Taking Flight is in Modern Patchwork

Taking Flight is is a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional Flock of Geese quilt block with an asymmetrical twist.  This quilt is now a project in the November/December 2017 issue of Modern Patchwork.

I designed this quilt shortly after completing Overlay (post coming soon), so I was apparently really into the Flock of Geese Block.  The blocks are rather large- each large half square triangle (HST) measures 10″ square, meaning that a full block is 20″ square.  I had drafted the quilt in my usual AutoCad and did a lot of experimentation with possible color schemes.  My top two choices were citrus-y colors with a white background and a play of warm and cool colors with the red/orange/pink and a blue background.

Both color ways were included in the magazine proposal, and I am thrilled that they liked the blue background the best.  I have done a lot of white backgrounds in the past few years, so it was exciting to work with a mid-value-range color scheme.

The quilting in the warm colored areas is ruler work with a touch of free motion in a wishbone design.  The blue background is filled with mixed motif free motion quilting.  The feathers in these areas relate to the title- Taking Flight.

Here is the magazine cover so you know what to look for at the newsstand!

Quilt Stats:

Title:  Taking Flight

Size: 90″ x 100″

Techniques:  Machine Piecing

Quilting:  Mixed motif free motion quilting and Ruler work, all done on an A-1 Longarm

Fabric:  Kona Cotton in Deep Blue, Flame, Cardinal, Bright Pink

Batting:  Hobbs Tuscany Wool

Thread:  50wt Aurifil

Binding:  Bias binding in Deep Blue Kona, cut 2″ wide, machine stitched to the front and hand finished on the back