Another Finish and a Simple Pattern

Last fall, my quilting gang and I took on a project to make a half dozen twin size quilts for men coming into a local recovery home where they live during the final stage of their transition to a sober life.  The director of the home welcomed our offer and made only one request – that they be “manly” quilts.  Fine, I said, not realizing that our supply stash was heavy on “not-manly” fabrics.  So the challenge became one of finding inspiration for simple quilts we could produce easily and still achieve a “manly” look.  One morning, I woke up with the inspiration for “Lift-Off” in my head.

Ever since Marti Michell introduced her small Diagonal Set Triangle Ruler, I've been thinking about using it to cut and create a flying geese quilt using giant 5" by 10" geese units!!

 Both of the triangles needed for a basic goose unit are cut using the full ruler.  It's the same combination of large and small triangles as Marti's standard Flying Geese Ruler -- just bigger!! 

Most of the units are the standard layout -- one large and two small triangles, but to create the look of a flock of wild geese lifting off a pond, I included several of these "combination" goose units.

Wait until you see how they fit into the design!

It took me most of that day to cut out all the triangles and piece the geese.  At the end of the day, I had the basic layout of the flock up on my design wall.

Then I stumbled across this print while searching through our "charity" stash and the background of the quilt materialized easily!

The quilt is built in vertical rows and while I had the background sketched out on graph paper, the sizes of the available fabric dictated the final sizes of the background pieces -- the idea is that the flock is lifting off a lake (where they spend the night because it's safer) and heading out for a day of foraging in meadows and marshes nearby. 

Once the layout felt right, I started to assemble the vertical rows.

I quilted it in two sections of three rows with (somewhat) parallel vertical lines for ease in handling and to reinforce the flow of the pieced design. 

Have you tried quilting larger pieces in sections?  It is definitely my "go-to" strategy for the past decade.  It's so much easier to handle since I am working at a large sit-down machine (APQS George) when quilting.

Finally the day it was finished!! 

I love the way the movement of the flock up through the quilt! 

It reminds me of days I've been lucky enough to come across a flock of geese or swans lifting off and moving on! 

Next week, it is off to it's new forever owner.

I hope it will remind him each day to keep "lifting-off" for the next good thing!! 

I've written a 3 page guide to help others create this quilt.  It's isn't a complete pattern as it assumes you already have a favorite way/tool for creating flying geese units.  It includes a chart of six sizes from a 12" by 18" wallhanging to a full size quilt, very basic instructions, and a drawing that you can use to play with the design.  

(Can you see this with a "rainbow" background?)

You can purchase a PDF copy of it from my Etsy Shop HERE and support my group's efforts!

All proceeds from the sales go directly into our "batting fund" so we can keep layering up quilts!

We are grateful for the opportunity to bless others with our skills!

Have a lovely weekend!

Mary

P.S. Happily, this is also one of my first quarter 2018 Finish Along goals -- DONE!!!

Two Birds -- One Stone?

Not that I would actually throw a stone at a bird -- after all, birding is how I spend a good part of my non-quilting time! 

 

For those of you who don't take on more than you can handle, today's musings may not be helpful.  But if you are like me and take on most of the opportunities that come your way, this strategy might be useful.

 

This year, I'm making an effort to tidy up and thin down this palette of fabric one month at a time, one shelf at a time.   

For the month of April it's the black shelf's turn.  At the same time, I'm making a twin size charity quilt to thin it down and use up about 10 yards of that color. 

 (So far I'm three for three!!!)

A touch of black in a quilt adds sparkle and drama to a print or a quilt and so I've hoarded the best of the best for years.  What I've noticed though is that I use it in rather small quantities so it has really piled up.

The shelf is now tidy -- that's good!!  But what about the quilt?

 

I need to make new steps samples for my workshop later this week in Florence, Kentucky for the Stringtown Quilt Guild.  They have invited me to teach my pattern, Courthouse Stars.  It was the last mystery quilt I wrote for my shop back in 2005 and has been a steadily popular seller for me since then. 

This is my first version of the quilt which I quilted in four sections -- it's done now but when the group got together for the show and tell that summer, it was still in pieces.

 

So over the weekend, I began my new teaching sample for Courthouse Stars from the black shelf in the twin size and it will eventually become a charity quilt.!!  The floral has a black background so it was allowed to live on that shelf.  I've cut up some of it for the centers of the stars and courthouse steps blocks which will be blacks and whites.  There are stacks of strips ready to use in demos for the log cabin cutting and piecing.  And this afternoon, I'll piece a few blocks.

Still not sure what the accent color (the green in my first one) will be, but right now I'm thinking polka dots!!!  Need to audition that idea.

 

So my strategy as often as possible is to merge several goals/needs into one project.  I'll have a new set of teaching samples, the black shelf is thinned and tidy, and eventually there will be a lovely charity quilt to share with someone!

 

Two birds, one stone!!

 

How do you manage your overzealous ambitions?

 

Have you discovered #sewmystash2015 on Instagram and http://www.projectleasa.com/category/sewmystash2015/?  There are great ideas popping up over there as dozens of sewists share how they are sewing through their stashes in 2015!

 

Mary Huey

www.maryhueyquilts.com