I recently made a cat bed using the clippings in the waste basket as the filler. My kitty loves it. She can snuggle right down in that. I used that idea of an old sweatshirt as the base with the clippings as the stuffing. I think you can find the idea online somewhere. Since she is long-haired and sheds a lot, I also sewed 2 pieces of flannel together as a small "quilt" to toss over it for easier cleaning of the bed. Too, it covers up the errors in the construction and she doesn't care!
As for your blocks or practice pieces. If those are of appropriate size, finish them off and donate to a NICU for use with their tiny people. Some may be appropriate to be comforting to parents of those babies are born way too soon and are so little that a small quilt is just the right size.