Give piecing a boost

     Using Leader/Enders and scraps- win-win! I love scraps. I love when they are precut up into useable shapes and sizes. Such a wonderful palette.
     If you plan it out and make all decisions ahead of time, it is not confusing and makes piecing easier. I am not a Bonnie Hunter groupie, but I love some of her quilts and especially the Leader Ender ones which are usually free.
     I plan out and precut all the pieces and put them next to my right hand, so I can grab them easily between piecing. I keep a little box to throw the completed pieces in. When I iron the blocks from the main quilt, I press the little ones also. Eventually, I build up an amount to put the bigger blocks together. Since I sew on more than one machine, I have more than one leader/ender going.
     Here is some progress on Sugar Grove:

Completed blocks, webbed block with mistake, block laid out and ironed to freezer paper (I do a bunch of these
and stack them to sew later)

Paired triangles cut with the Easy Angle ruler
next to my right hand to pick from

 

     Another one, a freebie, Triple Treat, uses teeny 4 patches and cut up strips- a 7" one cut at 4 1/2 and 2 1/2". I make the 4 patches as Leader/Enders, press and then make the blocks. 12 blocks done.

Squares, singles and pairs ready to pick and sew

     Or, at the least, if you don't have a quilt in mind, just a box of 4 patch parts next to your machine will sew up quick. I use those 4 patches for pocket quilts.

New Leader Enders

     Since the nine patch stripe quilt is sewn, I need to supply some leader enders at the machines to keep going.  Besides the red crumb center blocks, I decided on two. Both are Bonnie Hunter patterns because they use size of scraps I save and can accumulate until there are enough blocks.
     The first one is Triple Treat as I have lots of pieces of 2 1/2" strips and 1 1/2" squares. This one is a free pattern on her site.

     The other one is Sugar Grove which is a new pattern ($) from Bonnie . It uses 2 1/2" strips that I use the Easy Angle Ruler for. This uses light and dark strips. By layering the light and dark together and cutting them, I put them in a basket by one machine to use this as my leader ender.

     These are 4 full blocks here. I webbed the blocks by column and ironed the layout on freezer paper to keep them in place. Got to go and cut some more.      
     I am not smart enough to figure out why the comments on the blog are not coming to me, if you know, pass the info on.

Crazy crumbs, but why?

      Sometimes I have no idea how I get down a rabbit trail (squirrels). I saw Jo Kramer's post and video on red center crumb blocks, so I cut some small red squares and used blue, green strips to create blocks as leader enders. I used the cut off triangles from attaching binding strips to sew around 1 1/2" red squares. Then I added strips to build blocks. Lots of fun. I have a pile of blocks in various sizes sitting here.
     I haven't the faintest idea how to put them together. I enjoy sewing them as leader enders, but I need to stop and make a real comfort quilt as the leader project, so I selected Triple Treat- Bonnie Hunter's leader ender of the year to make. The crumb blocks will sit until I can somehow think how to connect them.

Have about double this amount and some bigger

Plain blue strips, a border maybe

Two sample blocks. I have plenty of squares cut for the 4 patches,
have to cut 2/12" strip scraps into the 2 1/2" and 6 1/2" lengths yet

Leader Ender currently

      My leader and ender quilt at this time is Scrap Jar Stars. I have all the 16 patches made, I am working on the corners, and then I will do the HSTs for the points. I am content to work on this bit by bit as it is scrappy and small piece components. All the centers are done (need 20 blocks) and I am making the corner pieces (half done) and then the HSTs for the points. I made two sample blocks to make sure it all works.
     I just keep a stack of the pieces next to the machine and keep feeding them through at the end of whatever I am piecing. It really is not confusing. I just keep things in the same places and can really make another quilt at the same time I am working on something more complicated.

Searching for a leader ender quilt

     Having finished the Wonky Star quilt, which was a leader-ender for a couple of years, I have been trying to get another one established. It has to be interesting, scrap based, and friendly. I have had a hard time finding a good candidate.
     I tried Bonnie Hunter's Shoo fly, and it did nothing for me. I tried her new Leader-Ender, but endless squares did not hold my interest. The other day, I tried her Snail's Trail scrap blocks, drafting my own pattern, but when I did 6 blocks, the result seems menacing to me. 
     I like the Wonky Stars because they all looked different and the angles made things move. I am searching for another candidate and would love to know if you have any suggestions.

Nah

Drafted the pattern

Too scary for me

Teeny star blocks at 2

     My leader/ender teeny stars have a layout and I was able to complete two complete blocks. I have to leader/ender sew lots of 3 and 4 square strips to sew the rest of the blocks together. I probably need to make another 20 teeny stars also. 
     I am thinking of putting narrow strips between the big blocks.

