Sunday, May 15, 2016

Butterfly Garden - A Finish!


Butterfly Garden
78 x 87
Hand quilted

It's a Finish!



Based on the pattern Follow the Sun from Adding Layers by Kathy Doughty


I have a lot of butterfly themed fabrics and I thought this would be a fun way to use them. 

I used regular hand quilting thread in different colors to stitch around most of the butterflies in the circles. 


I used perle #8 in navy to stitch 1/4 inch outside all of the star points - both the smaller ones directly around the circle (here in aqua floral) and...

...around the outside larger star points (here in yellow floral). 

I used Lizbeth 20 wt threads in different colors and leaf and flower templates for hand stitching in the sashings.  I'm not sure what the green thread was that I used for the leaves but I think it's some sort of old crochet cotton I picked up at the thrift store in a bag of different threads 

The actual stitching doesn't show up much but I know it's there and it has some incredible texture. 


I started out making blocks with that darker floral fabric but ran out so substituted some dark background butterfly fabric.  (I usually never make sure I have enough fabric before I just start in making blocks so my quilts often have "substitute fabrics" here and there). I used the darker fabric in the blocks to represent the shady parts of a garden and the lighter overall floral are the sunny spots. 

I used a different dark (shady) overall large floral for the binding.  

I used this fabric for the backing. I don't remember when I bought or the designer/maker but I'm sure it was on sale or I wouldn't have bought enough for a backing. Anyway, it sure has a silky feel to it.  I like how there are little bits of color here and there from the hand quilting. 


I like the backside almost as much as the front. 

This is the end result of many months of Slow Sunday (and Saturday and Friday...) Stitching so I'm hanging out with other Slow Stitchers today at Kathy's Quilts. 


for

25 comments:

Quilter Kathy said...

WOW! Congratulations on another terrific finished quilt!
I love the stitching texture that you can see on the back of the quilt!
You are a quilting machine!

The Cozy Quilter said...

Just beautiful! Congrats on a great finish!

Denise :) said...

Whoa! What a gorgeous quilt! I had to laugh when I saw your comment about the back, because when I got to that picture (before I saw what you'd written) I thought, "Wow! How beautiful is that backing!!" LOL! I'm sure you are incredibly pleased and excited for this finish -- it's a real winner! :)

gayle said...

Oh, that is just flat-out gorgeous! Even the back is perfect!
Who knew butterflies could make me drool?

Deb said...

This quilt is just breathtaking, I love butterfly fabric and you have a great selection. I love your use of different color threads for your quilting and the backing is a perfect choice. What a terrific quilt to have finished.

The Crafty Creek said...

Stunning quilt, and the backing fabric is perfect :-)

Monica said...

Wow, Cathy, it's spectacular! I love the block design, and all the beautiful saturated colours. You must be thrilled with this one!

Julianne said...

You are an artist! This is amazingly beautiful!

Magpie Sue said...

I am so glad I was late to the link-up party for RSC so I could see this beauty too! WONDERFUL! I love that you had to use substitute prints; I work the same way and love the whimsy it adds to a quilt. And all that hand quilting! Just wonderful. {happy sigh}

Deb A said...

What a beautiful quilt!

CathieJ said...

Butterfly Garden is beautiful and I do love that backing fabric.

Kathy S. said...

The floral fabric that you used for the sashing is just perfect for this quilt. Congrats on a beautiful finish.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That is just beautiful! Such bright, rich colors. I'm thinking it must be very fun to look at all the different butterfly fabrics in person!

Janie said...

Fabulous!! I do like butterflies. Colors are gorgeous and that backing!!

Nancy said...

Beautiful! I like how you increased the width of the inner sashing to make the quilt wider. I struggle with having long, narrow quilts, and this is a great idea to extend the width.
--Nancy. (ndmessier @ aol.com, joyforgrace.blogspot.com)

Linda said...

What a gorgeous quilt! Love the fabrics, the colours and your execution is perfect.

Ellen said...

Congratulations on finishing your beautiful quilt - it truly is fantastic!

Cathy said...

Oh my, it's spectacular! I LOve it - it looks so bohemian!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Vic in NH said...

Your bold use of colors and patterns never cease to amaze and amuse me. Your style is all your own and it is smashing all the rules. Great finish!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

What an absolutely beautiful quilt - it is definitely Mary Poppins! Practically Perfect in Every Way. What a change you've made from her original quilt!

Kaja said...

Oh boy! I knew this would be great but it is spectacular! I love all the different butterflies, the spread of light and shade across the top. I love the intensity of the colours and the sashing fabrics, and how the vertical sashing is wider than the horizontal. And great backing fabric - you could have the back side on display quite easily.

Lara B. said...

So fabulous Cathy! It took my breath away!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful quilt! I love how you quilted this with "chunkier" threads!! Do you ever run into problems with washing quilts when using these threads? I have quite a stash of Valdini threads and you have inspired me to change my ideas about how I "quilt" my quilts (sending it off to my longarm specialist)! Thanks for the inspiration.

Nicky said...

What an amazing quilt! You have been busy. Thank you for participating in the 2016FAL, on behalf of all the hosts

Maryse said...

What a beautiful quilt, the colors are fantastic!!