Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Goose on the Loose :: Block Two

Before we get started I want to point out that I did put a Goose on the Loose Quilt Along tab at the top of my blog. Links to all of the posts for this quilt along will be collected there as they are published. This will make it easy for you to find them later (and me too).

On this page I also added a link to a post that shows four ways to make flying geese units. You may use which ever technique you prefer for all of these blocks. My favorite method is to use the Wing Clipper Ruler. With this ruler you do the "fast & furious" method that is described in the four ways to make flying geese units link but you follow the cutting instructions that come with the ruler. The advantage of using the ruler is that you are cutting your pieces a little bit larger, sewing the units, then trim them to perfect size. This is my favorite way to make any of the trickier units such as flying geese. By using the ruler you can avoid having to cut any finicky 1/8" sized pieces. The designer of the ruler, Deb Tucker, has a nice video showing you how to use the Wing Clipper Ruler. Below is the video, I hope. If the video doesn't work for you, click here to go to Deb's online store listing for the Wing Clipper Ruler. A link to the video is on this page in the bottom of the green box along the right hand side of the page.


Now for the Block Two instructions.


You need four 4" squares of light (background) and four 4" squares of medium/dark. Draw line on the back of each light square on the diagonal. Layer these with the four medium/dark squares and sew on both sides of the line. Cut them apart on the line. Press, then trim them down to 3.5" square.

Now you need to decide which method you will use for your flying geese. I used my Wing Clipper which meant that I needed four 4.5" squares of medium/dark prints for the geese and sixteen 2.5" squares of light (background). I followed the steps in the video and trimmed my flying geese units to 2" by 3.5". If you don't have a Wing Clipper Ruler then pick one of the other four techniques.

For the traditional technique you will need four 4 1/4" medium/dark squares for your geese and sixteen 2 3/8" squares of light (background). 

For the Flip, Flip, Finish technique you will need sixteen 2" by 3.5" medium/dark rectangles for your geese and thirty-two 2" squares of light (background).

For the Fast & Furious technique you will need four 4 1/4" medium/dark squares for your geese and sixteen 2 3/8" squares of light (background).

If you want to paper piece them then you'll need to find a pattern for the finished size of 1.5" by 3". You can probably just google it or you can draw it yourself.

Using the photograph of the block above, lay out your half square triangles and geese then sew them together when you are happy with the layout. I sewed the four half square triangles in the center together first. Then sewed the strips of four flying geese together that surround the center. Then I assembled the block like a nine-patch.

Ask any questions in the comment section below. If I can, I will respond to you personally with an answer. If you are no-reply then I will leave the answer in the comments and you will need to check back.



2 comments:

West Michigan Quilter said...

Love your block. I can see I need to get busy on this one.

Mama Pea said...

That's a very pretty block. I'd like to try the Wing Clipper sometime. I have not used that strategy. Have a great day!