Darting Birds

What a sweet block.  The Brackman 'Encyclopedia' attributes the block name to Nancy Page, dating it to 1920 - 1940.  I used a Grace's Garden charm pack by Betsy Chutchian for piecing.  The large florals from the collection were lovely and I wish I had purchased some yardage when the line was current. There was inventive cutting involved to get the pieces required from the 5" fabric squares.  I've often purchased charm packs for small quilts to facilitate a color theme.  This is my first piece using a charm pack.  It took three design ideas to action that plan - finite amounts in specific fabrics was a challenge.  I didn't use the solid squares from the pack (and there were about 10 from the pack of 42 squares).  I added three large square pieces to complete the top.  This added fabric looks best with a brown border, so I'm waiting for access to my stash.  I love the motion created where four pieced blocks float around a center square.

I completed the alphabet sampler I've been working on.  The chart is attributed to German printer Johann Schonsperger (1455 - 1521).  I questioned the absence of the letter 'J' when the letter 'S' was duplicated.  An online search cleared the mystery - a clear distinction between 'I' and 'J' was made in 1524 by the Italian grammarian Gian Giorgio Trissino.  I didn't find a clear answer as to why 'U' was missing (unless it's part of the 'W') or why 'W' appears before 'V'.  I included the 1520 date to remind me of the timeframe of the chart.  Luckily, I used a color catcher in the bowl I cleaned the sampler in - that red was not colorfast!  I have a dark wood frame waiting for some attention before framing.

My cigar box of 'pieces and parts' is filling up.  Scrappy stars in my future!