This Is The Way I Choose To Make My Ideas Into Reality
 

My patchwork quilt blocks are coming along nicely. By applying sound sewing habits from years of working in the Los Angeles based “rag trade,” I have successfully combined both industrial & domestic fabric selection/sewing techniques into a rapidly forming rather fanciful potentially satisfying quilt top blocks you see below.

I live and work in Southern California. I source from any and all stores (not just fabric/quilt stores) and specialty shops around me. I don’t neglect any source as you never know what’s in their inventory at any given time. I use the simplest means of tools and techniques around. Here I use the 1 seam/5 Minute Flying Geese block. I am especially attracted to this method as the embossed-like folded up Goose piece is so quickly accurate to form and stands out so well without additional quilting. These are the 4 colors/patterns I use from saved remnants & bolt ends to make my idea into reality. This is who I am & what my creations will always proven to be-creations born from times of austerity (like my parent's Great Depression Of The 1930s & World War 2) to my own times of trial and tribulation. The first completed block in dark red & blue is simply a very rough draft or sketch of the completed top. The individual block units are the actual ones that will grace my daybed (about 65 inches by 85 inches) when completed.

Enjoy! :)

I will post the completed top at least by the end of the week. I still need to buy a top sheet from Target for the backing early next month. Then it will be ready to use for late Spring, Summer, and Early Fall hot weather use.

You've got some neat fabrics. Will be fun to see your finished quilt.

The flying geese look great and your fabrics are lovely.

I look forward to seeing the end result! Your fabrics sure are interesting and I like your "leave no stone unturned" attitude to fabric sources.

Howdy & welcome from Texas. Your flying geese quilt is going to be awesome! I'm waiting to see the finished product.

looks great so far

Interesting approach to piecing. Very modern look, are you going to border?

I use to live in Huntington Beach. I have many of the one seam flying geese blocks. They are fast and easy.

I live in AL now, but hail from Orange County CA. Didn't really get into quilting until I moved here, but have been sewing for 70 years! I love M&L in Cypress/Buena Park area, another I think in Fountain Valley. Wonderful selections and great prices, especially on bolt ends and cuts! Love your flying geese, not familiar with that method, love to learn it!

Did you make the blue and red item on the top picture?

I'm amazed at how you positioned the center triangle to make perfect use of the fabric. Everything lines up so lovely! I'm anxious to see your finished quilt.

Welcome from So. California!

Good for you. Your style, although I realize is your own, reminds me of the Gees Bend style. It seems from both of your posts that you are doing what you enjoy and that is what this journey is all about. We need to remember though not to disparage those that are on their journey too. "To each his own".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Cblb8J6i0

Jenny Doan does the one seam flying geese. It originated in England and Ricky Tims demo it when he learned it from English quilters while on a trip there.

Thanks for the reminder. One seam FG are on my list as well.

I've used this method numerous times: http://www.fonsandporter.com/article...ew_easy_lesson. Very easy no-waste method.

Those are pretty blocks! Can't wait to see the finished quilt top!

I so glad that this project has so caught on with all of you! I just finished all of the Flying Geese Units completely earlier today. I have a total of:

72 units consisting of (using the above 1st post photos are each represented here):

32 strong Yellows (big flowers)
4 smaller Yellows (smaller flowers)
18 Marbled Blue Fabric
18 Blue/Green Geometric

Finished into 12 large (around 18 inches) Squares

Each Square has 6 geese in the formation of a quasi-Rail Fence pattern with the Black & Silver squares in a checkerboard pattern on it’s own.

The Border in a mimicking blended Black/Silver background, 4 colors using the leftover fabrics not used in the blocks.

Since I only used remnants & bolt ends for all fabrics, I cannot predict right now the exact layout as I have to do much of the placements when I actually sew the physical top with whatever was not used before. Still, I hope this second rather crude computer generated rough draft/sketch will give all of you a better visual guide on how this will probably look when the top is completed late this week or early next week.

Wish me some badly needed luck!

Yes, it was to test the size of each "goose" in order to prevent accidents or waste.

