We have to do what works for us. I made a full size "jar" quilt for my daughter. When my sister saw my beginnings of it she said, "That's not the way you make a jar quilt." I had used 12" wide strips of fabric and appliqued all different sizes of jars on it. Then it didn't seem big enough so I added a "wall" around my shelf. It's got family pictures, occasional tables with flower vases, all sorts of things on it. The top shelf has an empty space where a jar of frogs fell off and broke. It's laying on the "floor" all busted up with frogs jumping all over the shelves and jars. I did weird things like a ship in a bottle, time in a bottle, a cup of dice, a plate of candy, a basket of fruit. You can see it at: www.threadsoftimefab.com click on "project" and then scroll down until you see Alfreda H. Click on the picture to see the quilt larger.