My mother made a state bird quilt for me. Instead of doing sashing, we used solid blocks to fill in between (like a checker board) That works out even for 50 birds. Five birds, four solid blocks the same size in the first row; Four birds, five solid blocks in row 2, etc. I think on state bird quilts she made with sashing, she put 8 rows of 6 birds in the center of the quilt and the two "leftover" birds in the bottom corners of the wide borders.