Piecing along progress

     I think it is no secret that I have a lot of projects going on at the same time. I track them and have them in separate bags with notes. Depending on my time and head condition, I choose different quilts to work on. The Calico Rose from Wedding Dress Blues is a quiltalong that I use as a leader and ender quilt, so its progress is slow, but moving. Here are the two alternate blocks from the quilt. I am making the pieces for them a bit at a time. 2" scraps, the smallest I have ever used.

    Also, I have sewn all the blocks together for the diagonal tube quilt and it is ready for backing and quilting (join the line).

On the wall and another year begins!

     Today marks the beginning of another year for me. I don't know whether to cry or laugh. I will just be thankful for another day. So many ideas, so many quilts, it is overwhelming. Life just gets busier. 
     Thank you to everyone who is a follower and reader. You are my birthday present!
     So what is on the wall? I have been using 2.5" squares of kid prints for leader/enders and slowly putting Fading Charms together, so here is where I am now. Long way to go.

Center and two sides done

     Also, Sarah Craig of Confessons of a Fabric Addict blog, has been doing a Sweet Sixteen series. See side button. I looked through my squares and found 3 mini charm packs that I got free from the Fat Quarter Shop in Houston and sewed them into 16 patches. I will put this together with some denim squares. I will set these blocks slightly off center with gray background. I am figuring it out on graph paper.

Three of the 8 blocks

With denim added

     I have tried to improve my techniques and organization bit by bit. I finally learned how to pin going from left to right. This enables me to use my guides attached to the machine bed, to remove pins with my left hand and put them in the pincushion without letting go of feeding the fabric with my right, and the pins stay in the fabric much better especially like when two opposite borders are pinned at the same time. Maybe every one else knew this, but not me.

Border pinned at top and also at side makes sure the short side does not shift while the long side is sewn. I put the pin through twice on these long pieces.

Another side

Pin put in left to right as seam would be sewn.
The pin heads do not lie outside the fabric.

     I have put a plastic crate I used to use for markers in my graphic design days next to my machine and put every tool back into it instead of laying it on the table, having it fall or get covered up. I have the iron set right behind me with an ironing pad. Makes sewing small stuff so much easier and pleasant.

Crate to right, leader-ender squares to right.

Revamping, cleaning and so on

     I finished some projects and sold the Bailey Home Quilter in preparation for the addition of a longarm coming in March. I cannot fit it anywhere in my sewing area or anywhere as a matter of fact except the basement. I have run a tape measure everywhere in the house and can come up with no other alternative.
     I divided my 2 1/2" squares into light, medium, and dark in baskets right next to my sewing machines for ease of making leader enders. I used to have them light and dark, but really, the mediums need to be figured differently.
     You can actually see the beautiful table my husband made and all the thread dribbles and lint are cleaned off now. I think this is a good use of my space as I work on multiple machines depending on what projects are flying.

Darks to left, mediums right

Just can't squeeze the treadles in the photo!

Modern sixteen patch

     I have been following Sarah Craig's  Sweet Sixteen Quilt Along. I had some 4 patches from making leader and enders. I love denim and had a bunch of it that I reclaimed from donated jeans. I thought I could use the denim and the 16 patch with a white background to make a modern looking 16 patch taking some liberties with Sarah's modern quilt in the post.

Now I need to quilt it, but have to wait for my longarm in March

Just the blocks

      Things have been a little under the weather here. I have had continuous migraines and early Monday morning my husband passed out twice and fell in the middle of night as he was getting up which meant an ambulance trip, lots of expensive tests and no cause discerned. He has no prior problems, but needs to make some changes. 
      I have been testing out some new blocks to me to see whether I like them or not. First, my  first two paper pieced blocks for Sea Urchin by Judy Niemeyer are done.

      Second, after my class at Quilting by the Lake this past July, I was inspired to try a Dresden Plate. I got a template on the Missouri Star Quilt company daily deal. I wish it was even longer. I sewed 5, 2.5" x 4.5" strips together for each spoke and then trimmed them. I have not sewn the blades together yet. I wonder if this could be a center medallion with something else just simple around it.

      Third, Janet on the Quilting Board explained a better way to do the Missouri Star quilt company Disappearing Hour glass block so you aren't sewing bias edges. This using 5" squares. I like it. I have to find fabric to make enough same charm squares for each block- four of each, light and dark.

