Infrastructure Quilt Along: Cutting and Sewing Row 2

This week we are working on Row 2 of Infrastructure Quilt Along which is making Fast Flying Geese. The basic unit is the same for all 3 colors of row 2, and I use a method called “4 at a time” that leaves very little waste and works perfectly, no matter what size units you need to make.

You need to make a total of 15 geese, which means you’ll have one of each left over which you can always sew into something else. Refer to page 4 (Row 2) of the Infrastructure Quilt Pattern for the correct size squares to cut, then follow the step outs below to make your geese.

I didn’t worry about fussy cutting any fabric in this row because the prints are pretty small scale to begin with and I especially love how the Op Squares print looks when it’s cut randomly.

So I used 3 different fabrics from Geo Pop to make the color gradation: Op Squares in Orange and Red, and Tiny Hex in Orange. I paired them up with Tiny Hex Gray for the background. If you wanted to go wild and crazy, you could make scrappy geese in similar colors. You could even use the same fabric for all of the geese if you wanted to tone it down – the choice is up to you!

With these highly geometric prints, I’m not at all worried about the direction of the design so I’m not trying to keep the gray background squares going all the same way.

Sewing Fast Flying Geese

Follow the instructions in the pattern on pages 8-9. I’ve shared step-by-step pics of the process below:

Two smaller squares are placed on top of one larger colorful square, right sides together, so that the marked lines match up. You’ll be sewing on both sides of the marked line, 1/4″ away. For speed and efficiency, I like to chain piece by sewing all of one side of the units, and then all of the other side of the units.

Once the seams are sewn, cut all sewn square units on the drawn line and press the seams so that you have a bunch of funky looking shapes that sort of look like a heart. Remember – I like to stitch with a shorter stitch length (2.0 instead of my machine’s default of 2.5) and press my seams open so they are nice and flat!

Add another smaller gray square to the opposite side, and then sew on both sides of the marked line. Again, repeat for all of the units you are making.

Once you cut the unit on the marked line, you’ll have two complete flying geese units! Press the seams and trim off the dog ears. Notice in the picture below, the top flying geese unit hasn’t yet been cleaned up. The bottom one is ready to sew into the larger triple-geese unit.

Once you’ve sewn all of the geese units, group them into sets of 3 and join the three units together to create one pieced geese segment. I always press after the end of each round of sewing to keep my work nice and flat as I go.

When joining the geese, be sew to sew right through the point at the tip so they line up correctly. I’ve put a pin next to the point in the image below:

Pin generously and sew in opposite directions to keep the long pieced row from warping out of shape. Here’s what a section of it looks like with all of the seams pressed open:

Join all of the triple geese units to complete Row 2 of Infrastructure.

Here’s a quick video tutorial basically going over everything I wrote above:

Next week will be a bit of a break. We will be sewing two of the long strip rows together which will be easy peazy!! So if you are just starting, or haven’t even begun, not to worry – we are taking it nice and easy so you can sew along on your own schedule!

Giveaway & Heather’s Version

Pop over to Heather Black’s blog at Quiltachusetts to see her version and enter this week’s giveaway: a 6 month subscription to Make Modern Magazine!!