Coming Together

Leaders and enders are funny things. Some people hate using them, and use scrap pieces of cloth to sew off onto. Some people make random units, and when they have enough of them, they decide what to do with the zillion four patches or whatever they have. I LOVE use leaders and enders, but I always make them purposeful. I either use another unit of the same quilt as my leaders/enders, or more commonly, a second unrelated quilt as my leaders/enders.

What some people don't like about them, is that it can seem to take longer to get anything done. Sometimes it does seem to take forever, but when things start coming together, they come together quickly! I've been using all my deadline quilts as leaders/enders for each other.

My last post I showed my grandson's quilt top, and my granddaughter's quilt top in assembly stage. Here's what I've got done since then.

My granddaughter's quilt top is finished...and so is the backing, which I pieced from the leftover fabrics, plus a couple new ones.

This backing will lay flat just fine, I was just in a hurry and didn't take my time laying it out.

I also finished another baby quilt top. This one was completely contructed as leaders/enders, even adding the borders.

So now three of my five remaining deadline quilts for 2016 are tops. How about the other two? I decided to assemble my niece's wedding quilt in fourths, and I just finished the second fourth today. While assembling that, I'm using the third baby quilt I need as my leaders/enders. My goal is to have all five deadline quilts into quilt tops by the weekend. I think I've got a good shot of getting that done! It may have seemed like I was spinning my wheels for a while, not really making any progress at all, but in all actuality, I was progressing on several quilts at once, and it's paying off now!

On days I'm not sewing, I'm busily re-figuring storage. I have those huge set of shelves I mentioned in my last post empty, and DH found a friend who wants them. I'm still rearranging things in the big walk-in pantry, as well as a lot of other places in the house. There will be a big drop off at a thrift store soon, but for now, the pile just grows.

I wish I could say I am only moving things out, but I also have an ongoing list of things DD#1's family needs, since they are moving to this country with only their suitcases. I'm buying a few things each payday, to spread out the cost, and repurposing as much in the house as I can. I have a master list of things they need, and I'm doing pretty well acquiring it, without breaking the budget. There have been a few times I could have used something I got rid of earlier this year, but I had no way to know they'd be moving here.

I'm consolidating my sewing supplies as much as possible, and without a sewing room, I'm thinking I'll be no buy for quite a while. DH and I went to JoAnn Fbrics last night, and he bought a couple things, and I left empty-handed! I will still be able to sew, just not have easy access to some of my supplies. I'm trying to make it so I could get to everything, just not as easily as when I have a sewing room. I'm looking at it as a challenge, and I'm anxious to see what I can do when my new normal starts!