Hive 4 , October Tutorial for Cowboy/ Fishing/Man's Themed Library Block

My block started with the purchase of a fat quarter bundle themed for cowboys for my seven year old grand nephew.  Great idea until I learned he is a very accomplished, competitive dirt bike rider, so suddenly the cowboy idea seemed far too juvenile for this young man.  Three years later, when trying to figure out what block to make as Queen Bee, it occurred to me that my 80 year old uncle is a vociferous reader of western paperbacks.  When I mean prolific, I mean he reads hundreds of them yearly!  He would be so tickled to have a western themed library quilt to use when he sits in his favorite chair on his front porch reading.  If you can't find any scraps that might match that theme, throw in some fishing or golf--two of his other favorite hobbies.  Or anything manly-- no pinks, no purples.  There is a good tutorial at https://www.craftsy.com/blog/?s=library+block, Blog Home/Quilting Blog/Make a Library Books Quilt Block for NaNoWriMo to make the basic block  There is another at Fabricatwork.com in the Bookcase Quilt Instructions which has examples of stacking the books horizontally or to create leaning books.  Please feel free to be as creative as you like.

Here's my fabric pick and pictures of how I put my block together.  I see I'm using a lot of fall colors now that I look at the picture.  Fall is in full swing here in northern Wisconsin but use any bright colors you have as our background color is black.

I cut strips between 1.5 inches and .2.5 inches wide and between 4-10 inches tall.  Arrange them on a piece of black fabric 13.5 inches x 8 inches and chain stitch.  Cut your strips and keep them in the same order that you laid them out.  Iron seams to the dark side and sew strips together.  Trim the block o 12.5 inches square.  Walla!

Thank you for contributing o this project.  I really enjoyed being part of the Stashbees this year and with the very talented ladies in Hive 4.  Your blocks were fun, including the paper pieced block which stretches my boundaries.  I'll be doing more.