Dear Lola,
Flying Geese - I can honestly say, I was trying to avoid
them. The only geese in my personal
experience are the Canadian kind. They
honk noisily, leave deposits in the most inopportune locations and stand in the
road aimlessly whenever I am in a hurry to get somewhere. My feisty grandmother used to tell me to go
slow, follow the rules of the road and if no one is looking – run them over –
there are too many of them! It was one
of those things grandmothers say to us that produces a nervous giggle.
Flying Geese of the sewing kind are legendary. I have never heard a sister sewist lovingly
refer to Flying Geese as a personal favorite. I’m sure they are out there – quilters who
enjoy constructing them, but I have never met one. When Nancy, the leader of our Michael Miller Weekend Block of the Month
group at Wish Upon A Quilt introduced this month’s block – her first words were, “This month’s block
did not go together as quickly as last months block. It was more difficult to cut and yes, it does
contain 8 flying geese units.” My heart
sank immediately.
Could I survive in the alternate universe of Flying Geese?
The parallels between the two types of geese are
glaring. The honking (cussing) had
begun, the nasty deposits (rejected and misshapen units) ensued and there I was
standing in the road aimlessly going nowhere!
Help, someone please run me over!
I tuned my senses into this month’s set of directions. I can read, ergo, I can win against these
ghastly geese. I read and re-read my
instructions. I constructed the blocks
that were easy. Saving the geese units
for last – I had nothing standing in my way of success except 8 Flying
Geese. Believe me when I say – I was the
underdog in this battle!
I measured twice, cut once, sewed a precise seam and still
was not able to get my “Geese Unit” to match the unit in the instructions. The clean smooth lines in the illustration
were impossible for me to duplicate. 8
failed attempts ensued and I decided – to give up. By the way, the giving up part was a good
idea – it was midnight and I could no longer see straight, let alone sew
straight!
I vowed to return in the morning with my “Geese Face” on –
ready to take on these 2½ x 4½ inch
beasties and their 2½ x 2½ inch minions. The following morning after a hefty intake
of coffee, I methodically approached my geese.
Sewing, trimming, pressing, and sewing in the same precise order. My units still did not match the illustration,
but I was confident I had followed the directions perfectly. I began sewing my rows together and voila –
my block was complete.
I had to laugh out loud though. All the rejected geese units – lying
discarded in my scrap bin – had been fine!
The difference in how my units looked versus the illustration – was the
seam allowance! The illustration shows
an individual geese unit – as though it was already sewn into the row. The honking (or cussing) that I had been
doing – was for naught!
In hindsight, I was afraid of how to handle Flying Geese for
no good reason. As grandma had told me:
Going slow, following the rules of the road and running right over them when no
one is looking – is still good advice!
And by the way - it’s okay to giggle nervously!
Hugs and stitches
Sew Sleepless
