flying geese question

Morning everyone.

It looks like it might FINALLY get colder here in Spain and maybe even rain a little. So much for the weather update!

And now to business.

While I'm in the process of putting together the log cabin quilt for mu king size bed, I'm already planning and getting started on the next project. I want to make a flying geese quilt. I have all the fabrics and batting and I'm getting ready to cut it.

So, which method is "better"; Eleanor Burns or Fons and Porter? I have the "special" cutting rulers for both. Which is easier, which is more accurate, which is prefferred?

Thanks!

Claudia

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claudia
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I have a little lesson for flying geese you might find helpful on my site. Just click on sig below and go to various projects part I

Reply to
Rita

The best method is the one you can do accurately and easily! Roberta in D

"claudia" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@s37g2000prg.googlegroups.com...

Reply to
Roberta Zollner

The Fons and Porter ruler looks like it is simply a ruler to cut the right sizes of triangles for the geese. That doesn't sound like a terribly useful tool to me. I like the Eleanor Burns method, but you are restricted to sizes with her rulers. My favorite is Mary Sue Suit's method (described in her book "All My Blocks Are Geese"), with is pretty much the same as Eleanor Burns, except that it doesn't use special rulers so is adaptable to any size geese. My next choice would be the one someone else posted:

Julia in MN

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claudia wrote:

Reply to
Julia in MN

I use plastic template sheets with 1/4" grids, and make stencils placed 1/2" apart. The stencil holes are the finished size of the piece, so the lines are actually the seam lines. The space between the stencil holes are the seam allowances. I find that with a wee bit of planning I can get very efficient use of fabric with little waste, and it is much easier to run my pencil around the inside of a stencil hole than around the edges of a stand-alone template piece. I also keep the plastic sheets and use them again and again for other quilts.

Reply to
Mary

I'm not exactly familiar with Mary Sue Suit's but it sounds like maybe what I do. I do a variation of the Eleanor Burns with a standard OmniGrip ruler. I hope this makes sense. If you've used this method before, it should make sense, otherwise, I'm talking gibberish and just ignore me. :-)

Basically, to calculate your two squares, you take the largest size of your FINISHED goose (ie: 2½ x 5, nice & odd!) and add 1½" to the 5" for your Goose = 6½ square, and add 3" to the 5" = 8" for your Sky. Then I stack & sew the diagonal seams, cut them apart and press to the larger triangle as usual. One problem I had in the past with this method is that the 45° angle would get off sometimes and my geese would not be sized properly. An easy fix that I do now is to shave (I mean the barest!) the smaller triangle edges on each side to an exact 45° angle on the ruler - just a little straightening up, each of the two angled sides independently. Then I cut off those annoying ears so that both blocks are the same square size, which is usually about 1¾" + that original largest 5" measurement above. These square and clean 45° angled pieces are easier for me to align properly. (I know, a little A.R. here, but it works for me!) Then I sew that second pair of diagonal seams per the original instructions, press open and trim as usual using a regular OmniGrip ruler. This does give me the absolutely most accurate geese ever.

Lorraine in WA

Reply to
TwinMom

Reply to
nzlstar*

Oh yes! That is my favorite for flying geese, as well. I like the 'no waste' and I find it easy to remember to cut one big square and 4 small for each set of 4 geese.

Reply to
L

Although...... looking at the Fons & Porter, you could make flying geese with Jelly Rolls!!

Reply to
L

QuiltedPerson had written this in response to

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:It's an old question, but I needed to answer it. Either one is accurate.Both are easy. Eleanor's method works much better with yardage, whileFons and Porter ruler works with either yardage or fat quarters. Burnsmethod uses 2 different sized squares. All the cutting and trimming isdone with a ruler and each one is EXACT with a small amount of waste. Fons and Porter uses strips of the same size, with no waste. I have notneeded to do any trimming although the geese don't look quite as perfectas Burns method. Couldn't tell which was which once sewn into blockthough. Burns has 4 sizes on 2 rulers. Fons and Porter has 8 sizes onone ruler. Neither ruler will let you do all sizes that you may need inyour projects.

One advantage of the Fons and Porter ruler is that the instructions are right on the ruler. I had to hunt around home and finally go to the internet for instructions on the sizes of the squares needed. The Fons & Porter ruler has the strip sizes printed right on the ruler next to the finished size.

If you can only afford one ruler, I would go for the Fons and Porter. It is more versatile, particularly for fat quarters and sizes. I do love the Burns rulers though, even with their size limitations.

Stephanie

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QuiltedPerson

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