The End of The End

This will probably be the last time you see a new blog entry about this quilt (for a while, snicker, snicker). I've been asked to see the back. I picked this fabric because I like the pattern on it. I tend to be pickier about my backings if they are on a throw or bed quilt because they will be seen a lot. On a wall hanging, however, anything goes. I know if any of you visit, I can expect to see you pulling the wall hanging out from the wall to see what is on the back. Don't expect it to match!!

The slightly busy design hides the quilt starts and stops and any tiny mistakes (I know--you don't make any, but I do).

I've also had questions about how I get things done so fast. I always think I could be doing things more efficiently or faster. But here's some things I do when making a scrap quilt like Plan B, which is my current leader/ender project.

I have a shallow plastic basket that I always keep beside my sewing machine. Right now it has nothing but 2" squares in it, creams and colors.

I have a separate box for finished units. It's a shoe-box sized plastic box with a lid. Beside my sewing machine I keep small pieces in the basket (not units, which are at least 2 pieces sewn together). When I'm sewing something else, I end with a leader/ender from that instead of the scrap of trash fabric I used to sew on until it was thread-filled and then throw it away. This way I'm "sewing" all these units without actually spending time on them. Occasionally, I'll sew lots and lots of the units together if I'm not working on another project.

The units go into the box loose. After I iron and trim them to size, I safety pin them together in groups of ten so I can count them easily. I usually iron and trim a lot of them at once. They go into the box unironed and untrimmed. I count how many of each unit I need ahead of time so I can slow down on that one once I get close to my goal. Sometimes, the actual numbers can be ovewhelming. For example, for Plan B, I will need 204 four-patches made from 4 dark/colored 2" squares. That's a lot (816 squares!), but I'm over halfway there. I am cutting all my scraps into 2" squares and putting them in a shallow basket for leader/enders. Same with creams, but that's another unit.

~Joan