an oakshott medallion {un rubis pour moi!}

After much anticipation, these lovelies showed up in last week's mail.  (For all you statesiders searching for a U.S. distributor, I *highly* recommend pinwheels, by the way.  Limited selection but excellent service!)

For a moment, all I could do was stare at the little stack in all its glory.  Before they arrived, I'd seen plenty of these fabrics on my computer screen (I'm a loyal—albeit unsuccessful—proposer for Lily's Quilts monthly "Made with Oakshott" challenge; besides that, this, this, this, and this have been particularly enticing).  

But in person, they really are... well, something else entirely ;)

So, what to do with these radiant ruby reds?  Quilt a little jewelry for myself, of course ;)

Now normally when I paper piece, I'm incredibly generous with seam allowances because, let's be real, seam ripping doesn't exactly do wonders when you're trying to work at a quick clip.  But with these luscious shot cottons, there is no flipping way I am going to cut willy nilly in any sort of a hurry.  On the plus side, it means I will {finally} be able to give a more accurate estimate for how much fabric one 20" gemstone requires ;)

Aside from the center stone, I'm thinking this is prime "medallion" material.  So far I've jotted down an array of possible border ideas.  The running list includes:

*equilateral triangles
*HSTs
*spikes
*flying geese
*teeny tiny stars } clearly this isn't a rush job ;)  ...yet.
*squares/rectangles
*marcelle pluses
*Play Crafts broken herringbone design
*Sew What Sherlock? arrows
*pretty much any of these {omigah}
*AMH feathers (these have been on my wish list since they were featured in quilty last winter, but I still might hold out to create a quilt inspired by this design)
*and maybe (maybe!) some applique (à la tile quilts or anything material obsession)

Any other border suggestions out there?!  The jury is still out on whether to limit the borders to oakshott + neutrals (solids or prints?), or throw in some ruby-hued prints (or just solids? or both?) from my stash.  I'm thinking a mix of prints with oakshotts sprinkled throughout would be fun (and would help stretch the itty bitty stack to a cozy-sized quilt!)

Decisions, decisions, decisions...  I'd love your advice on borders, solids, prints and the whole lot ;)

WIP Wednesday  {in spirit ;)} + thursday threads + Quiet Play's paper piecing party