Sew Sisters Sale and more hexagon rosettes

There is a real shortage of quilt shops where I live so I often have to buy online. I love the variety of fabrics and shops but the shipping charges can really drive up the price of fabric. For Canadian quilters I thought I would share a wonderful sale that is on at Sew Sisters Quilt Shop on March 16 and 17 - FREE SHIPPING in Canada! On March 18 and 19 the special is $10 off your order and the third deal is on March 20 and 21st when you will get 25% off one item! I just might do some shopping this week!

However before I go shopping I have a few more hexagon rosettes for my Birds in the Loft quilt that I am working on. I had enough fabric to make six of the darker red hexagons so I divided them into two groups of three and I added three paprika coloured hexagons. I decided to make the centres different. There was no particular reason for this decision - I just felt like it! The bee fabric in the lower rosette was given to me by a Guild member. She got it in Japan!

This green fabric was a scrap in a grab bag. I cut carefully and was able to get two rosettes out if it! I love strong patterned prints like this because I can use the landmarks on the prints to line up my hexagons for fussy cutting. In this instance the print was nice and clear on the wrong side so the placement and cutting of the hexagons was quick and easy! It is the same as the method I described here however I could see the print on the back so it eliminated a step!

It is the same as the method I described here however I could see the print on the back so it eliminated a step! In this picture you can see how I lined up my paper templates on the landmarks.

I had a strip of black and white fabric in one of the scrap boxes but was only able to cut eight hexagons. I knew I had more of the fabric but just couldn't find it so I added four hexagons cut from a fabric of similar colour and value to make the bottom rosette. Wouldn't you know it......after I made that rosette I found the fabric! Oh well, I like the mixed up block anyway!

I know what I plan for the border and have selected the fabrics. The first step is to make test blocks to make sure that the fabrics work well together and that they will work with the quilt. This is the first test block. I used my "made fabric" method to make the pieced hexagons. I think that this colour combination will be fine but I'll sit with it a bit before I make the final decision.

I've still got one more rosette to make. I've selected the fabrics but not yet made the rosette. I will share that with you soon!

It is time for me to get a wiggle on so until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

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.

I reply to every comment so if you don't hear back from me it means you have set up your profile so that your email address is not made public and as such I have no way to thank you for taking the time to comment! Rest assured that I do appreciate the time that you take to read my blog!

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