Round 2 for the parrot medallion is underway

And so round two of rosettes for my parrot medallion hexagon quilt begins. I want to add a round of rosettes to the medallion but I want to create a unique effect with these rosettes.

I have two strips of leftovers from Birds in the Loft. The rosettes will eventually surround the parrot medallion but for now what I want is to remove the stars. There is one star at either end of each strip so I've got four of them to work with.

I like to construct my quilts in sections. I start with small sections and then combine them to make a larger section. So to begin round two for the parrot medallion I made four rosettes using two toffee coloured fabrics. I added a dot print centre. It is the same print I used in the middle of the cream rosettes that surround the parrot. It is good to repeat prints in this way because it gives the quilt a more cohesive and planned look. I stitched four dark brown hexagons into a "V" shape and added it to the toffee rosette.

I made a unit out of seven dark cream hexagons and will stitch it to the toffee rosette. The dark cream fabric is darker than the cream fabric in the leftover strips from Birds in the Loft. I am hoping that this subtle different will add some depth and dimension to my quilt. The only place I will use this cream print is in this round of rosettes.

The last step to complete this rosette is to make a pair of "parenthesis" from an olive brown print and stitch them to either side. That's one down (almost) and three  more to go!

I'll need two rosettes made from the dark brown print and the olive-brown print. Once again I repeated the dot print in the middle of the rosette.

I stitched three dark brown hexagons and three olive-brown hexagons. They will attach to the top of the rosette as indicated below. Does this look goofy? Well hang on a minute because it will get better!

I next made a "V" with three brown hexagons and another with three olive-brown hexagons. They will be stitched to the bottom of the rosette. Can you see how the colours appear to be intertwined? That's is what I am trying to achieve by using the two colours, dark brown and olive-brown!

I next stitched two hexagons from the red print on ecru fabric that I used in the first round of rosettes and to each I added a cream hexagon (the same fabric that surrounded the first rosette in this post).

And with two of the stars I'll make these units. The stars are surrounded by the dark cream and there is one red print on ecru hexagon at the bottom.

I'll need to create some connector units made of two or three hexagons to join all of the units I've made today. I also need to add a round of hexagons to the two remaining stars. Lots of sewing to do. Also I realized that I need seventeen pairs of rosettes to make up the background. I really enjoy making the rosettes so it isn't a hardship! Sew, sew, sew!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H