I have been making and receiving Flying Geese all along. I finally decided to do an update as the group was getting kind of large and was taking up space on my design wall. Also, the last update I did was on November 14 and that seems like a long time ago.
If I did the math correctly (50 weeks x 4 geese each week), I have at least 200 right now. It doesn’t seem like enough, though. I think I must have more. I am kind of amazed at how easy it is to make these blocks and to have them add up in number. I really want to sew up all the patches I have cut. I am trying to restrain myself.
Some of these TFQ won’t recognize, because I haven’t send them off yet. They were part of the Wacky Weekend Work I did. Flying Geese make good leaders and enders.
Wacky probably isn’t a good way to describe the sewing I did over the weekend, but the alliteration is good. I was working on finishing things and didn’t work on one particular project. I worked on many. I finished two Christmas gift projects (look for posts next week) and was doing some making that was for finishing up projects.
It sounds boring, but it was really good for me. I felt like I was clearing the decks and really getting projects off my list and making space in my head for new projects. Or other projects to finish.
The Great Unwashed – washed
First, I washed a bunch of fabric. I wanted some of it for some squares and additions to projects, so I washed two loads. See that Philip Jacobs print? Don’t you love it? 😉
One load I washed was lights so I could cut some squares for a couple of projects. As a result, I was able to add to my collection of squares and rectangles for FOTY 2015, the Stepping Stones project and add some fabrics to the most recent Carpenter’s Wheel block.
Carpenter’s Wheel #7
The Carpenter’s Wheel block has been sitting on the design wall half assembled for awhile. I now have enough pieces to start sewing it together, but I am not 100% sure I like that orange center. I am afraid it looks like a big hole.
I made the binding for the Black and Red Improv quilt. I will send that off to Colleen so she can apply it to the quilt when she returns from her holiday travels. That was a huge load off my mind.
I also made several pairs of Flying Geese units for the swap with TFQ. I needed to beef up my supply, though I am afraid I have too many pieces and parts and the swap will end before I run through them.
All in all, I think Sunday was exceptionally productive. I felt good to be sewing.
I had two recent opportunities, the IRR post and the BAMQG Meeting post, to talk about my round robin piece, which is still circulating, and missed both of them.
Jaye’s IRR – December 2015
I was able to glimpse the work done on my piece at the meeting last week. I think my piece is looking spectacular. There is a lot of interest because of the improvisational piecing. There is also cohesion because of the limited palette of fabrics.
I am so thrilled that some of that Philip Jacobs (or perhaps Martha Negley??) fabric was added (shells at the top). I love the boldness of it. I would like to take a better look at it as I see some other fabrics tucked into that top section.
As I said before, the pieces are getting quite large and mine is no exception. I think it is probably NICU size right now, or slightly larger. I want it to be larger, but may have to add bits of my own at the end. People from other groups are still working on it, which is great.
At the meeting the other day, everyone doing the IRR challenge got together and we swapped pieces. We changed things up and I now have Angela’s IRR piece. We were not originally in the same group. Her group was small and everyone had worked on all of the pieces at least once. I didn’t have one to work on so I volunteered to work on Angela’s.
The pieces are getting quite large. I quickly put a signature strip on the side and then started thinking about what I could add that would look great. I liked the castle fabric, but wasn’t sure about just putting in a big strip of towers.
The diamond motifs caught my attention and I started working on adding free form diamonds.
Free Form Diamonds in Process
I have a hard time being completely free form/improv-y, but I did my best. I tried to make the diamonds not in alignment. I didn’t like the way they looked. I sewed the diamonds to backgrounds and played around with them a bit.
I looked at the piece and saw that dark grey kite fabric. I played around with that fabric and came up with a kind of checkerboard effect.
Finished Angela’s Piece
I like the way it turned out. I think the dark fabric adds a bit of a frame to the piece and sets off the diamonds as well. I also like the visuality of the dark fabric going around the corner.
I made major progress on this piece during the weekend before Thanksgiving. I have had a lot to talk about, so posts are getting backed up. For someone who hasn’t had much of a chance to sew recently, I seem to have a lot of content!
Potential Red & Black Improv Back
I walked around my workroom trying to get comfortable with the blue and green backing. I really tried hard to like it. I tried to convince myself that another color scheme would provide a different look and make a good addition to the piece.
No dice.
I had already cut one piece into two and I still couldn’t like what I saw. The blues just didn’t work with the red and black and I couldn’t do it. I admitted to myself that I wanted to save the large piece of red solid for another project and that cleared the way for progress. I found a piece of American Made Brands red solid on sale and bought it. That kind of freed me up to use the large piece of Kona red for the back, which is what I did.
I spent a whole Sunday piecing the back. I wanted to finish and it took me a long time. I did. I just need to make the binding and then I can take it to Colleen’s to be quilted. I like the way the whole piece came out, but I am glad to get it off my design wall.
