(A sewer's) dreams are made of this!

So my last post was on 23rd December! Oooops! I am what can only be described as a Bad Blogger but I do has a good excuse:

Caitlin was born on 12th January and weighed a whopping 3825 grams (8 lb and 4 ounces!!) Let's just say she tore her way out -.big ouch!!! She's now 9 weeks old and has been sleeping through the night for a week so I am starting to feel human again. T. is being a fantastic big brother; after a few difficult weeks at the start, he's now stroking her and rocking her to sleep and being extremely patient when I'm feeding his sister or settling her. 

A few weeks before Caitlin arrived, I stumbled upon an auction for a collection of 16 English paper piecing blocks on English Ebay. They looked amazing - vintage fabrics so intricately pieced and stitched that I couldn't believe the aution had started at 99p. There was only 1 other bidder and I won the collection at a steal for only £5.Yes, 5 quid for 16 precious blocks!!!

Just take a look at the colours and detail in these beauties:

 
I imagine they belonged to an old lady who passed away and had spent many hours lovingly sewing them. What was she planning to do with the blocks though? Join them together? Or was she just experimenting with shapes? I presume a relative found them when clearing out the house and didn't appreciate the work that has gone in to them as much as I do! Each piece has been perfectly hand-stitched and it must have taken an absolute age just to cut the paper templates out so perfectly and neatly.

My absolute favourite is the sun block. Each piece has been so carefully cut and ridiculously neatly hand-stitched:

 
 The vibrant star block particularly stands out too:

And I love the delicate fabrics used in the Dresden plate:

 

I think I might use the building blocks in a quilt for Caitlin:

And I would love to make a summer quilt from red, yellow and blue fabrics, using these blocks as the central pieces:

I have no idea what to make with the other blocks though! What are your suggestions? Should I make cushion covers? Or do you have a better and more creative idea?