Tricia Lynn Maloney - Orphan Block Quilts: Making a Home for Antique, Vintage, Collectible and Leftover Quilt Blocks

orphan
BLOCK
quilts

making a home for
antique, vintage, collectible
& leftover quilt blocks

TRICIA LYNN MALONEY

Orphan Block Quilts. Copyright 2010 by Tricia Lynn Maloney.
Manufactured in China. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including
information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing
from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in
a review. Published by Krause Publications, a division of F+W Media, Inc.,
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. (800) 289-0963. First
Edition.

www.fwmedia.com

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Maloney, TriciaLynn
Orphan block quilts : making a home for antique, vintage, collectible, and
leftover quilt blocks / Tricia Lynn Maloney.
p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4402-0552-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
eISBN-13: 978-1-4402-1610-7

ISBN-10: 1-4402-0552-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Patchwork. 2. Quilting. I. Title.

TT835.M272132 2010
746.46 dc22

2010013848

Edited by Vanessa Lyman, Amy Jeynes
Designed by Michelle Thompson, Hotiron Creative
Production coordinated by Greg Nock
Photography by Ric Deliantoni, unless otherwise noted

metric conversion chart

about the author

Tricia Lynn Maloney began working with antique textiles in a local museum while pursuing a degree at Allegheny College. Later she went into the field of education and holds a Masters in elementary education/childhood education. Tricia has worked in a quilt shop and designs her own patterns and quilts, selling locally and online. She teaches quilt classes in hand-dyeing fabrics, purse making, designing quilts and free motion quilting. Additionally, she has co-taught an annual 12-month quilt program since 2007. Tricia is an officer of her quilt guild, Country Charms.

dedication

Photo of Louetta Shoemaker Hoffman
courtesy of Nancy S. Nyilyk

This book is dedicated to:

Quilters of the past like Louetta Shoemaker Hoffman, Ausie Shutt, and my great grandmothers, Mary Dain Maloney and Emma Ferlin Picard

Quilters of today like my dear friends Cathey Laird, Leslie Lattner, Mary Lee Minnis and my fellow guild members

And the Quilters of tomorrow, perhaps my nieces Meghan and Morgan Cronin

Also, Mom and Dad. Thanks.

acknowledgements

My editor, Vanessa Lyman, for her vision, energy, and creativity. Also, thank you to all of the wonderful people at Krause who helped make this book a reality. Cathey Laird, Leslie Lattner and Mary Lee Minnis for being the best friends in the whole world always there to offer suggestions, bind quilts, piece tops and just listen. Designer and fellow author, Cheryl Weiderspahn, for showing me the way, answering hundreds of questions, providing guidance and support, and most of all for her friendship. My fellow quilt guild members for their support and for gifting me with orphan quilt blocks. Barb Shuck and Cindy Beggs for not only their beautiful machine quilting but also for giving me stacks of orphan blocks. Gaynel Sickles for her exquisite machine quilting. The 2009 Victory Class Ladies for bearing with me during the writing and creating process and offering great suggestions along the way. Gail Baker, my local quilt shop owner and friend, for her encouragement and support. Nancy Nyilyk for helping me to get to know her grandmother, Louetta Shoemaker Hoffman. Barbara Beckwith and Joanne Weiss for sharing their grandmother, Ausie Shutt. Becky Van Kleeck for ushering me into the world of quilts. Peg Weymer for sharing her knowledge of antique quilts and fabrics during my museum days. Dr. Paula Treckel for nurturing my love of history and Mrs. Beth Wilcox for inspiring me to write. And finally to my family for listening, critiquing and filling in when deadlines approached.

table of contents

Common Problems

1 working with orphan blocks

An orphan block is simply any quilt block that hasnt found a home in a completed quilt yet. Orphan blocks can be old, new, in good condition or poor; they can be well pieced or badly pieced; attractive or unappealing; pieced or appliqud. They can be signed by the maker or made by unknown hands. They can even be from last months UFO (Unfinished Fabric Object). They can be yours or someone elses.

This book shows you how to take those lost, unused or perhaps even unloved blocks and make a home for them. Any abandoned block can become part of a one-of-a-kind, beloved quilt. You dont necessarily need to have lots of blocks some projects start with just one. Its simply a matter of knowing how to create the right setting. The projects in this book teach you to do that.

Making an orphan block quilt is an amazing experience! Its fun, exciting, challenging and creative. When you begin the process, you never know exactly where you will end up. You may think you know what the final project will look like, but often the project takes you on a few unexpected side roads along the way. Part of the enjoyment is the anticipation of not quite knowing what the final result will be. If you are fortunate enough to have signature blocks signed by the maker(s), you might even discover a lost quilter with a little basic research. This, of course, could lead your project in an entirely new direction.