Birds in the Birch

I knew when I wrote the last post that I was missing a photo. Only one that I can remember now. So here it is on the right. I finally took a picture. I loved the cardinal/chickadee fabric. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't like novelty prints. Most are too cutesy for me, but this is on the elegant side.  I plan to finish it up for my living room in the winter.

The pattern shown here, Midnight Express, is from my book, S is for Scraps. It's the pattern I used for the Birds in the Birch above. When I designed the quilt I thought the big gray squares would be a good place to showcase either pretty quilting design or a picture print like the birds above. I didn't like the idea of the birds with the scraps, but I'm sure the right cute fabric would still work with scraps. Ugh. So many ideas, so little time. Yes The book is still available from me for $15.00 plus $7 for postage. It's rare that I do the same pattern twice, but if I like it I will and good at lectures.

Next up is the Monkey Wrench quilt in browns and pinks. Recently I've been interested in reversing the position of the lights and darks in blocks. In other words, use a dark print in the area we usually call "the background". In this case I chose to mix up the prints of one color per block because I was cutting into a charm pack and couldn't get all the pieces for one block from the 5" squares. I made 6" blocks for this quilt. I want to throw this one on my dining room table and see how I feel about the size. I usually use square quilts on the table and sometimes I wish they covered the whole table top. I don't want them hanging over  the edge.  We'll see.

I have made the Monkey Wrench before. Maybe you know this block by the name Hole in the Barn Door. These are 5" blocks, made back in the day when I hand quilted. I bet this is over 30 years old.I see it's starting to sag and fade. Good excuse to make a replacement for that spot.

I'm going to plan to link up to a few linky parties. It's a good time for blog hopping.
Oh Scrap!
Design Wall Monday