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Adventures with Leaders & Enders: Make More Quilts in Less Time!
An easy method to faster quilt-making, and incredible patterns to make use of your scrap stash.
What if you could piece quilts even faster, work on more than one quilt simultaneously and save money, fabric and thread all at the same time? Bonnie K. Hunter will show you how to put the concept of Leaders & Enders to work quickly and easily, expanding your creativity, and upping your productivity all at the same time.
If you have ever found yourself paralyzed by your stash, overwhelmed by scraps you just can't bear to toss out, arm yourself with a new rotary blade for your cutter, make yourself a cup of tea and start reading. This book is not only full of beautiful scrap quilts that can be made in between the lines of other sewing, but also contains many ideas for getting your ever burgeoning scrap stash under control, into useable sized pieces that work well with one another, and ready to be sewn into quilts you've always wanted to make. Bonnie K. Hunter has done it again!
What if you could piece quilts even faster, work on more than one quilt simultaneously and save money, fabric and thread all at the same time? Bonnie K. Hunter will show you how to put the concept of Leaders & Enders to work quickly and easily, expanding your creativity, and upping your productivity all at the same time.
If you have ever found yourself paralyzed by your stash, overwhelmed by scraps you just can't bear to toss out, arm yourself with a new rotary blade for your cutter, make yourself a cup of tea and start reading. This book is not only full of beautiful scrap quilts that can be made in between the lines of other sewing, but also contains many ideas for getting your ever burgeoning scrap stash under control, into useable sized pieces that work well with one another, and ready to be sewn into quilts you've always wanted to make. Bonnie K. Hunter has done it again!
201 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 2, 2010
88 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 30, 2020
Loved this quilting philosophy! Can’t wait to try it!
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March 6, 2012I bought this book with an Amazon gift card, because I had heard so much about Bonnie K. Hunter, especially from Katie of Katie's Quilting Corner. I have been using the the Leaders & Enders technique, which Hunter calls L&E in the book, for awhile. I didn't really need a book to tell me to cut my scraps into manageable and usable sizes and sew them together.
The first 14 pages talk about the Leaders & Enders technique, including useful sizes in which to cut your scraps, sorting scraps, making some basic units (4 patch, 9 patch, half square triangles), and a small section on strip piecing. The last page (pg.15) is called "What quilters are saying about Bonnie Hunter's Leaders & Enders method." All the praise is glowing and there are little stories about people using the Leaders & Enders technique.
The Leaders & Enders technique is explained thoroughly on pages 8-9. If the quiltmaker reads these two pages, s/he will know what to do.
The beginning section also talks about finding time and getting organized. Finding time is a perpetual problem for most people, so Hunter's advice is useful and realistic. The Getting Organized section (pg.12) talks a lot about containers, what she likes about certain types and what she doesn't like about others.
Aside from the fact that publishers are demanding that quilt authors make many projects, I think Bonnie K. Hunter had to create projects for this book. If a quiltmaker cut up his/her scraps and made bunches of 4 and 9 patches accented by half square triangles, most wouldn't know what to do with them. The projects make sense in this book.
Adventures with Leaders and Enders has 13 projects and all of the quilts are made from pieces cut using Hunter's method. Larger pieces of fabric are used for sashing, borders, etc in most of the quilts, but the majority of the blocks are made with scraps using the Leaders & Enders technique.
At the end of the book (pg. 92-93), there is a section that includes paragraphs on "Additional thoughts on color", "Allow yourself playtime", "Analyze the pattern" and "How to gauge yardage." In this section, she says "If I run out of something, I just substitute something else." I think that is very good advice. Many vintage quilts have random pieces that don't match, because, presumably, the quiltmaker ran out of fabric. We are fortunate to have plenty of fabric, but keep this advice in mind as a few different fabrics can add interest and movement to a quilt.
My favorite quilt in this book is the Blue Ridge Beauty, which uses a similar block to my the block used in my Stepping Stones quilt. I like the combination of 4 patches and half square triangles. Actually, I like most the quilts in the book, though I do find the total scrappiness of some of them somewhat unsuccessful. In Sisters Nine Patch, Ms. Hunter sticks to a certain color palette and I think this choice makes this quilt one of the more successful projects.
I am not much of one for randomly selecting fabrics and putting them in a quilt. I like a little more thought, so some of these projects strike me as not being well chosen in terms of color. Still, they have charm. I also think that Hunter's color palette is a little muddier and more Civil War-ish than mine. That difference definitely affects my view.
I would have dearly loved to have a seen a gallery of quilts (made by students??) in different colors in this book. I think the reader would really benefit from such a gallery.
This is a quick read. I would get it from the Library, but the tips and tricks are good and can be used with any type of fabric.
