Hello Everyone,

There MUST be a better way to press Flying Geese. I've been pressing the center up towards the wings, which is fine - until you start sewing them to each other. I believe this block is called the Flying Dutchman, for one, and I'm having particular trouble where the point of one FG intersects with the left bottom side of another. Talk about BULK! Especially along the main vertical and horizontal seamlines when the four quadrants are attached.

How to you press your seams so that you end up with a nice svelt goose and not one bulky enough to be eaten for Christmas dinner?! LOL

I'm attaching a pic for reference.

Thanks,

Karla in CO

I can't help you with your dilemma, but I had to comment on how nicely your points are. I'm sure someone will have an answer and we'll all learn from it :).

looks nice. can/will you take a picture of the back - that will give us more clues about how it's being pressed

I have the same trouble--bulk!

but--Hello from another Karla! :D

I spend a lot of time pressing seams open.
And, you might try steam while pressing ...
one of the threads in this forum was talking about POUNDING the lumps into submission ...
lo and behold! The quilting industry has come up with a rubber mallet for the deed.
You might try the local hardware store for a construction rubber mallet, since it will probably be cheaper. Won't be as purty <g> but hey! What you really want is the mallet, right??? LOL

Expose my backside?! LOL Gosh, kinda feel like my slip is showing or something, ha ha. Here it is. I'll welcome any hints or tips.

Thanks, Karla in CO

Thanks Sharon,

I'm working on them. Practice, practice.

Happy quilting, Karla in CO

Hi Karla,

I noticed you, another Karla with a "K" - kinda unusual, huh? Nice to meet ya. That's why I started signing my posts "Karla in CO", hoping to not confuse folks.

Maybe someone will show us all how to get rid of this nasty bulk. I'm sure hoping that is the case.

Karla in CO

I think you've got them about as good as they can get.

STEAM while pressing?! :shock: I thought we were supposed to stay plum away from that nasty stuff, lol. :lol: Yeah, I'm half steam, half not anymore.

Guess I've never cared much for pressing seams open. Doesn't that weaken the seam? Or, have I been misled all this time?

I saw that silly little hammer, and for big bucks, too! Maybe it's time to get out my own hammer. Thanks for the tip; I'd forgotten all about that! :? Thanks so much, Omak for all your help.

Fearing distortion.... Karla in CO

Wow, that was fast! Thanks for your encouragement, much appreciated! :-)

Lumpy in CO

I believe it was decided the open seam myth was true when the seams were hand stitched but since it is a machine seam it will be fine open. this will reduce the bulk in those areas. Give it a try.

try it on the next one you make - don't pick this block apart - press the seams open on the next one you do and see what happens

in fact, there is no rule anymore that one has to press ALL the seams in a given block any particular way

If you get too aggressive with your steam iron, it might be best to just let it lie, (or is that "lay"?) ... but, steam will help the fabric relax a bit, I guess.
Either steam or no is a personal preference, but steam is a grand equalizer.
And, as bearisgray said, seams lying to one side did make a stronger piecing, when the piecing was done by hand.

Thanks, I will.

No worry, I won't be picking this one apart any further, had enough fun already. I do have one more of the same block to do, so will give this open seam thing a try and report back.

Oh, BTW, I just noticed the name of this block is "Mosaic". It is one of many that are in a Moda U sampler I'm working on.

Thanks, Karla

Your block looks great. I can see where there may be a bit of bulk, but it still seems to lie flat.

No worry, I'm not agressive about too much these days. Yes, I can see how what she said does make sense. As I mentioned above, I do have one more of these to make, so will definitely give it a try. I will try a bit more steam on those center seams that I've already done, too. Thanks so much!

Pressing on... Karla in CO

Thanks! I'm guessing it feels worse than it looks. :-)

Happy Stitchin', Karla in CO

I would open the seams and steam the heck out of the points. I do it all the time for points. I am also one that has used steam and dry iron. I use what it takes to get the job done.

I like steam but you only press with it. No ironing.
Your seams are as good as it gets and once it is quilted you will not see any bulk.

I always press away from my points. the point is the center of the flying geese. when joining them, i still press the point away, even if that means pressing the side of the next flying geese toward itself. points are more important.

My work should be that lumpy. It looks fine to me. Are you sure you're not being to critical of your own work?

In a class I took a few months ago the teacher had us just remove enough stitches at the meeting point to be able to open it up and iron it flat. Hope this makes sense.

