I've always had trouble with them. And this week I have to make A LOT of them. I will get through this. I LOVE Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilts, and I learn so much while working on them. To see what I'm talking about you can follow this link to this year's mystery: On Ringo Lake
This week Bonnie has described three different ways to make the flying geese pieces. I am going to try the method using the Simple Folded Corners Ruler from Antler Quilt Design. (There's an interesting story here. This ruler was apparently designed by a young man who started a quilting business when he was 14!)
With other methods I have had problems keeping the flying geese "square." (OK, they are really rectangular, not square, but it's easier to talk about them by calling them square. What I mean is that you have four 90-degrees angles on the finished piece.) Bonnie noted that the lines on the SFC ruler are a double-check that her squares are cut the right size and they are square on top of the rectangle. I didn't know what she meant until I started working with the SFC ruler. After A while I came to a piece that I had cut about 1/8" too short. I realized it immediately with the SFC ruler and I avoided a huge problem later on down the line. I also began to see how the ruler helps you to keep your cutting "square" and keep the corner angle just right.
(I deleted two photos of the SFC ruler with pieces of fabric because I didn't want to give away piece sizes.)
My problem:
Here is my problem, and I would welcome any suggestions. When I sew the corner triangles onto the rectangles the triangle piece tends to slip and I end up with a less than ideal seam. I would welcome any suggestions on how to address this.
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| This is what the bottom looks like after the top triangle piece has slipped |
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| Ta da! Some of my finished flying geese. |
They look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt is so frustrating when they don't come out right. Maybe pinning would help so they don't slip? I didn't use that ruler, but I had a heap that weren't sewn quite right after my first batch. I re-made the extras using the four-at-a-time "no waste" method, but with a little waste because I cut them larger then trimmed down to size once they were sewn. That worked much better for me, so I think I will stick with that for flying geese in future.
Thanks for your comment. I am pinning and still finding the edges of the pieces don't match after I sew the seam on about 25-30% of my pieces.
DeleteThe Simple Folded Corners Ruler has an option to cut the pieces larger and then trim. Maybe I will try that on the next batch.
Your geese look very good. If you continue to have problems, I would either pin your units or hold onto them until they go through. Pinning may sound like a pain, but I would rather pin than rip out seams. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I am pinning and still finding the edges of the pieces don't match after I sew the seam on about 25-30% of my pieces. Frustrating.
DeleteI used that ruler as well but was not happy with the consistency. I am doing the rectangle with 2 squares. I draw the line and sew it just to the right of the line and it comes out perfect everytime. I wasted about 15 pieces that were too short. Good luck with the rest of them.
ReplyDeleteDoug Leko (Antler Quilt Designs) is a really nice young man. His mom owned a quilt shop and Doug was around the shop from the time he was six. He is 22 or 23 now. If you ever have a chance to meet him, listen to him lecture or take a class from him, grab the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go to one of his lectures. I am very pleased with the ruler. I am cutting pieces that are very nicely squared up. I just can't sew them together for some reason. Grrrr.
DeleteBeautiful Geese!
ReplyDelete