Jewel Box Star Table Runner {Finished Scrap Project}

This post could also be titled "I am bad at leaders and enders."

I absolutely LOVE the idea of leaders and enders -- a side project that you have going in an effort to save thread and use scraps. Bonnie Hunter is a leader and ender pioneer and I decided that I wanted to join in on her "leader and ender challenge" for this year making Jewel Box Star blocks.

Instead of pure scrappy-ness, I decided to do a controlled scrappy color scheme for my blocks. I picked out reds and greens for my four patches and a fat quarter of an old Basic Grey floral print for my half square triangles. Four blocks later:

As you can see, I arranged my four patches so that one diagonal of the block has green squares and one diagonal has red squares. All of my HSTs use the same blue background floral.

But backing up -- I am not good at leaders and enders. Instead of what you're actually supposed to do with leaders and enders, I tend to just use it as a "filler" project when I have a few minutes here and there to sew. I guess maybe this is just what works for my brain and my tiny sewing space.

I decided that instead of working on more blocks to add to a quilt, I would just turn these four blocks into a long and skinny table runner. I also had this great zig zag print hanging out in my stash that I chose for the backing and binding.

I did have to piece the backing since this table runner is 48" long. I used my tutorial for matching prints to make the necessary seam a little less obvious. I also was able to use the batting scraps left over from my Pansy Garden quilt.

For the quilting, I did more swirly flowers in white Aurifil thread. I used the leftover fabric from the backing (I had a whole yard of this fabric) for the binding. Because the runner is 48" x 12", I needed four WOF strips for the binding -- three strips was *just* too short. I top stitched the binding with a dark green Aurifil thread that is similar to the darker green in the zig zag print.

Here's a close up of one block in the table runner -- the binding and backing fabric is a perfect pair with my navy floral print star points.

And just for fun -- lots of stripey goodness when I rolled up the runner.

Happy Friday! Sharing at Brag about your Beauties and Finish it up Friday!

Project Stats:
Name: Jewel Box Star Table Runner
Pattern: Jewel Box Star from Bonnie Hunter/Quiltville
Size: 12" blocks, runner is 48" by 12"
Fabrics: scraps and stash
Quilting: swirly flowers in white Aurifil
Future: Might be a gift, might not, haven't decided!

Top Spin {a la Leaders and Enders} + Ten Tips Tuesday

Do you ever see a new quilt pattern and think for a second and then immediately decide that you have to make it? It happens to me once in a while and it happened over the summer with Melissa Corry's Top Spin pattern on Moda Bake Shop.

I decided to convert this into a leaders and enders project. For those of you unfamiliar with leaders and enders, Bonnie Hunter has written multiple books based around leaders and enders projects, and has a good explanation of the process on her blog.

To start off, I pulled a three yard cut of a floral hydrangea and leaf print that has been languishing in my stash as my inspiration/backing fabric. I pulled out all of my green, pink, and purple scraps from my color-sorted scrap boxes and cut as many squares in the various sizes as I could. This pattern calls for 6", 5", and 4" colored squares.

Here's what I was able to cut from one pass through my scrap boxes as well as my inspiration fabric:

While what I've started off with won't get me anywhere close to a full quilt, it's at least a starting point for this quilt. For now my plan is to start sewing all of the half square triangle units with what I have cut, start assembling blocks with the units I have, and then keep repeating the process until I get the size quilt that I want. I'm planning to make a baby sized or throw quilt rather than a bed sized quilt.

Here's the large and medium sized HSTs that I have sewn and trimmed so far:

Here are some of my tips thus far on the leaders and enders (L&E) process and "controlled scrappy" quilts:

• Your choice of L&E project really makes an impact on how easy it is to work L&E into your normal sewing. For me, I'm just making HSTs, and having my squares pre-paired next to my sewing machine has made it much faster and easier. 
• I'm still finding myself falling into the habit of cutting my threads as normal sometimes, but any little bit of thread saving does help. It's becoming more and more natural.
• I'm actually not sewing both sides of my HSTs at once -- I do one side at a time so I am not going through units quite as fast.
• For a scrappy quilt, it has become obvious what colors I need to add in each size. I have a ton of purple in all three sizes, a fair amount of pink in each size, and a lot of green in the smallest size, while having none/hardly any in the large and medium sizes. I will likely comb through my larger scraps and cut a lot more green and some additional pink squares.
• This is most certainly what I would call a "controlled scrappy" quilt in that it has a specific color scheme and there were pinks, purples, and greens that I chose not to use in this quilt. I haven't decided yet if I will cut into my inspiration fabric or not -- I have three yards of it, but that could cover nearly all of the back and the binding for a small quilt.
• While cutting all of my squares, I pulled out one color at a time from my scrap boxes and then sorted out any pieces that were too small or the wrong color. With what was left, I ironed each piece and laid it out on my cutting board to get an idea of the size and tried to maximize how many squares I could cut. Typically, this involved cutting 6 inch squares, then 5 inch squares, then finally 4 inch squares. 
• Sometimes I could cut just 4 inch squares from a piece, some pieces I cut multiple 6 inch squares. I didn't try to cut an equal number of squares in each size, I just tried to maximize how many squares total I was cutting and minimizing waste.
• I find it is almost always helpful to cut a fresh edge when pulling things from your scrap bin. Even if it is a 1/16th of an inch, a nice fresh edge is always easier to align with your ruler.
• Recently, I started a "scrap bag" where I put all of my small scraps -- including things under 2 inches wide, the last small piece of a particular fabric, etc. Having this separate from my scrap bins has made it quick and easy for anything that calls for strings or small scraps. (It is literally a gallon sized kitchen bag, totally not glamorous!)
• I usually sew with cone thread but I usually have a "bobbin cone" so I don't have to unthread and rethread my needle and machine. I do my best to fill a few bobbins at a time so I don't need to stop mid-project. When sewing scrappy, I often use off-white thread.

Have you worked with leaders and enders before? Do you have any tips for me? 

Sharing at Tips and Tutorials Tuesday, Let's Bee Social, and Scraptastic Tuesday!