Thursday, May 29, 2014

Orphan Block Potholders – FAL

What do you do with a bunch of orphan blocks that don't have a home? 
I say make them into fun little potholders!

In my continuing quest to get old projects out of my sewing room, I decided to turn these dated orphan blocks into something useful. As each of these blocks are 6", some have extensive piecing to them.  With all that work having gone into them, I just didn't have the heart to toss them out.










So this little pile of blocks and fabric....












...are now these happy little potholders.










And the initial fabric I was hoping to use with these blocks was a tad too small.  So...









...after some digging in my stash, I paired them with this fun woven plaid fabric and soon had another set.










And finally, I also had these four blocks.  You will just have to trust me that they were also made into potholders.  Right after finishing the bindings, a friend snagged them from me before I could get a photo.

I'm just thrilled they found a new home!


I am pretty happy to see these finished up.  Unfortunately, I discovered 8 more blocks today that had fallen behind a shelf.  Ugh!  I guess I will celebrate these finishes and worry about those another day.


If you are interested, here is a link to a previous post where I shared some tricks to making potholders.


Finish Along 2014

And as I had this project as part of my 2nd Quarter Finish Along goals with The Littlest Thistle, I can now say I have met half my goals for this quarter.  Woo Hoo!



How do you use up those old orphan blocks?







Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Inspire Us Thursdays at The Inspired Wren and the 2014 Finish Along with Katy.

17 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

beautiful pot holders!

Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl said...

Yay for turning UFOs into something finished and lovely! It is also awesome that one set has already been snagged and gone to a forever home.

Jasmine said...

I love your pot holders. I am making some today for a teacher gift. Do you have instructions for how you added the fun loop to your binding?

Beth said...

Love this idea!

Turid said...

Great potholders. Thanks for showing us.

Rike Busch said...

Gorgeous idea!!!

Sandra Walker said...

How do I use my orphan blocks? The majority of them are stacked in a drawer!! NOT good. I saw them there the other day, and thought, hmm, I SHOULD look at these, maybe turn the Christmas ones into a quilt for the Guild Show Boutique... I LOVE the potholder idea! Might have to do that. I did use one orphan for the Self Round Robin project of the year for the guild. Which has stalled at Round 3 ahhh!-pliqué, lol. I'll have to put that on the June UFO to maybe get me to get it done! Thank you for putting my Dogwood quilt on your blog...I DO get some things finished... ;-) Never like you -- think you must be twins with all you get done AND garden AND LA quilting business. HA!

Sum of their Stories said...

They are lovely, you can't have seriously thought about throwing them out!!! They are not dated, they are classic/retro. I especially love the pinks/peaches & yellows together.

Anonymous said...

Great job on the potholders!
Raye

DianeLoves2Quilt said...

Love the potholders. My orphan blocks are sitting in a box with the intention of someday sewing them together for a scrappy wall hanging. The odds of them all going into one quilt are nil I really like your idea of sets of potholders. Fewer blocks have to match and you can unify them with border and backing.

Barb Neiwert said...

I must be strange - I don't have any orphan blocks. Hmmm....might need to remedy that so I can make some fun pot holders!

junacreationsuk.blogspot.co.uk said...

Your little pot holders are lovely.
There is another thing you can do with your orphan blocks - make a scrapbook quilt, some blogger friends and I are trying to start a trend - which you can see here http://www.junacreationsuk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/orphan-blocks-what-do-you-do-with-yours.html So all the orphan blocks become a scrapbook quilt.

KMSC said...

I, too, would like to know how you made the loop in your binding. I usually sew on a small white plastic ring on my potholders but I like your idea better. Thanks!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

I added a link above to a previous post on tricks to making potholders where I discuss how I make the loop. I didn't follow a tutorial, I just kind of made it up and it works for me.

Terri Ann @ ChildlikeFascination.com said...

What an adorable bunch of orphan blocks. I don't tend to have a lot of orphan blocks but this is a beautiful use for them!

Marly said...

Beautiful potholders and a great way to get through your orphan blocks. Thanks for the tutorial; I was wondering how to improve the heat resistance, as I have made some unsatisfactory pot holders in the past.

Jo said...

What a great idea! This is what I'll do with mine for Christmas gifts.

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