Hive 1 Tutorial for May - Neon Stroked Flying Geese for Kelli

The Block

Thanks for being on this journey with me. I have enjoyed sewing with you this year! I have been lifting weights for the last few years, and my shoulders have outgrown my quilted coat. You all will help me make a new coat! I am going for bold colors--and the late 80's neon color scheme inspires me. 

For the pattern, I have chosen the stroked flying geese block, a pattern from AGF. You will notice this method makes 4 at a time (and it leaves quite a bit of waste, sorry).

Fabrics:

For the fabrics, I am looking for neon on dark grey. I am using the Sharpie highlighter collection for inspiration. 

Background Fabric: I want a dark background. I prefer dark grey, but medium grey and black are also welcomed. You can use solids, blenders, batiks, and tone-on-tone. Please no light grey or navy. No prints. Here is my fabric pull:

Colored Fabrics: You'll need one main fabric and one accent fabric for the stroke. I recognize that you will likely not have neon fabrics in your collection; I don't either. Please choose colors that are vibrant and will contrast with the dark background. Solids, blenders, batiks, tone on tone, and small prints are all fine. Here is my pull: 

Cutting: 

Neon Main Fabric 

• four (4) 4 1/2” squares 

Neon Accent Fabric: 

• two (2) 4 1/2” x 2” strips
• one (1) 10“ x 2” strip, 

Dark Background: 

• four (4) 3 1/2” squares

Sewing the blocks: 

1. Take the four (4) 4 1/2” main fabric squares, two (2) 4 1/2” x 2” accent strips, and join them into two fabric strips with the contrast bar in the middle. 
   
   
   
2. Take one (1) 10” x 2” accent strip and use it to join two barred strips you created in step 1. You will end up with a 10" block that looks like a plus symbol.  
   
   
   
3. Make a template of a 6 1/2” square using paper or cardboard (I am using an acrylic template from Nancy's Notions), then place it on point on top of the block, making sure it is perfectly centered, align it with the center strips of the block, and trim it to size. You should now have a 6 1/2" block that looks like an X. 
   
   
   
4. Take two (2) 3 1/2” background squares and place them on the diagonal, aligned to opposite corners of the X block. Pin them in place, and draw a line from point to point.
   
   
   
5. Stitch at  1/4” from the drawn line on each side. Cut on the drawn line. Open and press toward the background fabric. 
   

   

   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Take two (2) 3 1/2” background squares and place them on the diagonal aligned to the corner of the X block.  Pin them in place, and draw a line on the diagonal of the background square. 
   
   
   
7. Stitch at 1/4” from the drawn line on each side. Cut on the drawn line. Open and press toward the background fabric. You will end up with four stroked flying geese.
   
   
   
8. Trim: Mine came out to be 5 1/2" x 3"

Here are my final blocks.