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Adopting Orphan Blocks

9/30/2026

In quilting, an "orphan block" is when a quilter starts a quilt, or does a sample block to test a pattern, and for whatever reason doesn't finish. So the blocks sit in piles, and land in give-away bags, and find their way to thrift stores or free tables. I enjoy adopting other quilters' orphans to make my own quilt tops, because a lot of the finicky work is done, and I can play around with colors and arrangements with a degree of freedom that comes from low emotional investment in the project.

This project is a perfect example, and one where I ended up loving the end result.

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Signature Quilt (2023-2025)

9/30/2026

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Sometimes, while browsing The Quilt Index, I see signature quilts, and I love the idea of them. When I recently went back to college, I decided to make one.

I started a two year program in 2023, graduating in 2025. Each year admitted a small cohort who went through all the same classes together, so when I was a first-year student, the class before me were second-years. When I was a second-year student, the class after me were first-years. This gave me an opportunity to collect signatures from three classes, or 6 years' worth of students!

When I graduated, my cohort presented the finished quilt to the program director.

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Adopting Orphan Blocks

Signature Quilt (2023-2025)

Karen Roy

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