Blog / flying geese

While packing up my studio and preparing for our recent move, I came across the leftover squares of Hope Valley fabric that I had cut for this baby quilta few years ago. Rather than tossing them into the scrap bin, I decided to take advantage of the fact that they were already precut and create a small quilt from them. I cut an equal number of squares of a natural Essex linen-cotton fabric, which...

Prior to our departure from North Carolina, a dear Spoonflower coworker commissioned me to make a quilt for her and her husband. She provided me with a few fabrics from her travels to Japan and San Francisco---a navy floral, a mustard polka dot twill, and a blue-and-white ditsy floral---and expressed a love of triangles. My friend is a computer engineer, so when it came to the quilt's design, it was no surprise that she included the code-generated quilts of Libs Elliott (such amazing work!) in her list of inspiration quilts.


Inspired by Libs' designs, I created half-square triangles in two different finished sizes---5" and 10"---and stuck them up on my design wall, constantly rearranging as I went along, until I had a composition I was happy with. In addition to the fabrics my friend provided, I added in a few pink prints, a Leah Duncan print that happened to coordinate beautifully with the palette, and a large navy cross-hatch which I used for the binding.


For the backing, I used large, leftover pieces of the original fabric, along with a few extra half-square triangles. You can spot a few in-progress shots of the quilt over on Instagram, as I worked on the cross-hatch quilting and then added a leather Salty Oat label.


The quilt is now back in North Carolina, at home with its new owners, to whom I am so grateful for the commission and the fun design challenge!

Quilt Stats
Finished dimensions: 60" x 60"
Fabrics used include: Mojave Illuminated by Leah Duncan; Glimma Crosshatch by Lotta Jansdotter; Pink Paint and Pink Dot from Picnic Pals by Penguin and Fish
Quilt pattern: original by Salty Oat (me!)

August 2018 Update: Thank you all so much for your interest in a written pattern for this quilt! This particular quilt was laid out and pieced on the fly, so there is no pattern for it. However, Libs Elliott has a number of written patterns for quilts that have a similar look (Just Like Heaven and Rebel are two great options), and I highly recommend checking out and supporting her work. 

Every few months, it's my turn to select a pattern and color palette for a quilt for the members of the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches to put together. Last week, I finally finished and photographed a quilt that our members started in May, and I'm completely smitten with it.


Using the Circle of Geese pattern---which Christina of Sometimes Crafter featured a paper-piecing tutorialfor on her blog...

This quilt has been a long time coming. Back when my husband and I got married, my dearest friend from my high school days gifted us with a beautiful, bed-size quilt. So when she got married in New York City last summer, I knew it was my chance to return the favor and make her and her new husband a quilt.


My friend loves purple (this wall quiltwas for her), so I looked around on Design Seeds for...