Flying Geese

Brrr!  It's been cold outside. There's nothing better than sewing, warm and cozy in my studio, with a cup of tea at hand and such good company.  Before our remodel, my sewing space was the coldest room in the house.  I do so enjoy this new space.  How very lucky I am!

My latest quilt is made entirely of flying geese in Pat Bravo's Indie Folk collection.  Thanks to this handy design wall (that's just Warm & Natural batting stapled to the drywall), I was able to design the quilt from the center out. 

To make this quilt, I cut fabric combinations as they struck my fancy.  I sewed as many geese as I could in one sitting, from what I had cut, and then arranged them on the design wall to see how the additions played along.  My favorite combinations were the darker fabrics, perhaps a nod to this dark season of the year.

Do you like the finished quilt top?  I do!  I feel like I could have used even more dark teal and midnight fabrics, but I used nearly all I had!  Usually I would avoid combining black with yellow, but I the contrast felt good this time.  

I thought the quilt would have lots of changes in direction, with geese switching back from vertical to horizontal throughout.  About halfway along I realized I preferred most of the geese arranged vertically.

Still, this upper corner cluster of horizontal geese adds a nice pop of the unexpected.

With all I have on my mind lately as I work on my book and on our new longarm quilting venture, it was nice to make a quilt based on a fabric collection and a simple, repeating block.  Making patchwork, like knitting or crochet, can allow the mind to wander and rest.  That's the kind of of quilt I needed this month.  This was perfect!

I'm so looking forward to quilting this one on my longarm sewing machine!  First we have lots of practice to do.  The machine gets delivered and installed on Sunday; then we have two full days of training next week before we set to work on our practice quilts.  Soon, soon!