Friday, July 22, 2011

My Current Bonus Quilt!...


I love to multi-task...don't you?
Yesterday I told you about my
love of vintage sheets
and about the quilts that I'm in the
process of making with them.
Like you...I always have
several projects going on...
and one way I accomplish getting them 
sewn is by using my
"bonus quilt"  method.
This is how I'm making my currant 
"bonus quilt"
using vintage sheets:)

Basically what that means is that when
I am sewing blocks ...

Like for instance this block above
when I am doing clothesline stitching on the segments there is alot of starting and stopping and trimming of threads.

To avoid this...I simply start by sewing
2 vintage sheet squares together...
 and when I get to the end...
I leave them under the presser foot
with the needle down...



And start to feed my block segments
under the foot without trimmming thread
or lifting the foot up.



When I finish with the clothesline stitching...I leave them under the
presser foot with the needle down
and begin to feed 2 more vintage sheet squares under the foot for sewing.

Like this.



I continue sewing this way...
alternating between vintage sheet squares
 and FW block segments...


Never lifting up the presser foot.


Look mom!...
I'm sewing 2 quilts at a time!

And when my block is complete...
Or when  have finished sewing for the day...I just leave the last set of vintage sheet squares under the presser foot with the needle down...waiting for my next sewing time:)

You would be suprised how much I get accomplished this way….
and how many bonus quilts I've made.

I'm sure most of you have heard about
this or are already using this method...
it's sew fun..isn't it?
I've taught this to many 
students over the years...
I've always called them my 
bonus projects:)

Because I have been doing it for years
I have made many scrappy happy quilts this way using my leftovers:)
Many quilters have used and
 taught this little trick!

Recently Bonnie Hunter published a book using this tried and true method and she calls it "leaders and enders"
 a great name that describes it perfectly:)

It's such a great time saver that our grandma's would be proud of:)



Another "bonus" besides saving time
 and having a new quilt
 when using my "bonus quilt" method
is the no wasting of
precious expensive thread!

I dug this out of the little trash bin
that I keep by my machine just to show
 you how much I wasted this week during my easy corner triangle tutorials.
(I didn't want my vintage sheet squares in the tutorial photos...so that you wouldn't wonder what the heck they were..lol)



Wasting thread...not a pretty picture:)




Have a wonderful weekend my friends...
I hope you get a little time to do everything your heart desires:)
xx
Lori


26 comments:

dream quilt create said...

What an incredible idea, I would have never thought of that....that helps explain how you get so much done! I am going to try it. Thanks so much for sharing Lori! I hope you will post more tutorials on the FWQA.

A mom said...

I am so enjoying your tutorials! I think I may do the bow ties as leaders and enders while I am doing the FWQAL and the Civil War QAL.

Just a slight correction....it's Bonnie Hunter who wrote the Leaders and Enders book. Thought you might want to edit your post.

Jo Anna

ria vogelzang said...

Love the way you are sewing!! I also love to do it this way, saves much tread and TIME..... ;))
Love to see your vintage-sheet-blocks....... :)
Maybe next post....???
Enjoy the weekend!!

Angie said...

I have 2 small baskets on the backside of my machine, one with a tone of 1.5 inch squares amd another one with 2 1.5 inch squares sewn together. Someday they will make a bunch of 3.5 inch nine-patch squares. ;)

Des said...

Leaders and enders TOTALLY rocked my quilting world. Now, I'm more productive than even I can handle!!

Anonymous said...

I just bought the Farmer's Wife book and got copies for my two girls. We're going to have fun with our family bee!

Mickey said...

So funny!! The Daisy "vintage" sheets are on my double guest bed. I loved them 40 years ago and I still love them. Guess I'm vintage, too.LOL

Lemon Lane Studio said...

How clever! I hate to waste precious thread, too. I will definitely start doing this. I love the colors in your quilt block and those vintage sheets...YUMMY!

Kim with a K said...

Thanks for another great tip!
Your block looks perfect!

Unknown said...

Love the creation & fabric/colors, Lori.
Happy PS weekend ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

Anonymous said...

