Old Town Mystery, Part Seven!

It's the day after Christmas as I write this.
"Boxing Day" for many of you, and many are still enjoying the deep traditions of Hanukkah celebrations that got under way on the same day that Christmas was celebrated by others.
It's a lot like gathering quilters from all over, each one choosing their own fabrics and making decisions on how they wish to see their Old Town quilt through their own eyes.
May we always celebrate and champion the ways that others celebrate the things that are important and time-honored even if they are different from our own.

The link to the Part Seven PDF is below my Poland photos.  Please keep reading and you'll get there!

(Yes - PART SEVEN!  We snuck in Part Six the day before Christmas Eve.  Did you miss it?)

For those asking about workshops given on our Craftours trips - unlike a quilting cruise where you unpack once, and the ship takes you where you need to go and sewing machines are set up in a conference room somewhere - when we are traveling internationally by plane and staying in several different hotels while we travel our way around by train, plane or bus, the need to simplify projects is a MUST.

I have found that hand embroidery fits the bill perfectly. I can make up kits with the printed embroidery overlay on Essex linen and provide a needle.  These kits pack flat in my suitcase - and we know suitcase space and weight is at a premium when traveling.

My travelers only need to bring their own choice of thread color, a thimble if they use one, a small pair of thread snips, a needle threader, and a hoop if they want one.

I find that the peel-and-stick overlay adds enough body to the fabric to make a hoop unnecessary- But some like a hoop regardless, and what works for anyone, works for me!

On our trip to Poland we were working on my Cat in the Flowers stitchery, and these lovely quilters would be adding their borders when they got home and back to their machines.

Offering small workshops like this opens the opportunity to continue stitching on busses, in the hotel lobby in the evenings surrounded by conversation or even occupy the long hours of our flights home while reliving our memories of our time together over the miles and miles.

I would love to have you join me on my 2025-2026 lineup of exciting tours. I can't believe I'm off to Australia in just a couple of weeks!

June 2025: crafts, culture and cuisine of Iceland.

September 2025: Germany, Switzerland and France winding up at the Fantastic quilt show in Alsace!

Nov/Dec 2025: Bavarian/Austrian Christmas Markets!

January 2026: exclusive arts and crafts experience in Morocco.

June 2026: culture, crafts and traditions of Romania.

September 2026: quilting Inspirations of India.

Click the All My Tours tab at the top of my blog for more info - Let's go!

And yes, there is a discount if you sign up before January 1st 2025!

Click HERE for Part Seven PDF.

80 Flying Geese -

Scrappy, no sets.

Units will measure 1 1/2'' X 2 1/2'' unfinished.

They will finish at 1'' X 2'' in the quilt.

As with everything - feel free to choose the method that works best for you even if it isn't presented here.

We've made these before in Part One. These use the same techniques, only smaller.

I've even included a foundation paper piecing template page at the back of the Part Seven PDF.

You can also find the stand-alone template page HERE.

The only thing that arises with paper piecing is that your pressing may be different due to the inability to press seams under. That means when joining units you may have a bit more bulk, but if you choose to, you can deal with it.

Traditional rotary cutting:

From a variety of coral fabrics cut:

20 squares 3 1/4''

Slice squares twice on the diagonal with an X to yield 80 base quarter-square triangles.

From a variety of neutral fabrics cut:

80 squares 1 7/8''

Slice square once on the diagonal to yield 160 half-square wing triangles.

The assembly is the same as the Essential Triangle Tool method below.

Cutting Quarter -square Triangles 

Unlike having to cut 3 1/4'’ and 1 7/8’ squares as in the traditional rotary cutting method above, I used my Essential Triangle Tool to cut the quarter-square and half-square triangles from 1 1/2’’ strips. 

1 1/2’’ strips are something I keep readily on hand so I can easily go to my strip stash and pull what I need.

To cut quarter-square triangles, place the first green line from the top (Look for the 1 1/2’’ strip width marking down the center in green) at the bottom edge of the strip with the green line ON coral fabric, not below it on the mat.  

Trim 2 sides as shown. The upper tip of the ruler will extend above the top of the strip just a bit creating a flat spot at the top of the cut triangle. This flat spot becomes a placement guide. 

Pivot the ruler, placing that first green line at the top of the strip, ON the fabric. Cut.

Cut from as many fabrics as desired for a scrap-happy mix of 80 quarter-square base triangles.

Cutting Wing Triangles:

Place 2 neutral strips 1 1/2’’ with right sides together so you are cutting through two layers. Right sides together is needed as we are cutting in mirror image pairs.

