I learned about these "freebie quilts".... or "leaders / enders".... from Bonnie Hunter. They are so named because you assemble them in those in-between moments... bits and pieces assembled together when you are switching between projects or using up the last bit of thread on a spool or bobbin. And they are "freebies" because you don't really delegate time to working on them... its rather sneaky way to work on a quilt.
The beauty of these projects was that supposedly, and without you really noticing, you could end up with all the completed elements for a quilt!! you could just assemble and enjoy!
I was going to plan my very first "freebie quilt"!!!
A "leader /ender" project does not usually have a complex pattern and I decided my first "freebie" would be a lap or baby quilt using the Dancing Nine-Patch from Bonnie Hunter's free patterns.
I had set aside some light blue fabric for sashing so when the time came to put the quilt together, I wouldn't be scrambling for enough of something to finish the quilt. Or maybe I somehow knew I would end up needing a quilt for a baby boy.
The other thing about this project is that you start with a big pile of fabric strips in the size that you choose. Because I choose a 2" square for my nine-patch pieces, I knew I would need a lot of nine-patches to do a quilt. As I completed the nine-patches, the strip pile went down and the nine-patch pile went up but I didn't stop to count, I just kept going until I ran out of fabric in the strip pile. Apparently, I should have stopped and counted somewhere along the line....
So fast forward to a time when I need a baby quilt. I decided I would put it together and enjoy the fruits of my freebie/unnoticed labor. I checked the pattern and it indicated that I would need 64 nine-patches.
Hmmmm.... I most definitely have 64.
In fact, I have ANOTHER 64!!!
I should have counted.... because, in total, I have 160 of them.
I decided to scrap the baby size and go for the gold! Who ever says a quilt is too big? No one!!!
So I start sewing rows together. The photo shows the rows laid out on a queen size bed. The vertical rows are sewn but the rows are not sewn together. At this point, I am not sure how big I should make it... I have enough completed nine-patches for another row in each direction, then I would add a stop border and an outside border.
Or I could make 2 LARGE baby boy quilts... because I just found out another friend is having a boy. and I still need baby quilts.....
Whatever I decide to do, this was certainly a fun quilt AND it put itself (themselves) together without me realizing it. I think that is pretty darned incredible.
Can't wait to finish it!! (or them... !)
My mom is coming for a visit before too long and our "deal" was always that I did the machine sewing and she did the hand sewing for our joint projects. We have already decided that we are going to make her a quilt while she is visiting but I think I will sneak some quilt binding into her pile of "to do" while I am working on her quilt.... think she will notice??
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