Hive 9: August Tutorial - Flying Geese Blocks For Shauna

Hi all, Shauna here and I can't tell you how excited I am about "beeing" the queen this month. My only problem was selecting a block. I have looked at every month's tutorials and thought "mmmm maybe I should pick that one". Not to mention the million other blocks I've seen on Pinterest. I've debated back and forth numerous times on what to pick and I finally decided on Flying Geese blocks. I saw Carolyn's March Hive 3 block and was intrigued. So I started researching Flying Geese and found a quilt that I really loved. The geese were all the same size, and go in lots of different directions.

So I began looking at construction of the block, and decided I wanted 3 x 6 inch geese, and I want them to have some consistency. So I think the easiest way to do that is to make the 4 geese at a time method.  I found a great tutorial for this method on Happy Quilting.  You will need to cut 5 pieces for each side of the block. With this method you get 4 geese all in the same fabrics, so you will need to do it twice to make the block. Now the trickiest part of this block is deciding on the size of fabric to cut. I've found there are two philosophies going around. The first is cut exact and not have to trim and the second is cut larger and trim down.  I like the second way best, but I will give you sizes for both ways.

            Cut Exact
            Geese (color)           Cut 1 7  1/4  X  7   1/4
            Sky (low volume)    Cut 4 3  7/8  X  3  7/8

            Trim Down
            Geese (color)           Cut 1 7  1/2  X  7  1/2
            Sky (low volume) Cut 4  4  1/8  X  4  1/8

Now for fabrics, I want the sky fabric to be low volume fabrics. I would prefer no solids, but tone on tone (white/cream) prints fine or one solid would be alright. I want a mix of whites and creams, so either or both are fine. Here are some fabrics I pulled from my stash.

The geese I want to be bright saturated colors. I'm really open on the colors, because I want it to have lots of different colors. But I want each side of the block to be different colors. I love Tula Pink, Allison Glass, Basic Grey, Amy Bulter and all of the Cotton & Steel designers. But to be honest, as long as it is not batik or novelty and a saturated color, I'll be happy.  My favorite color is purple, but I'm looking for all colors. Even a black here or there wouldn't be bad. Here are some fabrics I pulled from my stash to give you some ideas. 

I know you've really been waiting to see my blocks, so here they are. I've made a couple, because I love big quilts and I will most likely add to the blocks I receive to make a bigger quilt. If you look closely below you will see that on the left side the geese go in one way but in the middle row they go in the opposite way. It is very important to for you to know...I don't care which way you pick.  I plan on the geese running in all different directions, some even laid in sideways.  So don't worry, I'm good with either way you assemble the block.

And last but not least is my question for this month. When I was a kid my grandmother made two quilts for my mom that were "everyday" quilts (simple 9 patch quilts). They were always in the living room, to be used if we got cold, wanted to build a fort, or lay on them to nap. And I want to quilts like that for my niece and nephews (who are all now grown). I want them to be different, but still somewhat basic...so what is your favorite easy quilt pattern?

I can't wait to see what you create and I hope you have as much fun making these blocks as I've had making blocks for you.