Spoolin’ Around Leader/Ender Challenge!

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Many of us have finished our bow-tie leader/ender challenge from 2011.

Here we are more than a month past the Sister’s Quilt Show and I didn’t post anything new for us to focus on for the coming Leader/Ender year!

Through the course of the past week, and fun times with QuiltCam several of us thought it would be fun to sew up scrappy little spool blocks as Leaders & Enders in between the lines of quilt piecing we are already doing.

Only.

Of course there is an ONLY, right?!

Only ---we want to do them the same size as the bow-tie blocks because, DANG IT! 3” Spool blocks are just a heck of a lot cuter than 4.5” Spool blocks, you know?!

Do you want to play along?

They are So So so easy, and so cute!

This will take some time to think ahead and kit up your block parts BEFORE You sit down to sew anything else. There's a bit more cutting than for the bow ties, but not by much. I suggest taking the time to cut out and kit up 8 bow-ties at a time ---and when you run out, kit up some more. I find I get REALLY LAZY if I don’t have something ready to use sitting by my machine. That’s when I’m likely to go back into the bad habit of just grabbing a folded-over-throw-away scrap to use that is going to be quickly just tossed away and wasted. Or worse. Find myself just pulling my work out of the machine leaving long thread tails everywhere. UGH! I’m SO ASHAMED!

So kitting up is my friend, and this is what you need for each little spool:

(2) 1.5” X 3.5” rectangles from background fabrics.

(1) 1.5” X 3.5” rectangle from spool fabric

(4) 1.5” squares.

I have this down to a system ---At the end of a line of piecing, place a square on the end of each of the background rectangles and sew across the diagonal. The left edge of the tape is there to help me guide the fabric straight. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t! HA!

Then snip your work from behind the needle, leaving these two units there under the presser foot. Press your “other” work, and come sew some more. Remove these rectangles from the front of your line of chain piecing. Test to make sure your diagonal seams are where you want them to be, and that your corner flips up right and matches the edges of your base rectangles. Snip excess fabric 1/4” from seam. Press.

At the end of your NEXT line of chain piecing, put the remaining two squares on top of the base rectangles with right sides together and stitch with the angle going in the opposite direction, corner to corner. Leave them there, under the needle. Remove your line of piecing from behind the presser foot. Go press, come sew some more --- remove these rectangles and test to make sure your diagonal seams are where you want them to be. Snip Excess fabric 1/4” from seam. Press.

You got this, right? All of this is done IN BETWEEN THE LINES OF CHAIN PIECING YOUR MAIN PROJECT!

Here are the 3 block sections ready to be sewn together. Two more times under the presser foot and this baby will be together!

Sew the center rectangle to one of the side units at the end of one line of chain piecing. Leave it under the presser foot, removing the work from behind this unit to go press…come sew some more! Next time around, add the last section to the block.

It takes FOUR times through the machine for each spool block to come together. You can DO THIS!

Who wants to join in?

You need at least a 1.5” X 7” strip to get the background rectangles needed from one 1.5” strip.

You need at least a 1.5” X 9.5” strip to get the spool pieces you need from one 1.5” strip.

We can clear out a whole mess of 1.5” strips this way……

Remember, it’s not a race. And this is meant to be a leader/ender project, so anyone who finishes it NEXT WEEK is disqualified…LOL!

Have a great time while I’m away, everyone! My flight to LAX leaves about 5:45pm this evening Eastern time.

I’m Bali Bound!

Update:

My finished Spoolin' Around quilt!

The full pattern for my Spoolin' Around quilt is found in my book MORE Adventures with Leaders & Enders, available in the Quiltville Store.