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Remember the blocks I mentioned last week?

They are becoming what might be my FAVORITE Second Chances Quilt so far.

Finished project coming soon.

The blocks arrived, warped, wrinkled and neglected. They had languished for years and been through at least two previous owners. (Maybe this should be a “Third Chances” quilt?)

But, the fabric was interesting and the hand piecing was precious. The shine of the sateen begged, “It isn’t too late for me to be beautiful.”

First step was the square up the blocks. This was a worrisome because of the hand piecing, but it was mostly just points and distorted corners. They would still hold together. The chosen size: 11-1/2″.

Once squared up there were still problems. ALL of ...

I am so excited about my current Second Chances quilt.

Not ready for the complete reveal, but here’s a sneak peek…

I was excited to have a package of blocks and some extra fabric come my way. The tulip blocks were intriguing. However, there weren’t very many of them and the seam allowance wasn’t quite standard, making them an odd size. But, much too nice to throw away.

First I tried a variety of possible layouts, just seeing what might happen.

It needed a few more blocks.

And sashing.

What next? Sometimes with something like this you just need to experiment. The centers of the tulips were created with 2-1/2″ squares, so I started playing around with ideas ...

I was given this interesting pile of blocks. The colors were appealing, but they needed…a few things.

First trimming to a uniform size.

Then a layout. There weren’t enough, so it was time to find coordinating fabric. Part of what makes Second Chances quilts work in the end is the unexpected.

I made simple half square triangle blocks to match.

Then added borders.

And sashing.

And quilting and binding…Ta-dah!

This is my first minkee back, and I think I like it. Not for every quilt, but it works for this one.

Final size: 41″ square. This is ...

Some of those great scraps from Stephanie have found an idea.

And a purple patchwork project is in progress.

Diane sent me a Second Chances Quilt challenge. She had started this quilt and even cut much of the fabric.

Hmmmm…what to do? I didn’t want to build the tesselated star, but the fabric was already in triangles and rectangles.

Sudden inspiration struck…the triangles could be saved. I could cut a 2″ square and a 1-1/2″ square from each one. Yes, there was some waste, but not as much waste as doing nothing with it at all.

I decided to make snowball blocks in two sizes–6″ and 3″.

Each 6″ blocks uses 4 2-1/2 ...

Debra was so kind to share some of her leftover half square triangle blocks.

All they needed was some sorting and squaring up.

The backing was from stash, also donated, maybe by Stephanie?

Isn’t it lovely how fabric can find a purpose over time and distance?! I am really pleased with the results.

Sometimes you have a good idea that doesn’t quite work out. But, it did require effort and fabric and time…you hate to throw it away.

I was fortunate enough to inherit some such items. It appears the original maker was working towards a wonky coin quilt of some kind. Foundation pieced. But a little odd…

First I squared them up and trimmed to a standard size: 5-1/2″ x 46″.

It felt like a border would both make them more stable and give definition. Added 1-1/2″ strip all the way around. Now they are 7-1/2″ x ...

A friend recently made a quilt with her mother out of fabric that the mother had brought back from the Far East several years ago.

The quilt with stay with the mother, but there were a few small scraps. I suggested she give them to me.

Using the picture of the top as a guide, I made a matching mini.

Yes, a few solids were added, but hopefully the spirit of the quilt has been maintained. The mini will probably hang on the wall of her sewing room and remind her of a wonderful weekend with family.

A hand-me-down bag had a lot of fairly large half-square triangles in it. They weren’t all the same size, but the colors looked nice together. Some were already stitched across the diagonal, some weren’t.

First, I stitched the diagonals as needed, then pressed the blocks open and trimmed them to 4″, the largest size that would fit the blocks.

TIP: When working with Half Square Triangle blocks (HSTs), it is completely worth your time to trim and square up the blocks. There are many good tutorials out there and a variety of methods. Try a few and decide ...