Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Flying Geese Units Galore!

When a quilter makes the decision to start a quilt made of stars, that usually means there will be a significant amount of time spent constructing flying geese units. For many, this is tedious work and often fraught with potential wonkiness. Dreaded work, these geese, but we forge ahead and try to make the best of it, knowing that the end justifies the means.

I recently started making a quilt that calls for 30 of these stars.


It's the cover quilt of this book by Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries.
 
 
North bay quilts (Classic country)
 
Work is commencing on the flying geese units, too. I try to break it up into steps or stages, and don't think about the enormity of making all of those units in their entirety.
 
 
 
I took all of my geese to JoAnn's yesterday to cut off the triangle of the one side. Got that accomplished, and am now ready to apply the other side. Slow and steady, one step at a time, and I will get them finished off. Once this step is done, the remaining star construction is easy-peasy.
 
There are other ways out there of making flying geese. I have seen others do them and have read about them, but have not personally tried them. I can see myself doing some experimenting, though. The alternate methods do seem rather foolproof.
 
 
The age-old question of keeping or tossing those triangles that are cut away rears its head at some point during this process. Look at the great little half-square triangle that results if those ends are stitched. Wouldn't a whole pile of these work great in some yet-to-be-determined quilt??
 
I'm keeping them. (I could show you the box full of similar triangles from previous quilts.) I will sew them together. Red and white quilts are pretty special, so this is a no-brainer, isn't it?
 
My thanks for November 28:
I am thankful for a well stocked freezer and pantry.
 
Happy Quilting, Friends!
 

4 comments:

  1. I will feel like a true quilter the day I truly master Flying Geese! LOL I'm glad I've kept (most) of my waste triangles over the years as I'm going to turn them into mug rugs. That is going to be a beautiful quilt of stars.

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  2. I make flying geese the Patchpieces No Waste way. I have too many bits from saving the small hst's! LOL Your quilt is going to be another beauty!

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  3. All those little triangles are easier to sew, if you sew them before cutting them off from the flying geese. I would use them as a small border on your quilt.

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  4. I always make my geese 4 at a time, and it has never failed me. It's also very, very much quicker than any other way I've tried.

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