Another fall, another Wisconsin Quilt Show. I cannot mention the show without taking a moment to remember Nancy Zieman and everything she put into this show, and the sewing community. Her legend lives on.
Sew, onto new business. I have developed a new ruler. What?? Another new ruler??? Well, let’s call it a tool that has been long awaited in the industry.
Have you ever wondered why the cutting charts for four at a time flying geese do not include 10 inch squares? It seems like it should be natural. You should be able to make four at a time flying geese with layer cakes, 10 inch stackers, or 10 inch charms (whichever company you’re buying them from). The reason is this–the small squares that need to be cut to accompany the large base square, the 10 inch square, is not an easy one to measure.
Never heard of four at a time flying geese? Maybe you’ve heard of them, but you don’t know how to make them? Well. You’re in for a treat. Let me explain.
Four at a time flying geese happen when you take a base square and add small squares. The small squares must be the exact right size to coordinate with the large square in order to have this work out.
The small squares are added to the large square as follows:
A diagonal line is drawn from one corner to the opposite corner of the two smaller squares.
Then, with a 1/4 inch foot on the sewing machine, stitch 1/4 inch on both sides of the line.
The unit gets cut right along the line that was drawn.
There are now 2 units, and you’re almost there.
Press the triangles open, making certain not to leave any lips of fabric that are not perfectly pressed outward.
Two more small squares are added to the remaining corners, and diagonal lines are drawn across them.
Then, a stitching line is added on both sides of the diagonal line, 1/4 inch along the side of the line.
The line is sliced, and voila. You have 4 flying geese units–after of course, you press the triangles open.
You can leave them as they are, or you can square them up. Depending on your level of experience and expertise, your flying geese units will be perfect. If they are less than perfect, I would recommend squaring them.
So how does this relate to using 10 inch squares? Well, now that you’ve seen how it’s done, you will know that it is imperative that the small squares be exactly coordinating with the large square.
The Flight Pack Ruler™ has been created by yours truly so that 10 inch square packs can be used as the base square.
There are many quilt patterns that are coming out for use with this tool. Here’s an example of a couple of them.
This one is called Varsity! Varsity! I love that you can use any sports themed 10 inch square pack and create this quilt.
This one is “Oh Christmas Tri-o”. This is very beginner friendly and can be done with any Christmas themed 10 inch square pack.
This is Urban Red Riding Hood. It was made using a Red Riding Hood 10 inch square pack, but really any cottage themed or woodland theme 10 inch square pack would work well.
This is probably one of my favorites. Can you name it? I used a 10 inch square pack from Liberty of London.
This one is a tribute to my Dad. That in and of itself is a long long story of his aviation life.
Sew Many More and Sew Many More to come!
Make sure you get to the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show 2026 to see it’s debut. Attend one of 3 lectures that I will be doing to introduce it!
