Treats and noodles

I got some treats in the mail. Sew Sisters is a Canadian quilt shop (both online and bricks & mortar). Last weekend was their Bundle Bonanza. There were bundles of fat quarters at very reasonable prices and I just couldn't resist. The three bundles I ordered arrived yesterday! I think some of the browns will work their way into my Birds in the Loft hexagon quilt  and I have another quilt in mind for the other two bundles!

I had promised to write a post about how I keep track of the pieces that are to be sew together for the noodle that surrounded the medallion of my Birds in the Loft hexagon quilt.

The first step is to select ten pairs of rosettes. In the following diagram the pairs of rosettes are opposite each other on what will become the noodle. The 57s are at the top and the bottom, the 100s at the sides and so on. I will prepare one half noodle first and the other half will be a mirror image. I divide the pairs of rosettes into two identical piles of ten.

I arranged one set of ten rosettes in a pleasing colour order and when  happy with the arrangement I wrote the number on the paper to indicate its position in the noodle. I also added "R" for right to identify the side of the medallion where the rosette will be positioned. I then took the other pile of ten rosettes and numbered the mate to each rosette with the same number but added "L" for left.

I took all of the rosettes for the right side and added the background hexagons based on the following diagram. I then added the background hexagons to the rosettes for the left side and then set them aside.

Now I am ready to assemble the noodle. In the following picture you see rosettes 78 and 85 from the right side along with the connector piece.

I pin the brown connector piece to rosette 78 so that the pin is parallel to the seam that is to be stitched.

Rosette 85 will be moved over and pinned to the connector piece.

Once again the pin is parallel to the seam that is to be stitched.

I continue in this way with the remaining 8 rosettes and connector pieces for the right side of the noodle and then use the same process to pin the left side of the noodle. Finally the two halves of the noodle are pinned together. Once the noodle is pinned I stitch the seams as in the following picture! Easy!

Before I say cheerio for today I thought I would share some more of my rosettes! The fabric is the middle of the first rosette is from Hyggeligt Fabrics. It is called shweshwe and is produced in South Africa. If you've never seen it before it is absolutely fascinating. The fabric is 36" wide and it is stiff as a board because it is heavily starched as was done hundreds of years ago in preparation for shipping. I quick rinse in water removes the starch and you are left with a lovely cotton with gorgeous designs!

This is the second rosette. I'm not crazy about the centre hexagon but may learn to live with it! Time will tell.

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That's it for today so until I post again, happy sewing and cheerio!
Karen H