Quiltingboard Forums - View Single Post - String Quilts- Ill show you mine, will you show me yours?

04-29-2012, 03:58 PM

#111

Pinkiris

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: NE Wisconsin

Posts: 1,351

Quote:

Originally Posted by beatys9

I'm loving looking at all these wonderful string quilts!

Quilting Nonnie - what is a leader -ender? I went to the Bonnie HUnter link & see she has a book of the same title but I didn't see any explanation as to what it means. I also saw her Bali Batik tour in August 2012 - oh, I wish!

Shannon--Leaders-enders are pre-cut squares that you keep next to your sewing machine. When you reach the end of a seam on a quilt that you are piecing, you feed two face to face squares under the presser foot and sew them together ("enders"). You can then snip the threads attached to your main piecing. That saves thread because you aren't pulling out a long length at the end of each seam. When you are ready to sew the next seam on your main quilt, that little 2-patch is a "leader". You feed your next pieces right under the presser foot after it and it keeps the edges of your pieces from getting eaten up by the feed dogs. When you snip off the leader-ender 2 patch, you put it aside in a basket or box. After you have done this MANY times, you can press and join all those little 2 patches into a quilt top!

Bonnie Hunter recommends cutting 2.5" squares of any scraps that you have from other projects. These little beauties can be sorted by color if you wish. Then you always have an assortment of leaders-enders to use while piecing other things. She's one smart lady!

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