Granny, granny, granny - svelt geese and exposed back sides - lol
I am already in stitches thanks to your post.

As to the pressing, I'd try the open method. It seems to be getting a lot of attention lately. I was one to follow the "press to the dark side" (now that might explain my dark humor - :twisted: ) but ran into the same problem as you did. Now, my backside can be a bit inconsistent and unorthodox. I press the way the seam wants to go naturally. Next batch, I'll try to press open.

Nice geese btw!

Okay, I think I GOT it!! You won't believe the difference! From lumpy to nearly flat!! I'm happy with this second block, and here's what I did different.

1. Used a finer thread for pieceing; a 2 ply, not a 3 ply (Aurifil).

2. Pressed all seams open as I went (instead of to one side).

3. Starched everything as I went.

4. Used Pam Bono's "Angler 2" (no affiliation) - why didn't I use this prize before?! Gives me MUCH better control, both for stitching the diagonal line when doing the 'stitch and flip' method of making Flying Geese (no more drawing that line) and made making a 1/4" stitch MUCH easier to do/see on her ruler. YAY!!

Thanks to ALL of you, your most helpful comments and heartfelt compliments! Hmm, maybe I was being a bit too critical... But, if you could only FEEL the difference in my blocks now. Here is the new and improved block.

I'm doin' the Happy Dance now, Karla in CO

I've done that with pinwheels and most other blocks where 4 or more units met in the middle. It really does help. Thanks so much.

Karla in CO

Jolly good show, old girl! <G>
old as in ESTABLISHED ... LOL

Hi MadQuilter,

I'm so sorry to hear that your backside is a bit inconsistent and unorthodox, tee hee. :lol: Mind if I use that term next time DH complains about mine?! :lol: :wink:

Yep, seriously, open was the way to go on these geese, and probably will be on some other blocks, too. I'm definitely a convert, now. I'm guessing you might be just as jubilant as I am with my 2nd block - see new pic I just posted. Thanks too, for your compliment. :)

Less Lumpy in CO - the block, that is... :lol:

LOL .... reminds me of when we were establishing this place. Dad was busy selecting four heifers for me to start with. We lived across the state from each other, so we spent many hours talking via phone.
About the 300 th time I heard him say, "OH, you have just got to see her rump! It is round and smooth, straight across the hips, wide ... she is just beautiful! She's going to do a good job for you."
Finally, being the willful child I tend to be I said, "I have NEVER heard you wax poetic about the fine figure of a woman I am!"
LOL

Thanks, Omak!

Your second block really does look like it lays a lot more smoothly. I've learned something from your experiment. Thanks for posting.

Maybe he had been taught it was impolite to talk about a woman's backside. After all, what woman would want to be described as "straight across the hips, WIDE ..."?

Seriously, were these cows good breeding stock?

WOW, your points are just perfect. I'm impressed with how orderly the second batch of geese are flying.

.....and yes - feel free to wax poetic about unorthodox backs any day. :wink:

Well, my point was: In a developing heifer ... round, wide, straight across the hips .... that is a good thing and Dad was really enjoying his fine success at breeding good Limousin stock.
My point was .... I had all those same FINE qualities, and he never gushed about how good I looked! LOL
(he and I both knew that the good qualities in a heifer are not necessarily the best qualities for a woman, but it was fun to see him laugh hilariously, and to be able to laugh about some very obviousl facts of life) LOL

Dear Carla:

I think your problem is that your points do not match and it appears that your triangles are not the same size. In addition, your four squares aren't lined up as well. All points should be right at the edge of the next triangle so they appear to be flying in a circle.

Keep trying, it will come. Nobody was born a quilter; we all have had and continue to have trial and error. GG

Karla...I have to disagree with GG...sorry there girl.

I think your geese look just fine..in fact, I just love your second block you showed with the open seams...I'm doing the happy dance with you because next time I'll do my seams open too! I've never been shy about learning from someone else's lessons! :lol: :lol:

You're SO welcome! Hey, we're all here to share and learn, right? I wish you could feel the difference, it truly is amazing!

Thanks so much for the vote of confidence, sandpat - much appreciated. :)

I'm not the least bit shy learning from others, either! In fact, that's what I base much of my success upon - the knowledge of others who are willing to share with me, and vice versa.

Karla in CO

Thanks on both 'points', lol. :lol: Hey, we gotta laugh at times, right?

Karla in CO