tablecloth on my table in the sunroom):

2019-02-20_16-52-09_836.jpeg

And here are the two “orphan blocks” that did not fit into the quilt (I think I accidentally made too many):

2019-02-19_09-48-29_7562019-02-19_09-48-39_855

You may notice in the images above it looks like the blocks were hand-stitched. Well they were – I attempted to do something with the blocks years ago and added batting, backing and hand-stitched them.

And then they went to the place where all unfinished projects go – to the back of the closet.

Last night I decided rather than move them as unfinished blocks to my next residence, why not just FINISH them and make them into coordinating pillows?

So I did:

2019-02-20_16-36-22_834.jpeg

And now they are on the chairs in the sunroom with the tablecloth quilt that they are connected:

2019-02-20_16-54-51_432.jpeg

Ah, it feels so good to finish an old project!

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

27 thoughts on “From “Orphan Blocks” to Pillows”

  1. I love your idea! I had some 3 or orphan blocks from a quilt and made a table runner for my sister one year for Christmas. She loves it! You have inspired me to make this more than a one-time thing! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  10. I love the pillows! If you have any other orphaned blocks, I think two put together with handles makes a great reusable shopping tote bag, plus you get to carry them around with you so the whole market can see your handiwork. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  11. I’m pretty sure you could apply the word “orphan/s” to a lot of crafts, not just quilt blocks! But hey nice ending to the story of why it’s important to make extra objects…

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Pingback: Pup Pillow – tierneycreates

  13. Bravo on finishing the project, Tierney! The cushions look great, and the design and colours are so versatile! I’ve been deep in granny square territory recently, and am loving squares and blocks of all kinds these days. Wonderful FO, as we say in knitting! lol

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.