My orphan block box

My Mum gave me a bunch of odd blocks and unfinished bits of patchwork when I saw her a couple of days ago. These are things I made as samples, or because I had a bigger plan and then got distracted by other things. Some I don't remember at all and might have been originally pieced by one of my sisters. They live in a box above my sewing table, and very rarely see the light of day, so I thought I would give them a blog post of their own.


A couple of fish blocks. I made these when I was about 17, I think they were samples for my Mum's monthly patchwork classes. 




These are 'almost Amish' blocks. Amish quilting traditionally uses dark backgrounds and plain colours. I was calling these 'almost Amish' because I was using blenders rather than plains. I made them when I was living in Spain in 2003-2004. I originally intended them for a big bed sampler quilt, but I had a woefully inadequate amount of the black fabric and decided to focus on other things. I don't know what to do with them now - I don't have enough blocks to finish them up into something smaller.


A couple of log cabin blocks. Again I think these were made during one of my Mum's classes. I often didn't finish the things I made in them, as I had tea-making duties to perform. The one on the right is made of some slightly silkier fabrics than the normal patchwork cotton I work with. I think they might be lawns.



Two appliqué blocks. I remember making these - they were definitely one of my Mum's classes. I don't have enough of the green fabric to finish off the top one. The bottom one is decent though, maybe I should finish it into a Valentine's cushion.



This Drunkard's Path block I remember making too. I love this colour combination and that orange fabric. I don't know what to do with it (although clearly it needs a clean and an iron before I do anything).



This window was made for a Duplo Brick mini quilt I made as a thank you for my Mum a couple of years ago. I got my measurements wrong and had to remake this part. I kept the wrong one because it's a perfectly good window and I am sure I will find some way to use it eventually.




A little frog, missing an eye and 6 blocks of a sampler quilt. I have no memory of these at all. The sampler blocks use scraps from my Fantasie quilt and are less well-pieced than that quilt. This makes me suspect they might actually have been made by one of my younger sisters. Vanessa, Caroline, can either of you shed any light on these?



A rainbow strip of squares and a large pyramid block. Again, my memory is not providing answers. V and C, any ideas?




This last one is a leaf block in Christmas fabrics. I think this was a sample and I never had a plan for it. It's too big to turn into a tree decoration, but a little small for a cushion or a mini. Maybe it could be a hot pad?

So those are my orphan blocks! Any and all ideas for how to finish them more than welcome.

Incidentally, this is what happens when you try to take photographs with little kids around:


Thanks for reading!

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