Two Ways to Quilt a Quilt with Flying Geese
Option #1: Straight-Line Quilting Design
Quilting 1⁄4" away from the seam lines echoes the lines created by the fabric pieces and seams. Continuing to stitch into an adjacent Flying Geese block without cutting threads allows you to sew more quickly.
Mark Quilt Top
Using a water-soluble marker or chalk and an acrylic ruler, mark lines in each triangle 1⁄4" inside seam lines. (Marked lines give you confidence as you begin to stitch.) Flying Geese blocks are shown, pointing in alternate directions. You can use the same stitching paths for an entire quilt top assembled from Flying Geese blocks.
Assemble Quilt Layers
Prepare the quilt sandwich (marked quilt top, batting, and backing).
Set up Machine
Remove presser foot and install a walking foot. Add a new machine needle, and thread the machine and bobbin with 50-weight, 100% cotton thread. Use a quilt-sandwich swatch to test thread/needle/tension combination and stitch length.
Begin Quilting
Machine-quilter Trina Kirkvold likes to stitch as much as possible without cutting threads. For this design she quilted outside the 1⁄4" mark in the larger triangles and into the seam lines to connect to the next section to be quilted.
1. Begin stitching at top corner of upper left-hand light blue triangle of quilt top. Follow the red arrows and lines in each step.
2. Stitch along the horizontal marked line, pivoting as shown to stitch the diagonal line of light blue triangle (Diagram 1). Trim threads.
3. Move needle to bottom right corner of dark blue large triangle. Referring to Diagram 2, stitch the horizontal line first, then each diagonal line.
4. Referring to Diagram 3 and without cutting threads, stitch into the seam. Rotate quilt sandwich, sew along seam, and follow marked lines to stitch an elongated diamond in the
light blue triangles.
5. Repeat established stitching pattern in remaining triangles, starting at upper left-hand corner of adjacent dark blue triangle, to complete straight-line quilting design (Diagram 4). Baste all remaining unstitched edges.
Option #2: Curved-Line Quilting Design
What appears to be several curved lines is one continuous line of stitching.
Mark Quilt Top
Using a water-soluble marker or chalk, mark quilting lines through each Flying Geese block on the quilt top. Although only a few Flying Geese blocks are shown, above, you can use the same stitching paths for an entire quilt top assembled from Flying Geese blocks.
Assemble Quilt Layers
Prepare the quilt sandwich (marked quilt top, batting, and backing).
Set up Machine
Remove presser foot and install a walking foot. Add a new machine needle, and thread the machine and bobbin with 50-weight, 100% cotton thread. Use a quilt-sandwich swatch to test thread/needle/tension combination and stitch length.
Begin Quilting
Machine-quilter Trina Kirkvold stitches as much as possible without cutting threads. For this design she quilted the entire Flying Geese block without cutting any threads. Leaving the needle down when pivoting to start stitching each section is the secret to success.
1. Begin stitching at bottom corner of left-hand light blue triangle. Follow the red arrows and marked lines shown in Diagram 1.
2. Pivot and repeat Step 1 to stitch right-hand light blue triangle (Diagram 2).
3. Referring to Diagram 3, pivot and stitch the arcs shown in the dark blue large triangle.
4. Stitch the remaining arcs in the large dark blue triangle (Diagram 4).
5. Repeat steps 1–4 across the quilt top to complete continuous curved-line quilting design (Diagram 5). Baste remaining unstitched edges.
