My Border Blocks on my "Friends in the Garden" quilt

Nineteen years ago, I started a quilt and finished it in a reasonable amount of time, even with hand quilting it! The blocks were part of a quilt bee block exchange. Each month a different person in the bee would decide on the block pattern and have the members make blocks using a selected fabric with other fabrics added. That person would get those blocks.  The bee wasn't big enough to make the number of blocks needed so I did end up making more.  Once they were put together, I added my own border to it.



It is a stylized floral block border and I used a technique I had learned that past year - how to make flying geese the fast way.  Over these years, I've found that there are a number of quick ways to make flying geese blocks, all relatively simple, including a 3-Dimensional flying geese. They range from 2 different sized squares (which Eleanor Burns demonstrates in a video) to the square in a square method developed by Jodi Barrows.  You can find them all on the internet.

Some of the border blocks up close:



There are two basic blocks in the border.

Block #1

1:  The leaf or connecting block is a 4 patch of half square triangles in green and white with a top bar of the white background.  Some could have been made with two flying geese but to get the length I needed to make each side, it was necessary to make them as half square triangles so I could change size as needed and not lose the points of the leaves.

2: The 2nd block is the floral block; a unit  consisting of up to 3 flying geese blocks and a bar if needed.  From those flying geese blocks and the bar, I was able to get 8 + different floral looks by varying the placement of 4 colors: pink, darker pink, red, and white.  The placement of the green for the leaves was kept standard in all those floral blocks.  The only block arrangements I didn't use were #7 and #8.

Just varying the placement of the colors in each flying geese block changed the look of the "flower".

Here's the  starting blocks for those pictures.  Ones that you can copy, print,  and play with colors yourself:  They are NOT to correct size though and don't show the seam allowance, but just for you to see how color makes a difference.  There are 8 different settings but once you add color, they will seem to make even more.  Note that the bottom F.G. block is the same configuration in each, because plants have to have leaves.

Block #7 & #8 Not Used in border

When completed, the top was layered and then hand quilted by  some friends and myself then the quilt has since been used as a guest quilt.  Most of the center blocks were signed by the persons who made them; the quilters who helped me hand quilt, signed the leaves.  A label was then made for the back.   To personalize it even more, I've asked guests over the years to sign and date the floral border blocks when they stay overnight.  It's fun to read who in the family and my friends who have come for an overnight and when they did.