A little show of hexagon rosettes for Birds in the Loft

The next round of Birds in the Loft will be red. I found an old tone-on-tone red print that I thought would be perfect. I like tone-on-tone prints because they add texture and are not as flat as solids. I find that if I use a little bit of solid in quilt that is otherwise made of prints that my eye is drawn to the solid.

Here it is with the red round. It looks quite bright in the picture but it is slightly more muted. Before I go any further I plan to construct the centre unit with the birds and then applique it in place.

I've been cutting and basting the odd rosette that will be used once I've constructed the medallion. Most of them will be made in pairs. I started by cutting a 2 1/2" strip across the width of the fabric and that was more than enough for two rosettes with a little leftover.

Rosette 1 looks fussy cut and I suppose in part it is however the only fussy cutting was making sure that I placed the base of each hexagon in the same position on the print and I didn't worry about the sides or how they would connect.

Rosette 1

Although it may not appear so at first glance the gold fabric is a directional print. Take a close look at the little four pointed stars with the black centre and you can see the direction of the print. I made sure that the stars radiated out from the centre.

Rosette 2

I love stripes because they make for such dramatic blocks. The centre hexagon would have been better if the flower were more centered however I only had a small piece of this fabric so I did the best that I could with what I had on hand.

Rosette 3

Rosette 4 is yet another directional print that is a chevron design. The fabric is an old one, Malvern Hill from Henry Glass. I did fussy cut to be sure that the chevrons were in the same position to create the illusion of a star. To do this I lined up my paper hexagon at the part of the print that would be the point of the star and then made sure that the bottom edge of the paper was centered between the lines base of the print. I just eyeballed it and it worked out fine!

Rosette 4

This is yet another directional print and I think it is lovely and delicate. I had a fat quarter of the fabric in the middle and once I started using it I realized it is a great print with fabulous colour that combines a muddy background with barn red and a little pop of gold-orange in the squares. I found a store that carries it and I ordered another yard! The print is called Civil War Tribute by Judie Rothermel for Marcus and it is available from Log Cabin Quilt Shop.

Rosette 5

Time for me to get sewing so I'll have more to show you in the coming days! Until I post again happy sewing!
Karen H