My Two Cents Worth for Flora

 Flora wrote:
 Not sure I'm done with this one yet.  I did finally post pictures of what I have been working  on my blog http://florasbeecrazyquilter.blogspot.com 

I'd love a little advice on what to do with that bare brown corner. I was thinking of putting a bird in a nest there to complementing the bird  button on the other side but I don't know!

  Gerry Help!

Oh my goodness Flora... you have one gorgeous block going here...  Your choice of image is delightful and so is the bird button... The combination of  the browns with the blues is really working and there's a lot of contrasts in texture and patterns in your fabrics.

I think the idea of a bird in a nest is a great idea because, as you mentioned,  it would complement the bird button.  But if you stuck it in the corner brown patch it would be corralled by that curved seam. and isolated from the block...  But if you perch the nest just above the patch on a branch..  it becomes a working element in the block and part of a path that moves your eye around the block...

Then you are still left with that brown patch and I'd recommend expanding your seam treatment right down into that patch to give it both texture and interest...  The last post I talked about scale and this could be a problem here....  You want to keep the bird on the nest larger than the button but smaller than the silkie... 

Remember my motto.... CQ is a pleasing arrangement of parts to their whole and to each other... Well as I looked at the block I am immediately drawn to the large beads upper right... At first I thought they were hearts but looking closer I think they are leaves... They don't relate to anything else on the block and overwhelm both the silkie and the block.  I would recommend removing them... Here is how it looks without them... right away the silkie gains importance which is why you chose it in the first place...

So what to do with that corner...?. well you need to look back into the block and you have lots to choose from... There is the oval laced collar on the lady and that shape in lace would be exquisite there...  Perhaps you could have a paisley or a fan overlapping the lace.  I notice that two of your patches have lovely paisley detail....why not use it as inspiration... One of my favorite things on this block is the incredible seam by the birds...  Those stitches and colors repeated would make an elegant fan that suits the block.. Anyway Flora whatever you do I want to see it when finished.... Okay?

And that's