The thing is huge and I need to take a photo of both sides outside, but that will have to wait for one of my quilt hangers to return from college.
I have another batch of Flying Geese blocks to show. In light of my post on inspiration for this project, I also spent some time on Pinterest looking at Flying Geese quilts. I finally feel ready to start thinking about a layout. I am not sure I want to sew a quilt, but looking at designs is finally fun.
This group of blocks looks much more Autumn-ish than previous groups.
I was kind of shocked to realize that the last time I devoted a post to this project was back in September. I did mention it last week and meant to write a full post. I was out of town for most of the week for work and it never happened.
Red & Black Improv Top
On Saturday, I got back to the machine. I worked on this top, in between other projects. For the Improv top, I seem to be able to make progress on this project, but only while working simultaneously with other projects. For some reason this project does not inspire me to buckle down and work on it by itself.
I tried Improv again and it still doesn’t inspire me. I guess I like the technical precision of regular blocks. Does that make me boring? Perhaps.
Three blocks was the sum total of what I needed to finish to put this top together. The end was in sight! (Let’s not talk about back or binding at the moment). I finished one block completely on Saturday and made major progress on two more.
Sunday, I finished the blocks and then put all the blocks together into the top.
I started on the back, for which I am making different color choices just to give it a different feel. I am choosing some blues so that the back will have a different feel.
I have been working with a lot of grey lately for the Carpenter’s Wheel experiments and for the Flying Geese exchange, so I have bits and bobs of scraps around. After making Henry IV, I thought I should make a snowy owl version. That led to me starting to piece leftover bits of grey and white together.
LV Journal Cover in progress
Somehow making a snowy owl was put on the back burner and I decided to make a journal cover instead. I have made some headway, but am not finished. I like the calm look of what I have, but also think it might need a bit of color.
I have to make the piece long enough, but I am thinking of making a strip of 1.5″ squares alternating a grey and a color and inserting it into the journal cover somewhere.
As I have mentioned before, the greys are very different in the way they look. Those Bonnie and Camille strips look positively beige next to some of the other greys. The Paris writing fabric looks dirty, or something. I still like this piece so far and these observations are just noting thoughts of interest.
TFQ recently sent me a link to block that I really like made from Flying Geese. It was on the Moda Instagram feed and I can’t tell if it is a historic block or if the maker added another FG to a Dutchman’s Puzzle block.
We have been doing the Flying Geese Exchange, which I highly recommend, BTW, and I have started to look around for interesting design in which to use the Flying Geese. I have begun to start thinking about something interesting to do with the blocks. TFQ is clearly on the same page.
The blocks above are from the Moda Instagram feed. I have always liked the Dutchman’s Puzzle block and actually made one for my first Sampler quilt. This block puts a little twist on the idea, but it might be just enough to keep me interested.
Mary Fons posted a link to a block she made, which I originally thought would be great for our Flying Geese. After looking at it again, I don’t think it will work. I still like it, but there is an extra color that exaggerates the motion in the block. Our Flying Geese do not have that extra color. Of course, we could still put the block together, but we would miss out on the motion.
Love of Patchwork and Quilting had a block made from Flying Geese (Issue 24, Darling Dorothy) that is mildly appealing. I don’t think it will work for me for a whole quilt.
So you can see where my head is with these Flying Geese. Any ideas? Any interesting ideas?
I spent almost the whole day last Saturday working on the Carpenter’s Wheel blocks and the Red and Black Improv quilt.
I was really struggling with the Improv quilt and it was taking up space on my design wall so I wanted to get it done and off. Done and off the wall meant making more blocks. Somehow making more blocks has lost their appeal.
3 Carpenter’s Wheels + a Stepping Stone
I decided as I worked on the Carpenter’s Wheel blocks that I would intersperse pieces and parts for the Improv quilt and make some progress at least. I am so pleased with the progress I made! And I had fun.
The Carpenter’s Wheels are very cheerful and that makes them fun to make. I sewed the second block together (top left) on Saturday and am enjoying looking at the two blocks together while the third block is in process.
Improv Quilt – Late October
I had started out on these blocks, but the Improv quilt was nagging at the back of my mind, so, as I said, I pulled out some black and red strips and started to work on an Improv block in between working on the second Carpenter’s Wheel block. When I finally pulled my nose away from the needle and assessed my day’s work, I found that I had completed a whole side of the quilt! I only have three blocks more to make to finish the top!
This quilt is a monster, which should surprise nobody, which makes it hard to photograph, but you should be able to see some of the work and the progress. There will be no border and sewing the blocks together should be a challenge, but not so much of a challenge that I can’t do it. The seams will be long, but over quickly, I think.
I was doing such good work that I was angry that I had to leave on Sunday for a work trip. I was looking forward to the work trip, but it just came at an inconvenient time and I was hoping I wouldn’t lose my momentum, especially with the Improv quilt.
