I'm working on a project using exactly the kind of upholstry samples you're talking about. I haven't figured out an easy way to get the extra cardboard and glue off (yet) - so if you figure something out, -please let me know!. I was originally planning to try to make a throw-type quilt, tied, with a fairly high-loft batting - for snuggling on the couch with. But I decided to scale-down the project recently and I'm now planning to make some big square cushions instead.
The project is planned as a gift for a friend of mine, and I know she often has big groups of people over to her house and people end up sitting on the floor in her living room because she has a fairly small house - so I was thinking the cushions could be used on the floor when she runs out of chairs!
What I've done so far is cut and sewed the samples 4-patch style, except they weren't all the same sizes, and they were all rectangles, so my 4-patch squares aren't even or square. I'm going to make a square template and trim them all down to size, but have the seams "wonky" rather than straight. Then I'm going to set each 4-patch into a larger square by bordering it with other fabric scraps - heavier fabric than regular quilting cotton. Then I'll sew the squares together, and tie the sandwich together. I'm not sure how I'm going to bind them yet.
I'll post some pictures if I can find a couple of minutes to assemble the camera and the WIP!
Jan