Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs released the August instructions for the Midnight Mystery Quilt yesterday. I was so eager to get started that I got the first blocks, 36 flying geese, completed in 2 hours in the afternoon!
Midnight Mystery Quilt – Flying Geese
For August, we are to make 36 flying geese using the no-waste method, and I have a few tips for those of you who are joining in or going to be following no-waste flying geese instructions.
- The scant quarter inch in the instructions is no joke! It makes all the difference in making your flying geese turn out large enough.
- Trimming at the end is really facilitated by having a nice ruler. I used a 6.5-inch square creative grids ruler to trim and square the 3.5-inch by 6.5-inch flying geese. Being able to make sure that the point of the flying geese block is a quarter inch away from the edge under a nice ruler is really beneficial.
- Chain piecing can be really beneficial, but *for me*, when there is a lot of a task, I like to break up my work a little bit more. I would make 4 flying geese at a time so that I could take my time and enjoy each stage (sewing, pressing, trimming) without becoming overwhelmed. Chain piecing might be your jam, and if so, that is awesome! I just really get bogged down when I am left with a bunch of trimming to do…
Midnight Mystery Quilt – Fun Flying Geese Blocks
One of the pleasures of creating any quilt is finding the happy coincidences that turn up without planning, and I believe that is especially true for mystery quilts. It was fun to go through my stack of flying geese blocks and pick out the really happy print placements that resulted on occasion.
As Cheryl has pointed out, there is still plenty of time to catch up if you have decided you want to join in on the fun. And if you are curious, you can read my previous Midnight Mystery Quilt posts below:
Thanks for inspiring me, I’m going to dive in and do my first mystery quilt with you
Your geese look great, Yvonne! If ever there is a block to take time on, it is flying geese. Accuracy at every stage is vital to keeping those wings from getting clipped 😉 I go back and forth with chain piecing. I am the same way, looking at a stack of 20, 30, 100 blocks that need to be trimmed can be a bit overwhelming!
Wow…you are quick. Thanks for the tips. I plan to get mine done on Saturday during a sew in with the girls.
I’m with you on splitting up the tasks. It keeps my energy level up. I was at a work training last night, so no sewing. I’m amazed that you got these done so quickly. I think I’ll just amble through mine starting today. I hope they look as good as yours. I love that blue fabric.
I’m like you, I like to break up the workload too otherwise I stall at the big jobs – good advice 🙂
Great looking flying geese! I totally agree about squaring them up accurately with room for a 1/4″ seam at the point. It makes all the difference when you’re setting them together.
I love the Rocket Blast fabric as the FG with the white! It’s just so pretty together! I only bought a half yard of the fabric (what was I thinking, cuz I love it too), and after seeing your geese I went looking for it online and found some on sale in Canada. The shipping is 20CAD though…still kind of considering asking how much they have (their website doesn’t show quantity available) and if they have more than 2 yards just buying it.
Great flying geese! I love that rocket age fabric. I like chain piecing, but chain trimming definitely slows my projects back down. Someday I should figure out if I actually come out ahead. ;P
Woo Hoo!! Look at you go. I won’t get to this until at least Sunday, because of work. The blue fabric – what kind of technical designs are on that? It’s very cool 🙂
Thanks for the tip about the scant quarter inch. I’ve never actually made flying geese before so it’s all new to me. Luckily I tend to use a scant quarter inch anyway but for my first one I might do a bit of a test just to make sure.
i’ve always loved that navy Rocket Age fabric and this is going to be an awesome quilt Yvonne! Thanks for the tips – especially about breaking up chain piecing into more encouraging segments.
Sounds like super jet speed again, and yet still so accurate.
I don’t think I’ve ever made a quilt cutting it all up front and doing all the HAST, Flying geese at the same time. I tend to make the first block to find my feet and then 2 or 3 together next. I know some people love chain piecing and find it soothing – I kind of find it boring…
I love the prints you used!