TFQ and I are still working on the Flying Geese exchange. We will through the end of the year, at least. I think for both of us this swap is keeping our heads in or keeping us on track.
It is nice to have something to do every week.
The FGs shown in this post are a combination of my contributions and TFQs. I think they go really well together. This group is very bright and cheerful.
I am not sure what I want to do with them. I have been looking at different layouts for all of these FGs and haven’t found one that I like yet. It is early yet.
Saturday and Sunday, when I wasn’t working on Michelle’s IRR piece, I was working on the Improv Quilt. I know both are Improv projects.
Improv Progress, September 2015
The last time I made any progress on this piece was over a month ago. That progress felt forced and unsatisfying even though I didn’t know it at the time. I had the piece up on my design, which meant I had to look at it and that frustrated me. Frustrated me, because I wasn’t happy with the work as well as frustrated because it was taking up my design wall. I need to learn to make smaller quilts.
This weekend’s progress felt good. It was fast and intuitive and right. The piece is starting to look like something I won’t hate looking at.
I am not sure the blocks will end up where they are placed now, but there is a good bet some will stay where they are.
Improv Corner Block
One thing that happened to jolt me ahead in the process was that I laid in bed one night, trying to get to sleep. I spent the time thinking about this piece and made a plan. I decided I would cut a big piece of red to use as a start to make some corner blocks.
I wasn’t completely on board with making ‘B’ blocks for the corners, so I made corner blocks, which are similar to the ‘A’ blocks. I did what I thought would look good. I can always make something different, right?
I like the corner block shown at left, but I wish I had varied the length of the neutral strips more. I did a bit, but not enough. It will be fine once the rest of the quilt is done and I am not going to worry about it right now. I do reserve the right to change it if the design needs it later.
New ‘B’ Blocks
I did sort of learn from this block and the first two ‘B’ blocks. I didn’t want all the ‘B’ blocks to be heavy, so I varied the length of the strips to give them less weight — or less perceived weight. I also made the centers a bit more interesting. I want people to be interested in looking at the piece.
I have about 7 more blocks to make on this monster. I have some slim hope I can finish it by next week and take it to be quilted. I am laughing, but you can stop. 😉 I know it is a pipe dream, but I would like to move this project along.
I am still feeling like I am in some weird in between place with my projects. There are projects where I am at a strange point that seems to be stopping me. I have to count up all of the FOTY squares and figure out how big I need to make the quilt. I need to cut some more squares for the Octagon Nine Patch, which has been languishing for, what feels like, a long time.
Improv Top in Progress
I decided to work on the Improv quilt again and get that project farther along.I finished a second ‘B’ and decided to sew it, along with the first ‘B’ block on to the quilt. I like what is happening and I can see where I go next, to a certain extent, but I think those 2 blocks look heavy. I might put them on the bottom, but I will see if I can lighten them up with more red on the three sides.
One idea I had from looking at the photo above is to make sure some red meets the red on the bottom and continues over almost to the corner. That will mean making that part of that corner side block last and making sure I remember. I think if I do that, there will have to be a bit of one of the black and white prints in the corner – or a strip of red alternated with black and white prints.
Improve top – turned
I also thought of making those blocks the bottom. Heaviness works on the bottom. The photo (left) is the same one as above, just turned so you don’t have to turn your head.
It looks ok, but I remembered that there will be other blocks on each side of those new ‘B’ blocks.
Yes, all the blocks are sewn together. I just wanted them sewn.
After using some Flying Geese as leaders and enders, I switched to using the large Improv blocks as leaders and enders while putting together the T Donation quilt. The Improv quilt is not a good project for leaders and enders as I really should have it on the design wall and be looking at it all the time as I worked. I really wanted to make progress. This project has been shuffled from corner to corner of my workroom and I am forgetting my plan. My design walls were full of other projects, so it was what it was.
I added a few more strips to make the center (A) blocks more even then sewed the four center blocks together. This breaks my ‘Chunking It” rule, but I just wanted to see the four blocks together. Somehow with them together, I was able to start on the B blocks.
Improv B Block #1
They look pretty good and I got excited about working the B blocks. I had bits and pieces that I made in class that I hoped to use, though I wasn’t sure what I was thinking when I made them, so I kept going. The first one went together relatively quickly and that helped me move forward with the others. I am working on about 4 at once right now and expect to have a big group of them done at once. We will see.
I sometimes make a batch of Flying Geese at once or over the course of a few days. I like to have them available in case my schedule gets crazy and I don’t have time to make some for my weekly swap. I don’t like to show them until I have sent most of them to TFQ, lest she not be surprised at my fabric choices. I also like to show the ones she has sent me. Together hers and mine look super fun.
I wanted the batch off the design wall so I could put up the T donation quilt, so I took a photo and here they are. Aren’t they fun?
I am still thinking of trying out some different rulers for making these geese, but I haven’t done it yet. Stay tuned.
This is such a fun exchange! I am really enjoying it. Find a friend and do one, too.
