Go go gadgets!

I am a gadget fanatic. Sometimes when I’m quilting I’ll use an old gadget or ruler and it makes me feel like a little kid in the middle of summer who just found a toy not played with since Christmas. This happened earlier this week when I made the Wild Goose Run wall-hanging from our Start Quilting line of SassyPacks. The pattern is super easy – it has a large square in the center and a couple of borders around the outside. The outer border, as you can see below, is made up of 36 flying geese blocks. The flying geese block is one of my all-time favorites. They can look whimsical or traditional; they can run in a row or make up into stars; they can blend into the design or pop with color to liven up a quilt; I’ve even used them in a border to create a chevron effect that seems to “move” around the outside of the quilt. Suffice to say, I “heart” flying geese!

So, anyway I had to make 36 of the same block – all out of the same two fabrics. I got out my trusty flying geese rulers and thought about the great minds that come up with things like this. The Flying Geese ruler is actually a combination ruler/technique used to make 4 FG blocks at one time. For instance to make 36 the “regular” way, I would have to cut 36 little rectangles and 72 little squares and piece and cut each one separately. With this technique, to make 36 blocks, I simply cut 9 bigger squares and 9 medium squares. Then, following the clearly-written instructions, I’m able to put one larger square with a medium square and stitch and cut to make 4 blocks! And they’re sooooo accurate – I love those rulers!

BTW – I just ordered some more for www.sassypacks.com/! They’ll be in stock on Tuesday.