Joyful Journey

  And that has made all the difference!! Celebrate the risen Lamb. 

 I put my quilting in time out as I needed to finish up this crib canopy that a sweet daughter-in-law asked me to make. We're headed that way for a visit and I thought I would just put it in my suitcase. But now I'm thinking maybe I should just ship it as I want to just take a carry on. Decision needs to be made today.  The pattern was from an Etsy shop. Originally written in French, the English translation wasn't the clearest. I did use freezer paper to make the cutting of the top pieces easier and reworked the cutting and sewing of the strips to tie the top to an inner ring. Measurements were in centimeters but I worked with a ruler that has both inches and centimeters in order to determine approximate measurements.  I'll return to quilty projects for a bit before we head out for our visit  Sharing at: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 

 Since I first learned of the concept of leaders and enders,  I began incorporating them into my sewing. At first not with a great plan. But that's progressed with time.  First I saw the value regarding having something already under the foot when I added the next pieces in. Rarely does anything get grabbed down towards the bobbin.  But the real value comes from basically making a second (or third or fourth or fifth 🤣) while sewing your up your primary project. At the moment I have 5 leaders and enders going  1. The second bunk bed quilt. (Pictured is the first one while I was working on it.) I will need to cut more pieces for this soon as I only have one block cut.  2. County Clare. This year's l/e challenge from Bonnie Hunter. I have quite a few blocks done, but not enough for the size I want to make. I'm at the point I need to cut some more scraps the correct size  3. A quilted bag made of selvedges to carry rulers in when going on a retreat or to ...

 I'm thinking that 2 photos may explain the why. This first photo is the current state of my design wall. This is a quilt that was started by someone else with a jelly roll that, while pretty, I didn't think was very accurately cut. So when the strips were sewn, and the blocks cut, they weren't actually square. So I'm having to square up and trim down. Harder and slower to do when you're given it partially sewn. But this is a donation quilt, so I'll finish it up. The colors are so cheerful and the fabric designs are lovely. But I need to get it completed because... this is my limited space for projects. I force myself to only have a certain number of either in process projects or materials gathered and ready to start at one time. I've actually cheated a bit as there are some smaller projects in the small boxes on the bottom. As well as 2 sitting on my cutting table. Although one box is not a project box but holds some project aids (paper piecing papers, etc ...