Flying Geese – Mother’s Choice

For June our Island Batik Challenge is to create a quilt with “Flying Geese” blocks.

Last year one of our challenges was with Studio 180 Designs Rulers, and I had received the “Wing Clipper” a ruler for making Flying Geese easier and more accurate.  The Ruler is so easy to use, so I used it again with this quilt.

I loved the fabric from May’s challenge, and loved how another Ambassador had the same line and used Black as the coordinating fabric, so I decided to use black and the ‘Wild Blooms” by Designer Kathy Engle.

The materials used in the making of this quilt were provided to me free by Island Batik and their industry partners Studio 180 Designs,  Aurifil Thread,  and Schmetz Needles,  Hobbs Batting, as part of my role as an Island Batik Ambassador.

I wanted to create a quilt with Flying Geese, but more a than just a quilt of Flying Geese.  I found an old block called “Mother’s Choice” that has the Flying Geese in the block.  I like how this block looked, but when it was originally done back in the 1930’s it contained “Y” Seams, so using Electric Quilt 8, I modified the block to use Half Square Triangles (HST), and to test out how I wanted the quilt top to look.

Like most quilt blocks, this block is known by several other names, “Fringed Square”, “Dove at the Window”, “Diamond Star”, “Laurel Wreath” and “A Quilt Mosaic” from the Kansas City Star 1945.

This block has an extra meaning today, as it is my mother’s birthday.  So this quilt is in honor of my mother, Penny, and all other mother’s out there.

The Mother’s Choice block has different variations and this is just one. Each block will be unfinished 12 1/2″ x 12 1/2″.  There are 20 blocks for this quilt, The quilt finished at 61″ x 74″.

We were challenged to use precut fabric lines for our June project. This quilt is great to make using a Layer Cake (10″ squares).  You would need to use two pieces of 20 different colors.  You could adjust the size down a little, and use charm packs as well.

Fabric Needed

• Black fabric – 4 yards for Blocks, sashing and Borders.
• Color – 20 different colors at least 6″ x 30″ or two 10″ squares.
• Second Border – (Green in my quilt) at least 1/2 yard (coordinating or one of the Color fabrics)

Cutting Fabric

For Blocks

Black Fabric

• A – Eighty – 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ (four per block)
• B – One hundred Sixty – 3″ x 3″ (eight per block)
• C – Forty – 4″ x 4″ (2 per block)

Color Fabrics (per block – total 20 fabrics)

• A – Four – 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
• D – Two – 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
• E – One – 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″
• C – Two – 4″ x 4″

When cutting the Color fabrics on Layer cakes (10″ squares) cut the pieces in the following order.  You will need two 10″ squares of the each fabric.

Please note: If you are doing this quilt will all the same fabric on the blocks, you will need to cut out piece D in a different color for two different colors in the blocks. 

Sashing – Black fabric – cut eleven strips of 1 1/2″ strips.

Color fabric – pick 12 fabrics for the 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ blocks. 

Border 1 1/2″ strips – cut 8

Outside Border – 3 1/2″ strips – cut 8

Block Assembly

To create the blocks, I did them in sections, and created all needed for the quilt top.

Step 1 – Half Square Triangles (HST)

Use the 4″ squares of black and color pieces. 

Create a total of 320 HST, 8 HST of each color with Black. 

Square-up the HST to 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″.

Press seams open, pressing towards the black fabric.

Step 2 – Flying Geese

Using the Color 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ squares and the 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ squares of black fabric.

Using the no waste method, create 8 of each color set of flying geese, for a total of 160 Flying Geese.

I used the Wing Clipper ruler from Studio 180 Designs to square up all of the flying geese.  This method is the easiest I have found for trimming Flying Geese.

Each Flying Geese should be 4 1/2″ x 2 1/2″

Step 3 – Block layout

There are a total of 20 blocks, each set the same way, but with different sets of fabric.

Layout the pieces in this format.  Matching up the colors with each block so that they don’t blend together too much. 

I took a black and white picture of the blocks layout out, to make sure that they didn’t blend together and look like one color.

I mixed up the colors, so that no two blocks had the same colors.

I laid all the blocks out, so I could see how I wanted them to look before I added the Sashing, with the color corner color blocks.

Sashing

I added sashing to the blocks, with the corner squares to help them blocks separate apart.  This was easy using strips of 1 1/2″ black fabric. 

I used my Accuquilt 8″ die cutter, to cut out 1 1/2″ squares from scraps of the fabric.  I only needed12, but you could add them to all the corners, and use 30 blocks if you want.

Top Assembly

Step 1 – After adding sashing, I sewed the columns together, then the columns together.

Step 2 – I made sure that there were 1 1/2″ strips all the way around the outside.

Step 3 – Add the next border, I used Green 1 1/2″ strips and used mitered corners.

Step 4 – Add the next Border – Black 3 1/2″ strips to all sides, and used mitered corners. 

I forgot to trim the corners before I took a picture. 

To quilt the quilt top, I used Black Hobbs Batting 80/20.  This was the first time I had used black batting.  Working with black fabric, black batting and black thread, was a test to my patience, they blend together so close, that it was hard to find the edges of the top or the thread if I had to remove stitches.

I used Auriful Black thread to quilt the top.  Auriful is my perferred thread to use when quilting, it doesn’t break as often, and my machine likes it.

I used a pantograph in my Juki Longarm, called Flying Leaves, by Quilting Pantographs. 

Here is my completed Quilt, finishing at 61″ x 74″.  Mother’s Choice.

If you enjoyed my quilt, check out some of the other Island Batik Ambassador’s Flying Geese projects. 

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts

Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Randi Jones ~ Randi’s Roost
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ Quiltery – For The Love Of Geese
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine
Anorina Morris ~ sameliasmum.com

Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

Elita Sharpe ~ Busy Needle
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

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