Orphans, the fabric kind

It's the end of the school year, and Friday, May 24 was my last day of work for the school year, part-time intervention teacher for kindergarteners. No, wait, there was testing to be done, so I was called in to work the next week, and Thursday, May 30 was my last day. Oh... more testing, so I worked again on Monday, June 3, and that was my last d.... except that tomorrow is a mini conference day so I'll work as afternoon sub in kindergarten. And then I'm officially on summer vacation!

With all this off-and-on schedule, I've been snatching opportunities to tackle and finish small projects. I really enjoy being in the 3x6 online quilting bee, and I'm part of a really friendly hive again this quarter. Since our hive is specifically making star blocks for one another, and I've been making stars for the last few rounds of the bee, I was happy to find a star block that's a little unusual, but still not paper pieced.

I figured out how to make it after seeing it on Karen's Flickr! photostream, and found some focus fabrics for the centers, and knocked out the blocks in a weekend. Fun! (If you want to see them in more detail, visit my Flickr! photostream.)


In the last quarter of the 3x6 bee, our hive was so friendly, we formed our own bee, Stars  In Their Eyes. For May, Lisa requested X&+ blocks in a specific color scheme, intended for a baby quilt. These blocks are really fun to make! I wasn't satisfied just making two, because I was eager to see the effect of putting them together, so I made four. (To see the gorgeous quilt Lisa made with her blocks, look here!)

The X&+ blocks are so addictive, I decided to make some for myself, and to use up some of my scraps that were starting to overflow my scrap pockets:

I keep scraps in shoe storage pockets, hanging on the door.
You can see the greens overflowing here!

I cut scraps and kitted them up, and started making blocks.

I kept making blocks until I had so many, I had to make more, so there would be enough for a bed-size quilt. I think they lose a bit of their charm when there are so many, but I'm still planning a quilt big enough for a bed, a very utilitarian quilt.

Laid out on the floor for effect, not sewn together yet.

June is Sam's month for our bee, and she asked for Union Jack blocks. After cutting on the wrong lines and making one too small, I successfully made these blocks, and I think Sam's quilt is going to be very charming!

That too-small Union Jack block wasn't going to languish in my orphans basket. I quilted it, piped it, backed it, and stuffed it, and made it into a little cushion. 

Pebble quilting and kelp quilting finished this mish-mash of leftover parts, and it got made into a pillow, too. This time with a zipper.

Detail of quilting. 

The scraps from my zig zag quilt top also got made into a pillow cover. I may be late to the party, but I love how arranging the half-square-triangles by value (light/dark) creates the diamond design. 

Pillow back with zipper, quilted in diagonal grid.

Scrappy binding, quilting echoes the flowers on the backing.

Here are my no-longer orphan pillows at home with their family of LWR quilt and other cushions. 

Meanwhile, I've been giving sewing lessons to Gabrielle, initiating a new sewist into the stitching community. We started with a pincushion, then a shoulder bag, then a pillow cover with a zipper, and here she is with her first dress! I'm so proud!

Linking up with Finish it Up Friday!