Do try it. I was a bit cautious about starting any pattern with bias edges as the edges can stretch out so easily! Not only the simple topstitching on the background fabrics prevents this, the accuracy is far better even with the one directional fabrics I used here. So easy to lay out the images in the right direction as well.

It does sadden me so many former Californians are scattered so far away. I hope the ones that want to return could some day.

That is a modern layout. It will look great.

Your blocks look great and you have an interesting story about your quilt life.

Welcome from Wisconsin. Looking forward to seeing finished quilt. Your colors are great.

This is how I do mine. I've seen the method Jenny showed and similar to another 5 minute block. I just hate the waste when I could use I for another block. You can really get on a roll and make a lot of flying geese quickly. [QUOTE=Patricia Drew;7806830]I've used this method numerous times: http://www.fonsandporter.com/article...ew_easy_lesson. Very easy no

[QUOTE=tessagin;7807127]This is how I do mine. I've seen the method Jenny showed and similar to another 5 minute block. I just hate the waste when I could use I for another block. You can really get on a roll and make a lot of flying geese quickly. So true about getting on a roll and making a lot of flying geese quickly ...

Quote:

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I use the simplest means of tools and techniques around.

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I don't want to use the simplest tools though. I like the new specialty rulers, gadgets, and full function machines. That adds fun to me. I don't quilt for any other reason then to have fun doing it. If I had to make do it wouldn't be fun for me.

Welcome to the QB! I love your creativity and that your are a "resourceful" quilter. "Resourceful" can be defined in so many ways and here on the QB there are many great ideas and often new ways for us to learn. I enjoy the QB because some of us love new machines and others LOVE their "more mature" machines, new fabric vs gifted or inherited fabric, new gadgets vs what we have... OH, we are one great bunch of quilters. Maybe like a crazy quilt but this QB is wonderful. Welcome!!!

This is what I have done up to now. The first photos are how I constructed the units and the blocks using clothes pins from the local hardware store instead of straight sewing pins. In the sewing factory & the sample rooms, pins are generally not used at all (I personally never pinned there). The sewing operator usually uses his/her hands as pins by grasping the edges of the product & sew instead of time wasting pinning beforehand. At home, I like to bundle the units/blocks together and sew with clothes pins as I store the presorted unfinished pieces together in my storage boxes until I have the time to sew them together. I know not only they stay together, they will stay in the right direction of the fabric’s own nap without me being stabbed with regular pins, plus distortion sometimes caused by pinning is eliminated by the larger area clamping action of the clothes pin. Sewing over them is impossible as they are so big. Or disappearing into the flooring (possible hazard with straight pins).

The units are now becoming blocks. I was able to sew up these 2 today. I still have to square up the blocks a bit more, but that is easily remedied. No additional blocks have to be made as they all are the basically the same squared size. The size is somewhat bigger than I intended them to be for the daybed it’s being made for. That means that the border is iffy at this time. I have to see if I even need one to fit the bed.

This project has to wait a few days as the temperature is due to rise over 85 degrees around here. I cannot sew without air conditioning hence the project postponement until early next week. I really want to complete the project!

Interesting approach to piecing, using clothes pins......but I also noticed that your seams are not the traditional 1/4" either.....but you are enjoying your new creative outlet and it's working for you. Do you intend on trying some other block patterns too?

Wow, how do you manage to squish all your fabric through the harp of your machine? Are you left-handed?

I like the simplicity of your blocks. That will make for a lovely quilt.

Don't be sad. Many of us left willingly and have no desire to go back. I love Texas and can't imagine living anywhere else!

Sorry about my not mentioning my nontraditional approach to basic sewing habits earlier. I tend to put all of my sewing products (including fancy traditional quilts (like the one in discussed here & in production right now) through a great deal of use-& resulting stress-during the product's lifetime. That means machine washing & drying when needed. I made one quilt almost 35 years ago almost 100% by sewing machine which is still in use (my almost 90 year old mother uses it for sleeping). It was sewn with 1/2 inch seams & machine made bar tacked stitched instead of traditional quilting lines or designs whether by machine or hand. It is falling apart now, but the seams are still strong and unbroken, even though the fabric is beginning to give out. Wall hangings and other light use ones is fine with the 1/4 inch seams. Hand sewn ones too as well. That was the way they were constructed even before the sewing machine was invented. With mostly or fully machine sewn (like this one), I find I'm more accurate with 1/2 inch seams. True more fabric is used when being made (i.e. the 1 seam geese are formed by folding rather than cutting out), but it's worth it at least for me time-wise and longer lasting-wise. It's simple as making a personal preference or choice especially out of the sewing industry I no longer work in. It seems there are some benefits to getting older.