Square off one end of the strip set. 

Using the first red line for 1’’ finished half-square triangles, place the red line ON the fabric at the top of the strip set (Don’t place the line on the mat above the fabric or you will be one line width too small.) and make a cut.

Pivot the ruler, placing the 1’’ finished red line on the bottom of the strip set and cut.

As these are being cut in scrappy pairs (one left and one right mirror image wing triangle per cut) make as many scrappy neutral pairings as you wish to avoid too many duplicates.

Cut 80 right-sides-together pairs. 160 triangles total.

Trimmed corner to trimmed corner!

All of the notched corners go at the top of the unit – the flat spot on the top of the base triangle becomes a placement guide. 

Start with the right wing first! 

Place the right wing triangle on top of the base triangle with right sides facing.  Align the bottom edge and the diagonal. 

Stitch. Gently press toward the coral/melon base triangle so as not to distort it.  Trim dog ears. 

Be consistent with always stitching the right wing triangle on first and pressing that seam allowance under toward the base triangle. (paper piecers, disregard.)

As blocks are joined together in the quilt top, this pressing will help distribute the bulk that happens during quilt assembly. (You can also always press everything open if that is your choice.)

Add the left wing triangle in the same manner.  Press toward the wing triangle.  Remove dog ears and trim to 1 1/2'’ X 2 1/2’’ as needed.  Make 80.

I know that folks love to talk "scant" - but be careful when sewing these. Seams that are "too scant" will not leave you with a 1/4'' seam allowance at the top of your unit. You'll lose your point in the next seam. Or your unit will be too big and you'll lose it when you trim.

The only scant that is the "right" scant is the one that takes you to unit size without losing your margins.

More Flying Geese Options:

Without Essential Triangle Tool)

You can make flying geese units with coral/melon 1 1/2’’ X 21/2'’ base rectangles with 1 1/2’’ neutral squares to become wing triangles in a stitch & flip method.

This method creates quite a bit of waste, but if it works for you – GREAT! Please remember that you may need more fabric yardage if you use methods like this.

Drawn Lines or Simple Folded Corners Method:

Cut 80  coral/melon rectangles 1 1/2'' X 2 1/2''

Cut 160 neutral squares 1 1/2''

One Unit.

Cut enough for 80.

Draw a line from corner to corner on the back of each of the corner squares.

Place a square in the right hand corner of the rectangle with right sides together. 

Place the sewing machine needle just barely to the RIGHT of the drawn line into what will be the seam allowance. 

The drawn line is not the seam line.  It is the FOLD line where your fabric has to fold up and over the thread to reach the edges of the base unit.  DO NOT SEW ON THE LINE. Sew next to it. 

Sew slowly, and carefully. Press.  

*Pressing Tip! *

 

Instead of pressing blindly from the fold toward the corner, align the edges of the triangle you are pressing even with the edges of the base rectangle FIRST.  Once these are even, press down on your unit.  This will block your unit to help it keep its shape and size. 

Once pressed correctly, fold triangle back and trim seam allowance 1/4'' from stitching. 

After trimming, press the seam allowance under toward the base triangle.

Repeat to add the opposite corner, pressing the trimmed seam allowance toward the left triangle just added.

Trim as needed to 1 1/2'' X 2 1/2''. Make 80.

Don’t like drawing lines? 

This is where the Simple Folded Corners or Simple Folded Corners Mini come into play. 

Start as with the basic Stitch & Flip method above, but instead of drawing a diagonal line, place the 1/4'' line on the diagonal of the Simple Folded Corners ruler (mini shown) on the diagonal of the corner square and trim leaving 1/4'' seam allowance. 

Remember to sew just shy of 1/4'' because the FOLD has to happen on the diagonal of the square for the triangle to reach where it needs to go.  A couple of tests should help you adjust where you need to sew to achieve unit size. Make 80!

Let's join some things!

Grab the hourglass units made in Part Three, and stitch them between pairs of geese you've just made today!

If you have pressed the last seam of your hourglass unit to one side, ONE of the seams will nest with one of the wing triangle seams on your flying geese.  If you've pressed open, you'll have less bulk. Any bit of nesting is a good thing for me, and helps with lining things up.

Join the geese as shown to the neutral sides of the hourglass unit.  Press seams toward the flying geese units.  Make 40. Units will measure 2 1/2'' X 4 1/2'' unfinished and finish at 2'' X 4'' in the quilt.

And that's it for now!  Have a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend ahead as we get ready to close out 2024.

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Somehow I see a lot of rage quilting in my future.

Is there anything better than being fully engaged with a project?

 

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