I love the many ways that creativity and inspiration develop. I rarely find it to be a singular, thunder-bolt moment, but more like an entire front of weather; a shift in atmosphere, a change in the sky, the temperature moves , thunder claps or just there is just a little rain, and then we find ourselves on the other side, somewhere new. Sometimes you just look at things a little differently and sometimes you’re Dorothy, and this ain’t Kansas anymore!
At last month’s guild meeting, I was genuinely inspired by the work and stories of Klaudeen Hansen. I was fascinated by her knowledge of the Amish community and their culture as it relates to quilting. Of particular interest to me were the colors they use in their quilts and the term “dark quilt” referring to a quilt made by the Amish for themselves. It is here that I have drawn inspiration for this month’s block lotto color palette.
My other inspiration is a bit self-serving. I am starting a new quilt and flying geese blocks figure heavily in the pattern and blocks for this particular quilt. Great, except that I have never made a flying geese block. I have been messing around with several different techniques and have finally found one that I love and best of all….no waste!
Flying geese blocks are known for their versatility and you find them frequently in both traditional and modern quilting. To that end, I wanted to direct this month’s block lotto back to a more modern aesthetic and I’m doing that with flying geese and colors inspired by the “dark quilts” of the Amish.
This month we will be using only Bella Solids by Moda in the colors Super Black, Plum, Amethyst, Brick Red and Royal Blue. The Royal Blue is probably familiar because we used it last month and this is a good chance to maybe use something in your stash. These fabrics, in these colors are available at Blue Bar Quilts. You will likely need at least a fat quarter of Super Black and then another fat quarter any (or all) of the colors to make this months block. Please make your Flying Geese blocks 6-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ so that they will finish at 6″ x 3″ in a quilt, and piece them with black thread.
After trying several different methods of making a flying geese block, here is the method I found to work the best for me. There are a lot of ways to make a flying geese blocks, but this one from We All Sew is my favorite and it’s pretty easy to follow. Just click on the link above and see for yourself. The instructions tell you how to do the math, but I’ll help you out and share my numbers with you. You need one color square measuring 7-1/4″ x 7-1/4″, and four super black squares that measure 3-7/8″ x 3-7/8″ to use the no waste method above. The cutting gets a tad fussy, but it’s worth it…no waste, and you have 4 blocks for the lotto!
Have fun with this and please reach out with any questions. Each flying geese block will count as a single entry. Samples of the colors and the blocks I made will be available at the MadModQuilt Guild meeting tomorrow, February 13th!