The first 14 pages talk about the Leaders & Enders technique, including useful sizes in which to cut your scraps, sorting scraps, making some basic units (4 patch, 9 patch, half square triangles), and a small section on strip piecing. The last page (pg.15) is called "What quilters are saying about Bonnie Hunter's Leaders & Enders method." All the praise is glowing and there are little stories about people using the Leaders & Enders technique.
The Leaders & Enders technique is explained thoroughly on pages 8-9. If the quiltmaker reads these two pages, s/he will know what to do.
The beginning section also talks about finding time and getting organized. Finding time is a perpetual problem for most people, so Hunter's advice is useful and realistic. The Getting Organized section (pg.12) talks a lot about containers, what she likes about certain types and what she doesn't like about others.
Aside from the fact that publishers are demanding that quilt authors make many projects, I think Bonnie K. Hunter had to create projects for this book. If a quiltmaker cut up his/her scraps and made bunches of 4 and 9 patches accented by half square triangles, most wouldn't know what to do with them. The projects make sense in this book.
Adventures with Leaders and Enders has 13 projects and all of the quilts are made from pieces cut using Hunter's method. Larger pieces of fabric are used for sashing, borders, etc in most of the quilts, but the majority of the blocks are made with scraps using the Leaders & Enders technique.
At the end of the book (pg. 92-93), there is a section that includes paragraphs on "Additional thoughts on color", "Allow yourself playtime", "Analyze the pattern" and "How to gauge yardage." In this section, she says "If I run out of something, I just substitute something else." I think that is very good advice. Many vintage quilts have random pieces that don't match, because, presumably, the quiltmaker ran out of fabric. We are fortunate to have plenty of fabric, but keep this advice in mind as a few different fabrics can add interest and movement to a quilt.
My favorite quilt in this book is the Blue Ridge Beauty, which uses a similar block to my the block used in my Stepping Stones quilt. I like the combination of 4 patches and half square triangles. Actually, I like most the quilts in the book, though I do find the total scrappiness of some of them somewhat unsuccessful. In Sisters Nine Patch, Ms. Hunter sticks to a certain color palette and I think this choice makes this quilt one of the more successful projects.
I am not much of one for randomly selecting fabrics and putting them in a quilt. I like a little more thought, so some of these projects strike me as not being well chosen in terms of color. Still, they have charm. I also think that Hunter's color palette is a little muddier and more Civil War-ish than mine. That difference definitely affects my view.
I would have dearly loved to have a seen a gallery of quilts (made by students??) in different colors in this book. I think the reader would really benefit from such a gallery.
This is a quick read. I would get it from the Library, but the tips and tricks are good and can be used with any type of fabric.
December 29, 2011
a great system to use the fabric we have made into beautiful and useful quilts!
August 17, 2020
Not Bonnie's Best
I'm glad I only paid for the kindle version of this one. Very little discussion of the method itself and almost all of the information is in her other books or online for free. The projects were not very inspiring. Overall a little disappointed with this book and I normally really love Bonnie's patterns and books. I think this one is best to get at the library or borrow from a friend. Not worth full retail.
I'm glad I only paid for the kindle version of this one. Very little discussion of the method itself and almost all of the information is in her other books or online for free. The projects were not very inspiring. Overall a little disappointed with this book and I normally really love Bonnie's patterns and books. I think this one is best to get at the library or borrow from a friend. Not worth full retail.
September 22, 2024
Awesome!
Great patterns and I loved the suggestions. What a great way to conquer the scrap overload, save quilting resources, and work on more than one project at a time. While I haven't been quilting for thirty years, I'm a scrap quilt enthusiast, so these patterns and tips not only confirm some of my own thoughts, but give me more to use going forward. I need this book in print format!
Great patterns and I loved the suggestions. What a great way to conquer the scrap overload, save quilting resources, and work on more than one project at a time. While I haven't been quilting for thirty years, I'm a scrap quilt enthusiast, so these patterns and tips not only confirm some of my own thoughts, but give me more to use going forward. I need this book in print format!
March 25, 2021
I am a quilter and of course I was most interested in this book. It had a lot of wonderful patterns and ideas for those who are scrap quilt builders. The instructions are clear and easy for beginning to more advanced quilters. I enjoyed my time with the book and I am sure I will pull it off the shelf when I need a new project to consider.
January 22, 2021
Great idea, just haven't been able to be disciplined enough to follow it. A friend was extremely successful using this idea.
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September 5, 2021I love Bonnie! This is the second book of hers I have been lucky enough to get my hands on. My "must make" list of quilts is so much longer because of it.
September 20, 2023
Leaders and Enders
I enjoy sewing the leaders and enders and this book offers several patterns to make them. I would recommend this book.
I enjoy sewing the leaders and enders and this book offers several patterns to make them. I would recommend this book.
January 28, 2016
I really liked the concept and inspiration. There are some really pretty quilts here. All from scraps!
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January 16, 2019Own it
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews