Follow the "Leaders and Enders" Leader!!

For those of you who know Bonnie Hunter, you'll know that she's (in my opinion) the inventor of the concept Leaders and Enders. It's impossible to be around her for any length of time and not be drawn into the concept. So last year (or maybe the year before that), I decided that the red/white Ocean Waves quilt I wanted to make would be easier to make if I did all the zillions of half square triangles via the Leaders and Enders system. I'm the kind of quilter that wants INSTANT GRATIFICATION. I cannot sew hsts together for days before sewing them into a block. So this was a perfect way for me to get the quilt done painlessly!!

So I started cutting random triangles and stuffed them into a bag near my machine. I used anything that could be called "red" and "light" and made quite a pile. I'd grab a light/dark piece before and after sewing anything else and then throw the finished hst into another bag at the back of my machine, to be pressed and squared up later.

In preparation for our annual retreat during the Sisters Quilt show I typically agonized over WHAT projects should I sew (forget about worrying about packing my clothes...it's the FABRICS I worry about!! LOL). I decided that 2011 was going to be the year I made my Ocean Waves quilt. So I pulled the pack of finished hsts and actually counted (roughly) how many I had...I stopped counting at 750 (or lost track, more likely)!!! That's a LOT of hsts! And just from leaders/enders. Amazing, hunh?

This is the pile of unpressed, unsized-up hsts ready for sewing! All 750+ of them!!

Finally I was ready to put them together, although I also agonized over WHICH pattern to follow, because, in case you don't know it, there are a dozen different methods to constructing this block. Personally, being the lazy and not-so-accurate quilter, I wanted the easiest method. Once again, I turned to Bonnie for her system. I also found a similar idea in a magazine done with the absolutely gorgeous French General fabrics. Hence my idea to make the large solid pieces random (I'm the quintessential scrapper, ladies! I get bored really easily). So, voila! This is what I've got so far!

Hope everyone has a great Monday!