Time To Get This One in the Hoop!

There's this quilt top that has been nagging at me for months now, wanting its turn in the sun. I call it Flock of Geese or my 'bluebird' quilt. It was brought to the quilt top stage back in early fall of 2014, so you have to know its been very, very patient with me.

Flock of Geese getting sandwiched and ready for quilting!

When this one was finally all together as a quilt top, I felt a definite disconnect to it. Starting out I didn't want any brown in the quilt at all and well, you know me. Brown usually finds its way into many, many quilts around here! The fact that the wide sashing strips are practically a solid brown? Well, for one, that made me squirmy as to how it was ever supposed to be quilted, and two, tho it's a very old fashioned look {in theory}, this one didn't end up looking that way at all. Hmm...

Honestly? The entire vibe was probably more modern than I was accustomed to producing. Just a little hiccup at the corner of expectation and outcome! But this does happen occasionally as I've finally, finally started to clue in. Duh! My ideas and style seem to evolve faster than I can often mentally process. I dabble in this and that, push the boundaries of where I want my colors and/or quilt elements to play and wallah! The results can be unpredictable, and yet, oddly exhilarating too! And yes, that's undoubtedly why I predictably backtrack into the old and familiar on occasion. Like taking a long, hot soak in the tub and trying to completely unwind.  

Flock of Geese

Fast forward to today and I'm totally scratching my head as to why this would ever have made me uncomfortable in any way, shape or form? It's such a me quilt! lol  It is also interesting to note that the fabric for the birds in this quilt is the same exact fabric I used in a border for Scrappy Tulips, the quilt I just finished stitching prior to Cherries & Improv. pictured below. Totally different usage of the fabric and yet, it was a great sparky element in both quilts! Have I mentioned before that I love, love, love stitching on old quilt tops at the same time as working on the new? And stitching back to back older quilt tops with completely different moods? Such an interesting perspective all the way around....

Binding strips for Cherries & Improv.

Gotta a busy week ahead so am trying to get some hand work ready to go. Once this binding is sewn together and then stitched onto the quilt, I can have myself a binding marathon squeezed in between all the crazy bits of our life. Onward ho!

Flock of Geese Quilt Progress

You know me, always trying to figure out how to add a little more applique into my life! These little birdies were a joy to stitch, only causing me a few fits around the deep crease at the bottom of the wing.

Applique blocks for Flock of Geese quilt

The fabric is a bit different than my usual, but it was something I had bought a couple years ago for setting triangles in a previous quilt and then never used. I won't deny that sometimes these particular fabrics end up being quite a challenge to gracefully incorporate into another quilt later on down the road! I don't like to think of them as 'oops' fabric though because I never would have bought the print in the first place if something about it hadn't spoke to me.

Looking at some progress....

So... the plan is to put these appliqued blocks with my Flock of Geese blocks using a wide sashing and make a really incredible quilt.*wink  Isn't that what we all strive for in our quilting every single day? lol

Playing With My Flock of Geese

I have really enjoyed playing with these colors lately. They're kind of  different from what I normally choose to work with (as a group) and I find it very refreshing. I ended up adding just a few triangles of  a bright blue and then a few violet ones too. It just seemed like the thing to do, which is good because I do so like the results.

Flock of Geese

When I was getting ready to sew the blocks together, I fully intended to sew the rows with all  the points going in the same direction. That was The Plan.

Getting ready to sew the blocks

But then something happened when I laid them out in their rows of three to sew together. Some blocks decided to be original and free thinking. They were very adamant that they didn't want to all fly in the same direction. What's a girl to do?

The first couple blocks...

You can imagine how hard I fought the idea of changing things up. Especially when I realized how difficult it was to get the seams to lie flat with all points heading off in the same direction.....