I do that too! I love saving thread, but it is also SO much faster. :)

**nicke... said...

what an awesome way to get so much done...

Ellen said...

I often forget to do this, but I want to get in the habit. It is a brilliant thing! Your Farmer's Wife block is lovely.

Stitched With Prayer said...

Lori, I've been away from my sewing room for a bit and now that I am back and I'm all about making things as easy and functional as possible. Well, I was on Nicole's (Sister's Choice) blog yesterday and she and her daughter had made your 'mini design boards' and included a link to the tutorial...What a GREAT idea!!! I made my first one today 16" X 16" to accommodate my 12" blocks, and now that I have the hang of it, I will be making several more in various sizes over the next few days. I can't wait to get them finished...think 'Space Saver'. Thank you so much for this wonderful idea. I can really see what a help these will be. You also inspired me to make mine cute...not just because they are nicer to look at, but they are so stinkin easy and fun to make. This would be a great idea for my church ladies craft group to make when we meet. Big Hugs coming your way...

Kimberly said...

You smart lady!

And I just wanted to let you know that I made your 1 yard apron today! I love it... thanks for a great pattern! I'll blog all about it in a day or two!

trish said...

Thank you so much Lori, for your helpful hints and tutorials! I used this particular this evening while working on my Shortcake quilt and it is coming along so nicely! I too don't like waisting thread and with your method, I am sure I will waste very little if any. :o)

pcflamingo said...

Recently discovered your blog and I am enjoying it so much! I'm already a Leader & Ender gal, but I am a vintage designer sheet collector now! These probably aren't "designer" but I found a couple duvet covers, different fabrics on each side, that will be fabulous for charity quilt backs. Found a lovely Pierre Cardin floral that is the focus fabric for a strip piece quilt and the borders, backing and binding. PS: Love your music selections too :D

I hate to cook! said...

I LOVE vintage things...this is a very cute blog and I am happy I found you...

Michelle said...

No wasted thread, and no time wasted cutting all of that thread off of your pieces! I pulled out an old UFO a couple of months ago and couldn't believe how much thread I had to cut off of those blocks.

Deb said...

Well, I'm a leaders and enders user, but it's always been with scraps. This post has opened my eyes to the fact that it could be used for real blocks! The advantage I can see with this idea is that you're totally not wasting ANY thread and also getting another project done at the same time. The disadvantage would be extending the time the original project would be finished (esp if you were under time constraints) by adding in the time to make other blocks at the same time. Thanks for a great eye-opening post! You're new on my google reader for almost a month now, and I enjoy your tutorials!

Memaw and Papa said...

Lori, I am having trouble with the math on the honeys choice block #50 fw. The templates are in sixteenths. If I can measure right? Haha those four little pinwheel blocks would be 2 1/8? Whoa that is hard. Should I paper piece this one. Help
Cindy in Utah
Stan_yam@msn.com

tealeafquilts said...

That thread bunch looks like it might make good stuffing for a pin cushion in combination with tiny bits of batting that you have cut up as well! No waste!

Mara said...

Hey how about that I already do this, just because I hate wasting the precious thread :) As I am typing I went to put my foot down like I was pressing my sewing pedal in order to type, so funny. Love to sew.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your info. and the lovely photos. my grandmother used a scrap much the same way as your leaders and enders but it was just thrown out after many passes. I chain piece most of my items even when making a dress or seat-cover,but now I will throw in some leaders and enders to save even more thread and time. thanks again

Unknown said...

This is the best quilting tip I've come across in a long time! Genius! I absolutely hate wasting thread so I've been a huge fan of chain piecing for years, I've even taught my 14 yr old daughter to chain piece. You get so much more accomplished in less time and less waste. Now I can use this method to work on 2 quilts at once....LOVE! Especially since in a few years my daughter and 2 nieces will all be graduating which means 3 quilts. My daughter's will just need quilted as it's entirely EPP and hand stiched with 3.5" hexis. I will definitely be using this method for the other 2!

HennyqPenny said...

I get over whelmed with too many projects but i am temped to do the vintage sheet thing!

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