While sewing do you use leaders and enders? Some people call them beginners and enders, or start and stop. Whatever you call them, they were a game changer for me.
They do a couple of things. If you always have something under your presser foot you won’t have long threads hanging off your projects. It helps keep your points from going down into the feed dogs. You can build a second quilt while working on your current project. (It is so amazing to see a second quilt grow. ) And I get to use up my scrapes!!
Until I started reading Bonnie Hunter’s Quiltville Blog I had no idea how productive Leader/Enders could be. I would use a scrap piece of fabric and it would end up in the trash at some point. (some people call them spiders) They aren’t pretty and they aren’t useful. lol
You should hop on over to https://quiltville.blogspot.com/search?q=leader+ender and read her blog post all about Leaders and Enders. She also has a yearly Leader/Ender Challenge. This year’s just started. They are so cute. Just like chips, you can’t make just one.
Over the last couple of years while working on my main project, I have had some sort of leader/enders right next to my machine ready to be stitched in between my chain piecing. I enjoy seeing how quickly it grows. You don’t have to know what quilt you are building. Start with a simple block. Cut out some squares and have them right next to your machine. It can be as easy as choosing to make two patches, one light fabric, one dark fabric. Stitch up a bunch of them. Now you can turn them into four patches. Watch them grow. So much fun. I hope you will give it a try.
Pictured are the last three quilts I made as Leader/Enders. They are: Jewel Box Stars, The middle one Checkerboard Rails, I gave this one to my youngest grandson for Christmas, He loves it, and the third one is Cathedral Stars. I enjoyed making them all. You can find all three patterns here. https://quiltville.blogspot.com/p/free-patterns.html
I now have a plate of blocks ready to sew in between my main project. I have a fabric bowl I made that I place my leader/enders in. It lives next to my machine so I can easily grab and sew.
Off I go to sew something and watch my Leader/Enders grow.
Until Later Quilt Fearless my Friends