I have my pieces, its time to put them together in a beautiful way. For the Meadowland pattern, the centre of the block is made of squares and rectangles and fairly simple to put together. I did very quickly learn what instrument is the true unsung hero of quilting: The iron. Every time to stitch pieces together, you have to iron the seams open so you have a flat, cohesive piece. Which means I was using my iron constantly throughout the process and made me yearn for a smaller one for seams.
The outside of each block is a diamond shape which requires a technique called Flying Geese to make the diagonal lines. I have never tried this technique before and was nervous. My first one was definitely a learning curve… and the lines did not match up perfectly. However, I think I will treasure this block as my first attempt as perfectly imperfect.
After finishing my first block I decided it was time for a few more tutorials on Flying Geese and seam pressing:
This Suzy Quilts Tutorial gave some interesting background information on the history of Flying Geese, 2 ways of making Flying Geese, and some beautiful inspirational photos. https://suzyquilts.com/flying-geese-quilt-tutorial/
This video, while low quality, had excellent tips that I think will help me with my future quilt blocks. Specifically the lining up the points and trimming at the end:
One quilt block down, 15 more to go!
