Monday, January 17, 2011

HOW TO: Curved Geese


 making your own curvy flying geese....
I used the Sunday times and a SHARPIE to make my curve... cut the shape you want out of the paper... mark off the angle of lines around your curve... then go back and make triangles to the centers of each curved line. they beauty of the SHARPIE is that it bleeds through the newspaper. 

Start by laying your first fabric (PINK) over the shape of the triangle of the first section... you fabric does not need to be exactly cut, as once you sew it down you can trim the excess.... your seams will still be straight, as you are sewing over the lines you drew.
lay you second piece( Lt.BLUE) right sides together also cover your sharpie line of the top angle of the triangle.... I put a pin in it here, so I can then FLIP the whole thing over,(FABRIC AND PAPER) and you will be sewing over the LINE that bled through the newsprint,and through the paper.
Let me repeat that part...You are sewing OVER the paper, following the LINES made by your sharpie that bled through..... use a small stich length, and the paper tears away easily....  
if you leave a long stitch you will tear open your seams when you tear the paper away...
(on the BACK SIDE)... cut threads, and flip it back over in front of you....(above last picture)


Below first picture:  you can now flip up your lt. Blue piece.. you can trim you seam allowance also.  you can see in the second pic that you can just see your line through the pink... you will now lay you other light blue piece 1/4 inch over that line as well. pin if you need, then FLIP it over, and again, sew the line, making sure to catch you already stitched line at the top of the point....
 You can see because you used irregular shapes of fabric, you always trim you seams afterwards... 
 You just made one flying "goose"and flip open.... press each time as well, to keep them laying nice and flat as you build.
Again, each time, overlap you next fabric 1/4 over the line... it takes a bit of practice, making sure your fabric lines up over the seam...  But once you get the hang of it, you can whip through these fairly quickly....
Try just paper piecing one little "goose" at a time if you've never done this....  
It works really well, and you will be surprised at how many things you can piece more accurately
by knowing how to do this...

I'm by far, not a pro at this, and I am sure there are better ways to explain this... 
Just thought I'd show you how I made mine... I learned this by pure PLAY.
Experiment... try a new thing... see where it leads you...
hmmm. Now what shall I do with this string of geese??

Hope this helps some of  you who asked how I did this....

Easier to show in person than write this stuff out....

(let's see how many comments I get about my chipped off dark nail polish....hehehe!)

Happy playing!

27 comments:

  1. Thanks for the directions! And these almost seem a bit easier than some paper piecing, it seems like those little "oops" moments are a bit more flexible in this sort of a design!

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  2. This is a most noble use for a newspaper. Thanks for the tut. I do paper piece, but have never made my own patterns.
    Terri

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  3. Thanks for the tutorial, Victoria, it looks simple to do and a good excuse for using up my old NYTs for something other than painting! Hmmm, might have to re-think getting that digital subscription.....

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  4. What is the story behind your choice of color of nail polish...I love seeing your hands on the fabric showing us how to piece. You are a marvel and thank you. I have yet to try paper piecing but keeping think I will tackle someday. Projects are so beautiful with it!!!

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  5. I was going to say the same thing about your nail varnish.

    Great tutorial and now I might not be afraid of Flying Geese.

    x

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  6. Thank you so much for showing us how you made the curvy flying geese!! I absolutely have to give this a try!

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  7. Thank you Victoria for this fabulous tutorial! I picked up the book Flying Colors (Gail Garber) at the library so I could learn how to do the curved flying geese. It is a great book, lots of imaginative ideas! But your tut is clear and easy and I will definitely be following your instructions when I work on my Whimsical Thanksgiving wall quilt this fall!

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  8. Thanks, so creative and nice to share your process! Blessings :o)

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  9. Thank you for sharing how to do this. I never would have thought of the Sharpie to bleed through the newspaper - genius!

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  10. Thanks, V! This great! I am going to try to make a few..

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  11. Chipped nail polish, not withstanding (whatever that means)your tutorial is spot on.

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  12. I love to paper piece. Thanks for showing us the curving flying geese.

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  13. Thanks for showing us your method. I made curved flying geese on a quilt last year and made it up as I went cause I couldn't find a tutorial. I made a paper pattern like you did but just used it as a guide. I never thought of doing it paper piecing.

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  14. The Sharpie is a great idea because you can see it, but might it bleed on fabric? Some of the ink may be in thread when paper is torn away.

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  15. nope, hasn't happened... it is dry very quickly...

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  16. I've been thinking about curves...and here you are posting about them. Love the synchronicity! :) Thanks for sharing!

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  17. thank you very much!
    It seems to be very interesting...;)

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  18. You explained it perfectly well!!

    I have read and read and read about paper piecing, and i find it completely intriguing.... now i just need to actually TRY it someday too!!

    xo
    eva

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  19. sharpie bleeding onto fabric?? i would think IF it did bleed at all (but i can't see if doing so if the sharpie lines are dry) it would only bleed at the seam (allowance) and i doubt you'd see it?????
    (me thinks)

    xo
    eva

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  20. Hi Victoria
    I want try this curved flying geese thing. I think it looks so neat. I look at lots of block on different blogs and I think it was on yours that I saw a block with I think 12 geese flying in a circle. I guess the block would be about 12 inches square. Is there a tutorial on how to make that block? It was so pretty and so different.
    I love your work.. I am a self taught quilter so my stuff is duh next to the things I have seen of yours
    thanks
    beebee

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  21. I love the idea of these curved geese. I look at lots of blocks on various blogs. I think it was on your blog that I saw a block that had 12 geese flying in a circle. A very interesting block. Do you have a tutorial to do that one. I love your work. I have learned how to think outside of the box since I discovered your 15 minutes play blog.

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  22. Hey Victoria,

    Just thought you might enjoy seeing the block I created for do. Good Stitches using this blog post for inspiration and technique! :)

    http://kelseyprantis.blogspot.com/2011/04/do-good-stitches-april-2011.html

    Kelsey

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  23. I enjoyed seeing this bit of magic! Great instructions!

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  24. Think this is great, must try this soon

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  25. thanx! enjoyed this tute and will surely piece a bunch of geese flying in circles when i need them.

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  26. I've always wondered how to piece curved flying geese. Great toot! Thanks! :)

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  27. I've always wondered how to piece this. Great toot! Thanks!

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