Some progress and some ramblings

I finally got around to pressing my blocks for the Rural Jardin quilt. I still don't have my design wall, so here are the blocks laid out on the floor. I tossed the blocks in the air to get some randomness and laid them out. I haven't looked at them long enough to figure out if I like it or not. I don't want it to look too red, white and blue. I think I am going to mix up the lights and darks. Or should I keep some order and keep the darks always towards one side?

The third volume of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks is out and several of the bloggers I follow had blocks. Vickie Eapen at Spun Sugar Quilts had a block that caught my eye. She suggested using novelty fabrics and I immediately thought of fabric that I have been sitting on since Christmas. My niece likes horses and I took a trip to the Fabric Shack and picked up horse-y fabric. It was pretty, but I had no idea what to do with it. I picked up some Fig Tree Dandelion Girl on clearance at my LQS to add to it. If I use this block, I just need to get a solid/tonal. I want it to be girly, but not excessively so. I am leaning towards a green. I will need to audition greens.
I have gone back to some unfinished projects. Memorial Day is just around the corner and I don't have an Americana quilt for the summer. I am using Flag Day Farm to make the same pattern as my Persuasion quilt. I've done all the cutting and I am hoping to piece it during the next Friday Night Sew In, which is a week from Friday.

Work is getting crazy, but I am hoping to keep sewing as a means to keep my sanity.