The April Block of the Month for the Dhahran Oasis Quilt Guild in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia is the Flying Geese, using the Elanor Burns' method.
I've never made a Flying Geese block, nor ever had interest in making one but I thought that I would give it a try to learn something new and share this block making method with yall.
Val, one of the leading guild members taught us how to make this Flying Geese block by going through all the steps on the design wall, which are shown below. Each month, guild members chose whether or not they want to participate in making the block. Ziplock baggies of precut fabric & instructions are put together in a box. Members sign up on a sheet of paper & grab a baggie of the fabrics they want to work with, as there are usually a few different fabric combos. Then when all blocks are created, all participating names are put into a drawing. The winner of the drawing gets all the blocks! This is a FREE program that the guild does each month.
2 things that I have discovered by making this block is that to make this block smaller or bigger using Elanor Burns's method, the smaller square needs to be 1.5" smaller than the bigger square (i.e. 7.5" & 9"). The dimensions for each goose no matter how big or small you make then ends up being that the height is half the length of the width (i.e. 3x6, 4x8, 5x10, etc)
2 things that I have discovered by making this block is that to make this block smaller or bigger using Elanor Burns's method, the smaller square needs to be 1.5" smaller than the bigger square (i.e. 7.5" & 9"). The dimensions for each goose no matter how big or small you make then ends up being that the height is half the length of the width (i.e. 3x6, 4x8, 5x10, etc)
BOX WITH BLOCK OF THE MONTH PACKS.
VAL'S PRESENTATION TO TEACH US THE BLOCK
VAL'S FINISHED FLYING GEESE BLOCKS
BACKSIDE TO SHOW THE SEAMS & CENTER PINWHEEL
ELANOR BURNS HAS 2 FLYING GEESE RULERS AND EACH RULER HAS 2 SIZES OF FLYING GEESE, BUT I THINK SHE'S COMING OUT WITH MORE SIZES. THE SMALL RULER HAS 1.5"X3" & 3"X6" GEESE AS SHOWN ABOVE. THE LARGER RULER HAS 4"X8" & 2"X4" GEESE. YOU DON'T NEED THIS RULER TO MAKE GEESE, I DIDN'T. I SIMPLY USED A QUILT RULER & A ROTARY CUTTER.
WHEN I CUT EACH GOOSE, I MADE SURE I HAD A 1/4" OF THE TAN FABRIC AT THE TOP AT EACH POINT. THEN I TRIMMED THE SIDES SO THAT THE HEIGHT WAS THE SAME DISTANCE FROM THE TOP POINT TO EACH SIDE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
WHEN I CUT EACH GOOSE, I MADE SURE I HAD A 1/4" OF THE TAN FABRIC AT THE TOP AT EACH POINT. THEN I TRIMMED THE SIDES SO THAT THE HEIGHT WAS THE SAME DISTANCE FROM THE TOP POINT TO EACH SIDE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
THIS IS THE FABRIC PACK THAT I CHOSE. I LIKED THE FLORAL AND THE OTHER BLUE IS SORT OF LIKE POLKA DOTS.
"GEESE" FABRIC
OTHER "GEESE" FABRIC
"SKY" FABRIC
THE FRONT OF MY FIRST EVER FLYING GEESE BLOCK
THE BACK SHOWING SEEMS AND THE CENTER PINWHEEL
MY CUTE LITTLE CENTER PINWHEEL ON THE BACK
VIDEO: ELANOR BURNS FLYING GEESE RULER DEMONSTRATION & PIECING THE BLOCK (CLICK THIS LINK)
GEESE TUTORIALS IN PDF
MINI GEESE TUTORIAL
SMALL GEESE TUTORIAL
LARGE GEESE TUTORIAL
JUMBO GEESE TUTORIAL
VIDEO: ELANOR BURNS FLYING GEESE RULER DEMONSTRATION & PIECING THE BLOCK (CLICK THIS LINK)
GEESE TUTORIALS IN PDF
MINI GEESE TUTORIAL
SMALL GEESE TUTORIAL
LARGE GEESE TUTORIAL
JUMBO GEESE TUTORIAL
I'll have to try this method but without the rulers. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteCute geese. I made over 200 for a quilt that I'm still (over a year later) hand quilting. I used a different method and ruler. I love that there are lots of methods out there to try.
ReplyDelete