FLOS2 Out The Door

I first attempted this block last year, this photo was my first one and you can't tell from the photo, but it is full of holes and the back is a mess.  Paper piecing and I were not good friends.  But, for reasons that are still unknown to me, I fell in love with this block.  I had avoided paper piecing like dessert on the first day of a diet.  But for me, like diets, my will began to fade soon after I had attempted this block, and dessert was back on the menu ~ in the form of paper piecing ~ actual desserts were never off the menu.  

And, whoa, stretching my sewing skills here, I even made a smaller version of the Ring of Flying Geese.  These blocks were made for my secret partner in FLOS2 Swap.  My first idea was to use both of these in a table runner, one of the items she requested.  I changed my mind after playing with the blocks for awhile, and I just couldn't decide how to fit in the block of the smaller version, but I also wanted to use it somewhere, which I did HERE .    

The template for the Ring of Flying Geese block is HERE, to make the smaller block I reduced the size before printing.  Be careful when you print, there are 2 directions of geese, make sure you print out 4 in one direction for your block.  I ended up making a second regular size version of the block for the table runner.  The finished block was 12" and the finished length of the table runner is 38".    

I went with some improv piecing for the center of the table runner.  With the precise paper piecing on each end, I thought the middle would be jazzed up with one) a little color and two) something not so formal.  The center colors were originally one piece, I halved it, added a strip of background color, and flipped one side of color strip when sewing back together.  

After putting together the two blocks with the center, the table runner just needed ends to finish it off.  I pieced the triangles to match the flying geese.  The background color is Kona Ash.

A little bit of punch in the center.  I kept the most of the quilting simple and understated.  Just outlining the geese in the ring and the squares, except for this bit in the orange.  I think my partner can add quilting if she would like more.  

This is the whole package that went out to my secret partner.  A zip pouch I made using the smaller ring of flying geese block, a fabric basket, the table runner, and a few sewing goodies.  I hope she loves them!  I loved being in this swap!

The back of the table runner, which is a Kaffe Fassett print, and you can see the cute zipper pull I added.  I'll need to make one of these fabric baskets for myself now that I know how, it was hard giving this one up!