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Flying Geese Quilts for Summer

Cheery flying geese quilt perfect for summer
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Flying Geese quilts are super versatile—they can encompass other block variations and combinations such as Dutchman’s Puzzle and Follow the Leader. Flying Geese blocks consist of a ‘goose’ patch and two ‘sky’ patches on either side. Traditionally the goose and sky patches have high color or tone contrast. This contrast gives the designer the power to emphasize the sky or the goose—depending on the desired effect.

“Follow the Leader” • Jenn Nevitt
Follow the Leader” • Jenn Nevitt

“Follow the Leader”

Flying Geese are twice as long as they are high, making the ideal rectangular blocks for interesting central designs, pieced borders and more. While you can, of course, sew the three triangle components together to make a single block, since most Flying Geese are used in sets of several (to create a ‘flock’ effect) there are several techniques for sewing up several blocks at once. Check out the sunny flock created by Jenn Nevitt in Follow the Leader. It reminds me of those late summer days when the evening sunshine is still wonderful to bask in but the honking of the geese overhead heralds the beginning of a new season. With a complicated layout, this design is achievable in that it only uses Flying Geese! Master the first block and the rest will…follow the leader!

Have Flying Geese on point? Join Jenny Kae Parks her video tutorial for some great tips.

Photo by Paul Chicarello
Photo by Paul Chicarello

I spend part of my summers at my in-law’s lake house in New Hampshire. One of my favorite sights on the lake is ducks or loons with their little ducklings and chicks following close behind.

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Flock of Seagulls” by Brenda Ratliff

“Flock of Seagulls”

Flock of Seagulls by Brenda Ratliff puts me in that frame of mind (although by her title she had more of an ocean scape in her head). It would be good skill building to make the different sizes of Flying Geese incorporated here (the chicks growing up!) and maybe I’d even try a black-and-white version to pay homage to make lake loons.

“Twilight Beads” • Joanie Holton
Twilight Beads” • Joanie Holton

“Twilight Beads”

I understand that not everyone is as into the bird-iness of the Flying Geese block. But it can be used to evoke other images as well. Take for instance this quilt by Joanie Holton, Twilight Beads. Strands of beads dangle down in this lovely pattern. Flying Geese are transformed into diamond blocks with an ingenious rotation trick, so once again only one block type is needed.

As you can see, the traditional Flying Geese block can be used in so many ways! Try out a curated selection of Flying Geese patterns in this pattern bundle.

Sew long,
Katie


Ready to level up your quilting game? Click here to get the Sew Easy: Quick-Pieced Flying Geese Units as a step-by-step tutorial. Learn how to effortlessly whip up four perfect Flying Geese quilt blocks at once—no more tedious one-by-one stitching!

Originally published May 30, 2019; updated on July 16, 2024.


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