Now That's A Lot of Flying Geese...

Hello Everyone,

The past several days I have been sewing LOTS of flying geese!!  Yesterday, I finished the geese.  Luckily as I was making them, I just started putting them up on the design wall in no particular order...

This is not all of them, a small portion... how many do you think I made?  Go ahead take a guess.

The answer is 164!  Yup.. that is right 164... I made them all by using the method that I teach in this tutorial here.  This method yields 4 flying geese... at once.  Very quick, very easy.  

Now for the layout.  You are probably wondering what I am doing with all these geese?  Well, this is the last you will see of them until sometime next year.  They are going into a quilt I have designed that will be published next year.  So you will have to wait.  

I know... I am sorry that I can't show you anymore, but trust me you will get to see this again and much more!!  Stay tuned!

Until Next Time...

Now That's A Lot of Flying Geese...

Ready, Set, New Project

Hello Everyone,

I suppose I was inspired by all the 1930s quilts that I saw at the antique shop on Nantucket this weekend.  Because my newest project is featuring 1930s fabrics.

Yes, believe it or not, I do love not only Kaffe, batiks, black and whites, but also 1930s.  I have quite the stash of them too.  It just seems that lately I haven't been working with them.  So it was time to do so....

I selected a variety of blue, green, yellow, red, purple, and orange prints.  What you can't see is that there are a variety of different prints under each color.

I started with two of the blues... 

Then went to the greens...

Then the yellows...

And ended with reds for the day.  I see more geese on the horizon for tomorrow!

Do you like 1930s prints?  How do you use them in projects?

If you like 1930s I still have some on Clearance in the online shop!  Just click here to see.

Until Next Time...

Ready, Set, New Project

Flying Geese

Hello Everyone,

If you like flying geese then this quilt is calling your name!!

I designed this quilt last year and it has finally hit the newsstands!!  You can find it in Quilt Almanac.

This quilt is relatively simple to create.  I used a variety of batiks, but I think this would look fabulous in modern fabrics, Kaffe fabrics... really the sky is the limit.

This flat shot was from the magazine.  I do have photos that I took of it last year, but believe it or not I cannot locate them in my photo library.  And yes, I was not going out in the snow to take new photos... BRRRRR!!

Here is a stylized photo from inside the magazine. 

And of course, my photo.... I look younger here, don't you think??

Anyway, the really cool news is I am on the cover again!!

See down there in the lower left corner.  Yes, I know it is small, but it is the cover!! Woohoo!! I am excited nonetheless. 

If you like this quilt or just the magazine, you can find both in my online shop.  Well, the quilt itself is not for sale, but the kit is by clicking here.  Find the magazine by clicking here.

Oh and guess the name of the quilt...  

Flying Geese. 

Until Next Time...

Flying Geese

Round and Round

Hello Everyone,

This is the second round in the Improvi- Robin or second month.  I received this gorgeous piece to put my signature on, just a little peek here.

You can see I added some geese.  But I will take you through the steps of how this piece has progressed.

This is how it was first sent out by Abby.

Stephanie was the first recipient and this is how she changed it and then sent it onto me to add my round.

I began by making lots of flying geese!  You know how I love them. Plus there are always geese  seagulls flying around the ocean. I used my method of making the geese seagulls, you can find it here on my tutorial.

This is some of the original fabric that was sent along, so I used this as well.

And Voila!! You have geese seagulls circling the ocean!  

I used green and blue scraps for the geese and this fabulous batik to surround the geese.  I really do like how it turned out.  I hope you do too, Abby!  It is now on its way to Miki!

To see more of the Improvi- Robin Group's progress you can check out our Flickr group by clicking here.

Until Next Time...

Round and Round

Easy Flying Geese Tutorial

Hello,

Lately, I have been making many flying geese and I thought that I would share with you the method that I use to make accurate flying geese.  

You can click on the images to supersize them to see more detail.

This tutorial will yield 4 - 3.5" X 6.5" unfinished flying geese.

1.  Cut 4 small squares, at 4" square.  These are the background.  

2.  Cut 1 large square, at 7.5" square.  This makes the geese.

Layer 2 small squares in the corners of the large square, right sides together.  Aligning the corners carefully.

Take your Magic Wand Tool (you can find it here) on the diagonal and then draw two lines on either side.  

It will look like the above.  Or you can draw one line down the center from corner to corner.

Pin the squares in place on either side of the lines.

Now sew directly on the line on one side.

Turn it around and then sew down the opposite side.

Your block will look like this.  You may want to press it now so it lays flat.

Then take a ruler and cut it directly down the middle between the stitching lines for a perfect 1/4" seam.

Press the small background squares open so that the seams are pressed towards the small squares.

Now take the remaining 2 small squares and place them in the lower corner of the geese fabric.  Right sides together.  Aligning the corners carefully.

Take your Magic Wand Tool (you can find it here) and place it on the diagonal into the corners of the small square.

Draw two lines on either side of the magic wand.

Pin the small square on either side of the lines.

Sew directly on the line on one side.

Turn block around and sew down the opposite side directly on the line.

It will now look like this, you may want to give it a press so it is laying flat.

Take your ruler and cut it on the diagonal between the 2 stitched lines.

Your pieces will look like the above.  Take all four pieces and press the background fabric open so that the seams are pressed towards the background fabric.

You now have four flying geese that are not quite complete.  They will need a tiny amount of trimming.

Take the Wing Clipper Tool (you can find it here) and align it with the correct dimensions and trim the right and top sides.

As you can see there is very little waste.

Now turn the geese unit a complete 1/2 turn and then align the ruler with the correct lines and dimensions and trim away the right and the top sides

You now have 4 very accurate 6.5 X 3.5 inch flying geese.  

The nice thing about trimming down instead of trying to get the correct dimensions on the first try is that you ALWAYS have the size that you need and it is accurate.  

The Wing Clipper Tool allows you to accurately cut flying geese from as small a 1/2" X 1" up to 5" X 10".  

You can find both the Magic Wand and Wing Clipper Tools in my shop along with some companion patterns as well.  Just click here.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.  

Don't forget to return here on the 25th to get Block number 3 of the Blogger's Block of the Month!

Until Next Time...

Easy Flying Geese Tutorial