21 blocks done for my Flock of Geese

I finally gave up trying to squeeze all the blocks onto my wall. It's pretty obvious how they look all crammed together and I'm not intending to use them that way in the quilt anyway. Right now I'm leaning heavily toward a wide sashing so they can have some space and spread their wings a little. This quilt has not completely pulled me into it's spell yet, but I am feeling a bit intrigued by all the possibilities. Maybe the real connection will come with the next step.

My Little Flock of Geese

Ahhh....Working with all these greens feels wonderfully refreshing. It's been a long time since I worked with this much green in one quilt without adding in a ton of brown fabrics. ('Cuz that's what I generally do--add brown.) And actually, in case you hadn't noticed, there IS brown in this quilt too! I just tried to be a little more discreet about it.

Flock of Geese

The creamy subtle looking plaid is something I just happened to notice lurking around in the clearance bin sometime last year. I bought everything that was left on the bolt (maybe 2 yds. worth) and really, really wished I had seen it earlier when there was more of it to take home with me. I try hard not to go crazy about clearance fabric because I always wonder if it's the price that makes me think I like it or if I really do like it. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean. But cream fabric does have a way of getting used around here and I do love plaids so.... great combination! And hmm.. not regretting this impulsive purchase for one minute now that I see it in action!

Possible block

I'm planning on making 21 blocks with 18 flying geese units each, {20 blocks to use in my quilt and then one extra}. Always nice to have one to toss out completely or pull in and out as the layout is being figured out.

Flock of Geese

The crazy thing is, I'm not even halfway through this quilt top and I'm already making plans for my next green quilt. It's obviously contagious. I'd advise you not to look if you're the least bit vulnerable.*wink

On another note, I want to just mention that if you don't receive a reply back to your comments here on this blog it means you're a 'No Reply Commenter' which is a super easy fix! Lori has a link on her sidebar that will give you instructions on how to fix this if you're having problems with bloggers never returning your comments. I always try to find a way to search out your e-mail and get a response back, but well, sometimes it's just not possible--there are no e-mails linked directly to you or maybe you're google plus and I'm not. If you have a blog I'll even try and reply back in your post comments, but I won't do that for long! I want to comment about your gorgeous quilting there, not my trifling efforts! If it's a privacy thing, then no worries--just know that your comments are always loved and appreciated around here anyway!

Oooh, How Fun To Start a New Project!

Don't you just love the feeling of starting a new project? All the fresh colors and possibilities... I must confess to having this one cut out for awhile, squirreled away and waiting for the perfect time to jump in and start sewing pieces together. These greens have really been pulling at me lately, probably because of the very long winter we just came out of.

My new Flock of Geese quilt

All of these flying geese units were cut out using the Easy Angle method, something I've been wanting to reacquaint myself with. I used Bonnie Hunter's great directions to get started and after my initial uncertainty, things went really well. I've had the Easy Angle ruler and the Companion Angle ruler for years now, but for some reason I had switched to a different method a zillion years ago and never went back.

Lovely to see these sewn together...

Gotta say that for me, these geese are turning out to be much more accurate with this method. Will know for sure after I get the whole pile sewn up and ironed. (I do kind of have a tendency to start drifting on my stitching after I've been at it for awhile!)

Binding for Plain Jane

I've also been working on the binding for Plain Jane, mostly in the evening while my daughter is working on her senior project. She's trying to put together a family cookbook that is consuming boat loads of her time and definitely trying her patience too. Not being an experienced cook, she needs a lot of help interpreting all the recipes she's been receiving from our very large family. I've tried to work on hand piecing while helping her out, but I keep getting distracted and then find something sewn wrong yet again! Much better to work on something simple like binding which can practically be done on auto-pilot.

A big thank you to everyone who was kind enough to give feedback on my previous post. As a mostly self-taught quilter, I often hesitate before posting anything that will come off sounding like 'advice' or look like I'm trying to set myself up as an expert. How wonderful to see that the on-line quilting community is big enough to accommodate quilters from all walks of life and/or experiences.