Birds in the Air Block Challenge - Fabric Pull

Welcome to November (can it really be November already?) and a new block re-imagination challenge!  The Birds in the Air is another one of my favorite blocks. It is incrediably versatile and you can be as planned or as scrappy as you want with your color placement.  I look forward to reimagining it this month.  

In case you aren't familiar with the Birds in the Air block, here is what it looks like.  

Basically it is a group of smaller half-square triangle units that when pieced together form one half of a larger half-square triangle unit.  That sounds simple enough - doesn't it?   

This week, I'm sharing my fabric pull for this block and I'm using Christmas / winter prints.  I've been using fall prints for my last few challange quilts and well, to be totally honest, I'm ready for a change of view!     

Our decor doesn't lend itself to the traditional Christmas red, green and gold colorway so I'm mixing things up a bit and using a some deeper colors that aren't as traditional and will fit more of a winter theme.   

I sorted thru my stash and found a gorgeous poinsettia print with deep red and dark gray.  I'm thinking fussy-cut!  I'm pairing it with a deeper red fabric and a bit of aqua.  I'm thinking some more gray will get added as an accent too.  Don't freak out, I'm not sure the aqua is staying in the mix ... it might get deleted or more aquas added!  Yes, even though I design patterns for a living, this is pretty much the process I go through each time - adding, subtracting and swapping out fabrics til I get the look I want!   This month you are seeing the preliminary pull not the final cut :) 

If you have been following along, a group of quilt pattern designers are challenging each other to re-imagine and re-interpret a traditional quilt block.  Here are links if you want to take a look at the quilts I made during the Snowball Block Challenge, the Rail Fence Block Challenge, the Pinwheel Block Challenge, the Log Cabin Block Challenge, the Churn Dash Block Challenge, the Five Patch Chain Block Challenge, the Ocean Waves Block Challenge, the Strip Star Block Challenge and the Dutchman's Puzzle Block Challenge.  I have free patterns available for the quilts I made in the Rail Fence block challenge and Log Cabin block challenge.  Links are in the respective blog posts.  

Each Monday in November, the participating designers are sharing about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers.  Each of us are sharing our fabric pull and / or color scheme on Monday November 1st.  

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@southwind_quilts

@masterpiecequilting 

@megschoicepatterns

@sue_duckcreekquilting

@crafttowardsjoy

An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:

#birdsintheairblockchallenge

#birdsintheairquiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Novemberblockchallenge

#Novembdesignerblockchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks

I can't wait to see what everyone is selecting for their fabrics and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.

If you are wondering what a finished quilt looks like with the Birds in the Air block, check out my Barn Raised Birds quilt. This stash friendly version was made with batik fabrics and is a best selling pattern.

I have both print (shipping included!) and PDF digital download patterns available for this quilt in my Etsy shop - get yours today.

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