Flying Geese Log Cabin Tutorial Reboot: Featuring Guest Quilter Jen Van Orman

Hello! I am Jen, and am a wife and mother first and foremost. My mother is a quilter and I learned so many things from her when I started showing interest as a teenager. Quilting is my heritage and I hope it will also become the heritage of my children and grandchildren. That is where my name comes from, Heritage Threads. Quilting binds generations together with threads of love. 

jen tutorial reboot

I am very excited to have the opportunity to share the Flying Geese Log Cabin tutorial reboot with you today. When I saw this tutorial, I could not get the thought of solids out of my head and I knew this quilt would look amazing in this Kona Cotton Lush Lagoon color way.For the gray accents I used Kona Cotton Coal. It turned out to be a wonderfully modern quilt that fits my personal quilting style so well.

I first started by separating my strips into 4 groups, ranging from lightest to darkest.

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I knew I wanted the center “log” of each block to be made out of the lightest fabric. Gather 48 of your 2.5” gray squares and 4 of the lightest strips. As you start off making this quilt, Jenny provides a great way to mark the center of the 2.5” squares. That is by ironing it in half. I love this method, but if you want to streamline your process a bit more, I really like marking a temporary line on my sewing machine with a long piece of washi or painter’s tape. Place the tape edge in line with the needle; keep the corners of the top square in line as you sew, and you’ll have a handy center line ready to go!

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I decided to line 48 of my gray 2.5” squares on top of 4 of the lightest strips as I was sewing my center logs. I ended up with a line of logs like this.

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I used a similar process for all of the logs, using up all of the lighter strips and continued through to the darkest hues in the color way.

One thing I always appreciate about Jenny in the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorials is that she’s hilarious and knows how much I need repetition. Hopefully I’m not alone in the need for her to hammer the most important point home. Jenny says several times to make sure to put the dark goose in the top corner and sew down the side. I cannot tell you how many times I repeated this to myself as I made this quilt.

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After you finish making all 48 blocks, be sure experiment with different layouts. I attempted the layout in the tutorial and it just didn’t work. I tried a few others before I settled on my final layout.

JEN flying geese log cabin pinnable

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I picked this fun, bright Rhoda Ruth 108” wide backing for an added pop of color. I really like choosing an unexpected backing that doesn’t necessarily come from the same line of fabric as the front. The back can and should be just as exciting as the front of a quilt, in my opinion. Missouri Star has a huge selection of 108” wide backing and I am thrilled to know where to get more in the future!

Thanks for having me today to share this tutorial reboot. I cannot wait to see what you create! Share your projects on the Quilting Deals – Missouri Star Quilt Co. Facebook page or on Instagram/Twitter using #tutorialreboot!

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Flutterby Tutorial Reboot Featuring Guest Blogger Christopher Thompson

Revisited Quilting Tutorials from Missouri Star Quilt Co

Make Missouri Star's Flutterby Quilt with Christopher Thompson the Tattooed Quilter!

Hello and Happy Fourth of July!  My name is Christopher, otherwise known as The Tattooed Quilter, and I’m coming to you from Times Square in New York City!  I grew up in a family of traditional quilters including my great grandmother, my grandmother, and my mom.  Today, I’m proud to carry on this family heritage and American craft through my modern spin.

Today, I’m sharing a mini version of the Flutterby Quilt Tutorial.  Isn’t this block modern and chic?  I used 2.5″ strips and fat quarters from the Sunprint 2016 Collection from Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics and (should be in everyone’s stash) Robert Kaufman’s Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Indigo. I also had my 2.5″ x 8″ MSQC Ruler handy!

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

It’s no secret I’m a fan of 2 ½” strips (check out my Light Box quilt in the latest issue of ModBlock) and this quilt is the perfect project for those jellyrolls you have collecting in your stash.

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

TIP:  LintRoll before you UnRoll your JellyRoll.  This will save you from becoming covered in fuzz balls.

Working in the fashion industry by day, I’m completely surrounded by color and prints and one of my favorite combinations is tonal color on color.  This simply means you pick different shades of colors in the same color group (i.e., grey: dark grey, light grey or pink: dark pink, light pink).  Tonal colors are the complete opposite of contrasting colors.  Mixing in prints is an easy way to build a tonal color story, especially if they’re as beautiful as Alison Glass’ Sunprints!  I also love combining a neutral color such as white, grey, navy, or black with my colors—it’s a great way to ground the color.

I kept my color palette to whites, greys, pinks, and blues.  I like to think of this a big ole’ slice of mixed berry cobbler.  Yum!

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

I love how straight forward Jenny’s tutorial is!  This block is fun to make and if you’re a fan of chain piecing, this one’s a dream.

I made the block exactly as Jenny did, even down to snowballing my edges.  I chose to make one block with my darker color on the inside and one block with my darker color on the outside.  Mixing and matching is fun!

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt
Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

To shake things up a bit I made one larger block simply by doubling the size of my finished smaller blocks.  Enlarging a smaller block is a fun way to add drama to your project.  For this project, I used a couple of Sunprint 2016 Collection fat quarters that I had in my stash.

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

Have fun with your block placement, balancing color and print.  Then join your blocks together, row-by-row until you have your finished quilt top.  Layer your quilt back, batting, and quilt top together and quilt as desired.  This quilt block is so easy peasy that anyone from a beginner to an advance quilter could bring it to life.

Easy Step by Step Tutorial: How to make the Flutterby Quilt

I hope you enjoyed my version as much as I enjoyed sharing it!  Now, let’s go, grab the hot dogs, potato salad, a quilt, and watch the fireworks!  Have a happy and safe holiday everyone!

Here’s where you can find out more about my work and me:

www.thetattooedquilter.com

www.instagram.com/the_tattooed_quilter

www.facebook.com/thetattooedquilter

www.twitter.com/tattooedquilter