I'm taking a break after this one is completed for the summer as far as large quilting projects go. I will switch to less involved apparel construction. I need a nice mottled red furry fleece jacket right now until it gets hot around here in a couple of months. Plus I have a good use for those awful limpy, cheesy, or plain ugly, cheap fabrics I-and perhaps many of you-sometimes get stuck with will be used as more idea generators. I play with them until I see what works for me. Then I make notes, take smartphone photos, and make the patterns for the next potential projects. I see one for late fall. Too early to comment what it will be exactly. Except I will continue to experiment with the 1 seam sewing technique more. I want to see if I can develop some strong star ideas through this technique.

I make a point to sew in sections, not whole tops at once, even when it comes to using my machines. Plus I am rather limited to a single table when cutting/sewing (my sewing corner is very tiny). If you sew everything right, there should be no swishing (might just distort the fabric as well, possibly losing accuracy). I'm right handed.

It's an experiment, but I am hopeful as well. Thank you for the encouragement.

I've lost so many good friends due to the high costs of living in Southern California. I did not think that it would be possible to live a good life when relocating to another part of the country. Perhaps it's time to rethink some thoughts I have on the subject. Lives definitely do change and we must follow our hearts & needs.

I sew in sections as well, in fact I think most everyone does. I was referring to the picture you had posted where you have all your fabric on the right side of the needle instead of the left, and was thinking that must be rather cumbersome to manage, squishing your fabrics instead of floating them on the other side. But if it works for you, more power to you.

I've been reading through all of your step by steps on you "project". Whatever you did in the rag industry, quilting is different than garment construction. I strongly suggest you take some basic quilting classes to learn easier ways to quilt with better results. If you don't want to attend in person, you could learn a lot from the classes offered at Craftsy. There is so much great information online nowadays! :o

I can assure you, also, that living a 'good life' apart from living in Los Angeles is not only possible, but quite probable! I love living where I do... miles and miles and miles away from you.

Wonder Clips would be better then the clothespins to keep the fabric together. I enjoyed S California the years I lived there but once I had children I knew it wasn't where I wanted to raise them. I have no intention of ever going back there to live as all my family and most of my old friends have moved away from CA too.

I like the "rag trade." It wasn't the real reason why I was involved with it. I was a college student who graduated from one of the many fine well known universities around here with a degree in the social sciences (not fashion) by working at those same low paid raggy jobs which existed at that time (late 1970s-early 1980s). I graduated with no help from my parents, co worker associates, boyfriend at the time, or anyone else financially. Neither did I took out a student loan until I went to grad school later. I worked at both the food service trade & the fashion industry when the government jobs dried up after my first graduation. I seem to like to keep up with with cloth the best now. I no longer will make any money from it anymore than cooking & serving. It is now a simple diversion/hobby and that it will stay. It keeps my mind sharp and analytical with minimal stress. That means that if my "project" as you say does not turn out the way it should by my or other's ideal, what of it? Who really would care? My "rag trade" bosses? (probably dead by now). My visitors? (they don't care about quilts). Other quilters? (don't know any anymore-the last one move away about 15 years ago). It will be-and is-still very usable as a light summer bed covering and that is what I need right now. The rest is just practice & amusement.

