Miniature quilts and small paper pieced blocks come to mind. They are a love of mine. Lots of possibilities.

Ohhh, I LOVE minature quilts & freezer paper piecing.

I've also been pondering, I lost my mom 2 years ago at age 89 and over the years have spent a LOT of time inside geriatric wards of hospitals. She could never stay warm, and we always had to layer the cheapo/thin cotton blankets on her. I know many people do the quilts for children's wards, and I think the older population are sometimes forgotten about or discarded. Many of these people have families who have 'disowned' them (like my own family, the rest of the 4 brothers & 2 sisters didn't bother with my mom), and maybe a bright crumb quilt would cheer up an older ornary person. They'd only have to be a twin size or lap-sized quilt. The only real probably (other than time!) than I can foresee is the backing fabric & batting, which could really get expensive. I'm curious, about how quick do you think a twin-size-ish quilt could be made?

You can do flip & sew blocks. Cut muslin squares the size you would like your block. Start by stitching the 1st strip,flip it over,add another strip continue until you have your block completed. When finished sew all your blocks together. I usually put my scrap bag next to me and just reach in and pull out a scrap. No color arrangement.

you could use a sheet for the backing and/or use old blankets from the dollar store or goodwill as batting. My mom and grandma have used both with really nice results.

Also, I think this is a fantastic idea and I think I will put this on my to do list. As right after I hit the respond button a few minutes ago I heard a voice clear as day say "Project Grace".

That's a great lot of fabric. For the circles you could make yoyos out of them.

Well, I sat down and took a break from work today and attempted my very first crumb blocks. I think they're really cute! Maybe adding a black border all around the perimeter of each one would make them a bit bigger. I only have a 5" square to cut them. The other thing I'm learning is it would be much easier to sort via long skinny piecs vs. short stubby ones. I grabbed each one and had to trim to make them fit. I'm going to try a crazy log-cabin block next.

I did call the local hospital and spoke with the activities coordinator. She really seemed to like the idea of quilts for the geriatric department (they don't even have a peds dept because it's so small). They said there were a few quilts donated via a local church but it wasn't an 'on going' thing. Maybe God's opening this door for a reason.

Figured I'd share some pics of what I'm working on!

Good luck with your project your scraps are wonderful! I wondered if your friend had a web site so I could see what she makes?

Nope, I don't think they have a web site. They make little trivets with silicone having the fabric inside for 'pretty'. Really neat little things. :)

Those are really cute..and I bet the residents will love seeing all the designs of fabric..maybe they were quilters at one time..keep up the good work..and keep sewing those squares..bless you

Thanks! I was thinking that probably many of the quilts they grew up sleeping under were scrap quilts out of necessity. I really think they'd get a kick out of knowing they were actually quilted on a 100-year-old treadle. Maybe I could even bring in an old hand crank to spark some memories. :)