From Janet Wickell,
Your Guide to Quilting.
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2007 Sampler Quilt - Flying in Circles

Sampler Quilt Layout

The first sampler quilt block is made from three simple units:

• Flying Geese
• Half square triangle units
• A fabric square

Quilt Finished Size: 12" Square

Quilt Block Fabrics

I used four different fabrics to make the Flying Geese variation quilt block.

• A dark green print for the points of the darkest geese.

• A medium-gold print for the slightly lighter geese points.

• A blue swirled print with just a touch of green for my center square and the corners of half square triangle units.

• The background fabric that I'll use throughout the quilt.

Your fabrics will differ and your starting point for dark might be darker or lighter than mine. Don't worry about that and don't be influenced by my color choices. Use your own focal fabric as a guide when choosing fabric for your block. There are no rules.

Sampler Quilt Block Cutting Chart

There are many ways to make Flying Geese units, but we'll sew squares to corners of a rectangle, then cut off the excess and press.

Darkest Geese Points:

• Cut a 3-1/2" x 16-1/2" strip of dark fabric; square up one end and cut eight 2" x 3'1/2" segments from it.

Medium Dark Geese Points:

• Cut a 3-1/2" x 16-1/2" strip of medium-dark fabric; square up one end and cut eight 2" x 3'1/2" segments from it.

Background Fabric:

• Cut a 2" x 42" strip of fabric reserved for geese backgrounds. Cut another strip that measures 2" x 25". Square up an end of each and cut thirty-two 2" squares.

• Cut two 3-7/8" squares.

Center Square and Half Square Triangles:

• Cut a 6-1/2" square.

• Cut two 3-7/8" squares.

Note: We're constructing Flying Geese units, but look at the two gold geese that point at each other. They could be made as quarter square triangle units in an unfinished size of 3-1/2".