I might appear to be hard nosed and "mean" to many. In my world, you better be or else you are out in the street. Believe me, there are so many homeless people here now-you almost step on them when you go anywhere now. I learned to take care of myself as to take care of my mother. Since we owned property here, I stay here for now. If you miles and miles away from me, that might mean you are in a 4 season area. Not for me as my father left Ohio and never returned because all that snow way back in 1935. If I want snow, I can go up into the nearby mountains for that. And leave it behind later when I tire of it (I prefer the beach). My long dead father was right. Southern California has the best weather for the most part-just earthquakes, wildfires, & flooding are the bane of our residents' existences. Plus too many people now crowding the LA basin (more coming in than leaving still). Deserts (high & low), mountains, beaches, forests, valleys-all within an hour's drive from where I sitting right now. Plus the fashion industry's related movie/tv industry that grew up around here because of all these natural gifts. The celebrities still crowd their own haunts and mansions to the west of me. I don't see them going anywhere anytime soon. They keep coming back.

I'm not here for a popularity contest. That was work & school a long time ago. I simply state what I want and create it for myself without troubling others to do it for me. I was gifted with a new Samsung Chromebook 3 very recently and wanted to see what it does online with social media is all.

I admit that I don't quilt that much like most of you probably do. I just dabble in it when both the mood & opportunity hits. Don't have much free time anymore taking care of my mother and another elderly friend. Plus my present income now does not allow me to buy much. Thank you for your suggestion, though. I really should update some things I have on hand. My Chromebook shows many more things I should consider as well. Like a new simple sewing machine to be a back up to the one shown in Post #1 photo purchased ASAP.

When I think of my personal friends and relatives that moved away from CA, sometimes it does feel a bit lonely now. I don't see any point in myself leaving right now. There are some perks here (like excellent medical/dental coverage), that I don't want to lose. I agree with you about raising children here. Not a good place anymore for children to grow up. They could always come here for college though if they choose to & will be able to make good choices I'm sure you will teach them.

As for the subject of retreating quilters, so many really good sewing studios/quilt shops went out of business that I will list the ones I actually visited before they physically closed up shop:

Common Thread, South Pasadena CA
New Moon Textiles Pasadena CA
Why? Face to Face Interactions seem to fall apart in 2016 for some reason:".
-https://www.yelp.com/biz/new-moon-textiles-pasadena

The Sewing Studio Pasadena CA
Same with this one as far as sewing instruction goes-some good, some not so good:
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-sewing-studio-pasadena

Sew LA Atwater/Sillverlake Districts
I personally like this shop the several times I visited them in their different locations. And the owner is more clear on why she could not succeed:
http://sew-la-fabric.blogspot.com/se...=Store+Closing

She is now a traveling teacher (like many contracted others here, even myself when I'm on call):
"...... I'll come to your house with basic tools, an iron and travel board (if needed) and we'll work on whatever project you have in mind. A $5 gas fee will apply if you are located more than 10 miles from my house in...... And please do not worry about what your house looks like. As long as there is some table space to sew your dishes will not bother me!......."
-http://sew-la-fabric.blogspot.com/ (Monday May 9, 2016)

I prefer to keep a low profile, enjoy myself, with a couple of hobbies (separated from employment) and if I have to work again, I always choose something I'm not too interested in, heavily invested, or involved with. If I'm passionate about it, I'm sure not going to try to make a living at it anymore! Not with present & potential customers' attitudes or inflated expectations like the above!

Kind of explains things, doesn't it?

There is no reason to be hard-nosed here. Sometimes learning some basics about a hobby can make the hobby more enjoyable. At least that's my experience. Tried and true methods can be very helpful to know even if you then venture off to your own method. There are usually multiple ways to accomplish different things in quilting.

The internet has lots of information about everything! If you go searching you will find some blogs of people who make things from fabric scraps or recycled clothing. I know there is a feeling of satisfaction to be able to reuse fabric and not have to go buy new. I do a little of both.

You said you are going to use this as a summer bed covering, are you going to use batting or just layer with a sheet or something ?

There is no reason to be hard-nosed here. Sometimes learning some basics about a hobby can make the hobby more enjoyable. At least that's my experience. Tried and true methods can be very helpful to know even if you then venture off to your own method. There are usually multiple ways to accomplish different things in quilting.

Couldn't agree more. There are so many variations of age, skills, background, experience, inspiration, etc, but one common thread: we all love quilting. And I think we all agree that we have no use for "Quilt Police" ... Happy quilting to all!