This is an ongoing series documenting my first block of the month quilt, the Les Amis Block of the Month from Craftsy. You can see previous posts in this series here.
Flying Geese Star Block
The February block is titled the Flying Geese Star Block. By the title alone, you can guess that there is going to be a lot of flying geese in this block. I was actually really excited about this because I have never done anything with flying geese in it before. I quickly realized it’s a lot more difficult in practice than what I thought watching videos.
Shelley Cavanna is an excellent teacher. After I finish with this BOM, I am going to search for more of her classes. This month’s videos are full of helpful tips, including help when working with exposed bias edges, pinning and sewing to get a good point and things lined up properly. She also goes into where things may have gone wrong if your block comes out wonky, and how to fix it.
Perfecting the Quarter Inch Seam
Working with just squares and rectangles is somewhat forgiving when it comes to quarter inch seams. This is great for beginners, because even if the seam is not a quarter of an inch, as long as they are all the same, it works. This does not hold true with flying geese.
I learned quickly that my quarter inch is not as great as I thought it was. Of course, I’m doing these blocks on a new machine, so I’m going to blame that. If you are a beginner or working on a new machine, I strongly suggest revisiting Shelley’s instructions on checking your seams in lesson 1. I did this half way through this block and could tell a big difference.
4 at a Time Method
Forgot to take a picture of the first one, but trust me, this is a dramatic improvement.
There are several methods to create flying geese and for this block the 4 at a time method is used. In a nutshell, you have one big block and four small blocks and make four flying geese at one time. I have learned this method requires accurate cutting skills and a solid quarter inch to achieve something good looking.
My first set of flying geese left a lot to be desired. Halfway through this block I decided to readjust my needle and that helped slightly. Overall though, it is clear that I need much more practice on this particular technique. The pattern calls for 24 flying geese units, and looking at the difference between my first and last ones it proves the old adage “practice makes perfect.”
The Final Block
I’m not going to lie, I had a lot of frustrations with this block. Shelley’s calm nature, in the videos and answering questions, prevented me from putting the entire quilt in time out. When I pressed my final seams though, I was in shock at how good the block looks. Throughout the entire process, I thought this block would turn out awful. While they aren’t perfect, I am actually really happy with it. On top of everything else, I really love the look of this block. There will be many more quilts with this block in my future. Both for practice and cause it’s just so pretty.
Flying Geese Star Block
*This post contains affiliate links
