Passing the Days: Days 50 and 51

The block I chose for Day 50, the beginning of week 8, made me think back to days spent with aunts and uncles.  It made me think of the smell of roses-which I associate with visits with my grandmother.  It made me think of beautiful floral prints on fabric.    Aunt Sukey's Choice is the name of the block.  
I dug into my scrap box and came across these two prints.  I usually like very simple background prints, but decided I wanted to see how this one would work.  And the border fabric could easily be fussy cut for the center square.

All I needed to add was a medium to carry the show and I found this one to be a perfect fit.

Here is what I ended up with.  Using the print for my background fabric does keep the medium pink from showing up so dramatically; giving the block an overall softness that I rather like for this one.  I wish I had a lot more of those fabrics as I think they would make a beautiful quilt.

For block 51 I have chosen Saint George's Cross.  My research showed that this is typically represented by the colors red and white and associated with the Crusades.  I just didn't want to go there so instead was inspired by this little Red-breasted Nuthatch that is a regular visitor to our yard.  I often see them in small flocks when we go for walks in the woods and their calls are special to me for that reason-they take my mind back to some of my very favorite places.  They are quite entertaining to watch as they go up and down feeding on our peanut feeder since upside down seems to be their preferred mode.  What is striking about this bird is that dark streak.  

So I went with  dark and medium Cerulean Blues to show off this block.

I could have used Half-square Triangles to make those corner units, but I really need to practice those Quick Corner Triangles some more.  I have not used this technique as much as the others and find that I am not always getting the perfect result I desire.  So that means I need to stop avoiding it and practice, practice, practice.  I have mentioned before that one of the tricks is to leave the base block underneath and only cut away the extra small triangle.  This does indeed ensure that your block stays squared although I do not like having the extra layer of fabric.  

I am pleased that three of my four came out perfectly.  The fourth was just a tad small.  I pulled out my Best Press and starched them this time and that did help.

Some of the construction of this block is similar to Block 50.  If you are finding it difficult to get those Flying Geese points to cooperate as you sew the two units together I recommend flipping them over so that the bulky seam is on the bottom.  

And, as always, sew slowly over those bulky seams when joining the block together.

​Click on the link below to find the pdf patterns for these blocks.
Passing the Days pdf patterns

I hope you have a blessed day.
​Happy Quilting!!