       Last, I am using my leader and ender 2.5" squares to make some 5 across blocks so I can make the Film in the Fridge pattern for another comfort quilt now that I sewed together Good Night Irene.

Quilts pieced and waiting

     The crumb attic window quilt got its bag, book and card and were delivered to a woman from church with a new diagnosis of cancer, with more testing to go. A couple of the outside and inside cards I make to go with the quilts.

Outsides

Inside, have not written the message yet

      I finished another Exploding Square quilt and found a great border.

     When I sew, I use Leader and Enders, ala Bonnie Hunter. I have all these 2 1/2" squares in boxes by light and dark, next to the piecing machine of choice (lately a 201- lovely smooth machine after months of motor woes- new armature works great!). When starting to sew or ending, a light and dark pair are sewn. After enough pairs, they are sewn into 4 patches. I also snowballed the squares on 4 1/2" white on white scrap squares. When there were enough of each block, I made Good Night, Irene. I will not border this as it is big enough for a comfort quilt.

  

The last comfort quilt is another You've Got Mail from Missouri Star Quilt Company. From one layer cake prints, I was able to make two comfort quilts. The first one was done a while ago and I finally sewed these blocks into a quilt.

Now, what I need is uninterrupted time to get all these quilted, as the demand for comfort quilts is not ceasing.

New Leader and Ender quilt

    I thought I would make use out of all the 4 patch, 2.5" scraps, that I make as a leader/ender as per Bonnie Hunter. I have a lot of 4 patches now. First, at the beginning or end of each quilt I am piecing, I put 2, 2.5" squares, one dark, one light together through the machine. After pairs, I sew the pairs into 4 patches as leader/lenders. I decided I would fool around with graph paper and come up with something. I did and it required me to snowball 2.5" squares on two diagonal opposite sides of a 4.5" square. I made three sample blocks. Then, when doing my usual looking at quilt ideas on the net, I found out that this block is called Good Night Irene and there was an incredibly simple way to piece these besides the convoluted idea I had come up with. So, I ripped out the samples and made some of these. 
     I can't decide whether to make 4 or 5 blocks across. If I make 4, I need to put a border on the quilt. If 5, no border. I love borders, but I don't know which way to go so since I don't have enough blocks yet, it can simmer. I should look online to see how others do it so I don't try to reinvent the wheel again coming up with a square one. I cut 2.5" squares out of scraps people give me and sort them into light and dark and keep them in two small plastic containers next to the piecing machine, which is lately the Singer 15-91.

4 blocks across measure 32", 5 measure 40"

    My helper, quality control, has taken to laying on in progress FMQ by the machines. He is depositing much cat hair, so I put a scrap soft piece of fabric over the quilt to protect it, and he seems undeterred in his sleep. Saves all that cleaning off the fur before FMQ.

Working away on different things

    Since I have a lot of projects going on at once, sometimes I just chip away at a variety of them. I needed a birthday card for a very good friend, so I usually make cards in a multiple of 4 because I have to drag so much stuff out. I wish I could take an entire day and make a whole supply of cards. I used batik scraps (always save them, rescue them from others) on a base of heavy interfacing sewing on my Singer 401 with YLI invisible thread, black aurifil in the bobbin. I added some novelty yarn at the edges instead of doing satin stitch zig zags.

     I have been cutting up jeans that some quilt guild friends donated to me. I am making another applique art quilt. I did not want to throw out so much, so it dawned on me that I could cut the pockets out in the shape of stockings. I got some recommendations on sewing them, like using a denim 16 needle, and hammering down the seams. I sewed two just to see if I coud do it. I used the 401, invisible YLI thread, and aurifil in the bobbin. Here are the first two. I don't want to use Christmas trim, but how can I add some things to this to make them extra special?

One side

The other side

 

 

 The landscape quilt in progress. Next step, cut denim out for each numbered template shape and start assembling on the hand dye. I am going to pin them down after applying Liquid Thread like Grace Errea showed on her applique quilts on The Quilt Show episode. They won't stick at this point, but be ironed later. The plastic overlay sheet will help me (hopefully?) position them. Then iron them down, then quilt adding the batting and backing first. Clear as mud?

The freezer paper templates

The plastic sheet line up guide on the hand dye background

The original sketch with values added

        Also, I finished quilting the leader-ender 4 patch quilt from a  previous post. All it needs is the binding. I quilted it with Glide, a USA made polyester thread, that I was dying to try. I bought some from Just Threads at the quilt show in Old Forge. A huge cone for $8.99. It is a little heavier than Isacord, but it is AWESOME quilting with it.