Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Tuesday Archives - Flying Geese Medallion

I'm always surprised when I find a quilt that hasn't shown up on the blog.  Why that is I'm not sure, I've been quilting a lot longer than I've been blogging.  I went looking for an older medallion quilt to reflect on for today's Tuesday Archives link up




Val's Quilting Studio


There aren't a lot of medallion quilts in my portfolio.  I found four, which is 2 more than I thought I'd made.  Of course those 2 are on the UFO list, so they aren't exactly finished.  My first medallion quilt was started in my third "learn to quilt class".   The lessons were on using a product called "Sew and Fold on a Roll" , which basically turned out to be paper piecing of flying geese blocks. 


Pattern is "Geese Fly Round" by Anne Dutton
from "Sew and Fold on a Row" 


























There certainly are a lot of flying geese in this one.  I didn't have a fabric stash in those days, so pretty much bought the fabric for the project when I signed up for the class.  So my palette was pretty much limited to what the little quilt shop in town had on their shelves.  That was back when my commute to work was one hour each way, the work week was usually 6 days long and I had a 3 year old at home. So searching for the "right" fabrics was usually something  I didn't have time for.  The inspiration fabric that decided the other colors in this quilt is the floral in the center and corner squares.  Here is a better picture of the focus fabric.  





















In hind sight it probably would have been better to use the pink in the corner blocks and use the floral print as a large border.  But at that point, I was still learning the basics, so modifying a pattern was a bit beyond my capabilities.   Still, I learned a lot by making this quilt.  Plus looking at it reminds me of all the fun I had in those "learning to quilt classes".  They were a dose of sanity in what at the time was a very hectic and stressful period in my life.    

That's it for my look back at my early days of making quilts.  Check out all the other archives over at Val's Quilting Studio.  

12 comments:

Larri said...

Choosing the right fabrics or not, even then you had a panache for sewing perfect points.
It's lovely. And I love that it's a reminder of the fun time you had in the learning process. Life was certainly busy-busy for you at that moment. What a pretty project to have to show for it. ツ

Val's Quilting Studio said...

That's how I felt last week Kate when I blogged about my Mom's Tulip quilt I made two years ago...it's fun to get older quilts "worked into" our blogs. Thanks for sharing this under our Medallion Quilts theme this week at Tuesday ARchives as I truly am learning a lot by looking at everyone's posts this week....esp. that a Medallion starts with that center focal point and moves outward....and they can be as simple or detailed as we want.

Barbara said...

I love the fabrics you chose for this. It's gorgeous!

Chris said...

I love the fabrics. I know about the limits of local shops. Overseas we were limited to mail order :)

Nancy said...

The colors in the quilt are lovely. Thanks for sharing.

MartiDIY said...

I'm impressed that you tackled flying geese and paper piecing in the beginning. I think your quilt is pretty just the way it is.

Claire said...

I think every quilt I make has an "i should have done x different" moment!

AnnieO said...

Very traditional colors but a very pretty quilt. Good to travel back in your quilting history!

Unknown said...

It would have been different with more different fabrics, but the repeat of the rows with flying geese and the same colors gives your quilt a beautiful 'ritm'. It is a beauty.

dq said...

Kate, it is so pretty. I love the flying geese borders best.

Angie in SoCal said...

Kate, I really like your medallion. Those FG are so precise. Thanks for sharing with us!

Lynne said...

Since I always seem to have scraps in every colour of the rainbow (plus some) in front of me -- my living room floor has blocks for a string quilt on it as I type this -- I love looking at quilts in limited colour palettes! Yours looks lovely!