Block Love

I've been a little obsessed lately with an amazing little book that I found during a lunch hour trip to Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks back. I wound up ordering it through Amazon a few days later. The book is called Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix & Match, and it's full of 9" block patterns ranging from very basic to very intricate. I wouldn't say I'm "into" Asian decor or anything, but something about these blocks -- maybe the simplicity, the stark use of solid colors, the intricacy, the effect of repeated patterns -- really speak to me. I pored over this book while I was recovering from surgery and couldn't wait to make a few of the blocks. Well, this past weekend I was able to make four of them, and here they are:

All of the fabrics are from Amy Butler's solids line (which I also LOVE). With some cream sashing around each block, I think they will become my ALQS2 swap quilt ... well, that was my original intent, but I'm quite tempted to keep going and make myself a larger quilt from these blocks.