Large Flight Quilt Top

This quilt top is one I’ve worked on slowly over several years. It’s a large block version of the traditional circling swallows block, and is paper pieced.  I wanted it to be colorful, unexpected, and big enough to serve as a fun picnic or beach quilt.  Here it is, my large Flight quilt top:

I made my first version of the Flight quilt back in 2014 with Bonnie Christine fabrics.  That was TEN years ago!  Wow, time has flown.  Since then, here and there I’ve revisited it, and finally released the pattern.  (It’s actually a two in one pattern, with a bonus extra large single block Flight II pattern that makes a 64″ quilt)  Over the years I made a few sample blocks, but I always wanted to make a large 9 block version.

I had a few sample blocks in solids, all made independently.  I decided to use them, however, and went through my stash of solids to make several more.  It’s a vibrant quilt, and the unexpected color combinations make me smile.  (They remind me of my Prosper in Solids quilt, but maybe even more bold.)  It’s SO much fun to play with color and see how they all interact with each other.  That interaction, and observing what takes center stage, is one of my most favorite things about quilting.  I get to experiment endlessly, and learn from all of it.  Color is such a great teacher!

I’m currently brainstorming how to quilt this.  It could be fun to create something cool in the negative space.  I would also like to make the birds stand out, but perhaps a simple edge to edge design will prevail.  Either way, I’m excited to finish this large flight quilt top and have it begin the journey of memory making with my family!