Saturday 18 May 2013

BQF Applique Quilt: Fluttering By

I made Fluttering By for my Gran. Gran taught me how to do English paper piecing when I was in my teens - unwittingly setting me on the path to quilt addiction. I've now been quilting over half my life!

After Gran moved to a smaller home several years ago, we decided she needed a new quilt for her smaller, single (twin) bed. That it would feature butterflies was a foregone conclusion. Any letter from Gran is instantly recognisable even by my children, by the flock of butterfly stickers she adds!

I had Vicki Welsh custom-dye the wide fabric for me in a gradient of Gran's favourite greens and turquoises. All the butterflies are cut from my considerable stash of Vicki's hand-dyed gradient fabrics, too.

I found a selection of butterfly silhouettes online and printed them out in several sizes, then traced lots and lots of them onto Lite Steam-a-seam2 - from memory the quilt has 137 appliqued butterflies!

It took a while to position them to my satisfaction, then I fused them in place before sandwiching the quilt. They're free-motion appliqued in place, and I went around each one twice, using matching Aurifil threads. By doing this after sandwiching, the applique stitches are also quilting. While appliqueing the butterflies, I added the antennae. There's also one wholecloth butterfly, for something a bit different.

Once all the butterflies were done, I quilted some feather plumes in the large open spaces, then filled the rest of the space with a free-hand swirly design which worked well in all the odd spaces.

I finished by binding with the main fabric. I'd carefully cut what I needed for the top leaving enough spare all around for the binding. I flipped it so the turquoise section is at the bottom, against the green, and vice versa.

Size: Approx 66x82in

Finished: 2012
Techniques: Machine applique, free-motion quilting
Design: original


This is my entry in the Applique quilt category of the May 2013 Blogger's Quilt Festival.

52 comments:

sherry said...

what a lovely gift for your gran

Karen said...

This is one of the most beautiful butterfly quilts I've seen. They are one of my favourites. Your Gran must love to go to sleep under this. Thanks for sharing. Karen

vexa said...

It is breathtaking. Lovely!

Anne D said...

What a stunning quilt. It is beautiful.

Seams Sew Together said...

Gorgeous colours and the quilting is fabulous, you gran must be very proud.

Sandy said...

Oh my! I love the feeling of floating away with the colorful butterflies.

Julie in GA said...

Your butterfly quilt is just gorgeous! Good luck in the festival.

Little Island Quilting said...

I am in awe of your quilting. Beautiful quilt.

CitricSugar said...

The quilting on this is unreal.

I'm always amazed by the stuff you do!

Beausoleil Quilts said...

Wow! This is beautiful. The quilting is perfect for it.

Lonci said...

Very nice quilt, congratulation:)))

Karen @dixielandcrafts said...

Beautiful quilt... I love how it looks like butterfly dreams. I'm sure your Gran loved it.

Karen @dixielandcrafts said...

Beautiful quilt... I love how it looks like butterfly dreams. I'm sure your Gran loved it.

Karen @dixielandcrafts said...

Beautiful quilt... I love how it looks like butterfly dreams. I'm sure your Gran loved it.

buttercup said...

beautiful quilt and possibly more appropriate than you realised. Apparently when Quaker youth want to do something nice for someone they imagine the most beautiful butterly, fill it with love and send it to the recipient. Your quilt is filled with love big time. Anona

buttercup said...

beautiful quilt and possibly more appropriate than you realised. Apparently when Quaker youth want to do something nice for someone they imagine the most beautiful butterly, fill it with love and send it to the recipient. Your quilt is filled with love big time. Anona

charlotte said...

This is such a beautiful quilt, words escape me. Love it! Your gran is a lucky woman.

Unknown said...

Simply gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Wow!! I so luv this quilt. It has appeared on my page at a very special time in my life. 7 yrs ago 2day, my gorgeous grand daughter was born. Sadly we lost her at 6mths of age. At her good bye my daughter, partner & eldest grand daughter released butterfly's.
Now when ever I see Butterflies I know she is watching over me...
Thank you for showing this gorgeous quilt...
Happy 7th Birthday my sweet girl..xo

Karen said...

This is delightful. The dyed fabrics are beautiful and perfect for butterflies. Your quilting is amazing. This is a stunning quilt.

Anonymous said...

Hi! You have made amazing quilt! It is so beautiful, I love the colours and different shapes of butterflies!

Rachaeldaisy said...

Your beautiful quilting brings those butterflies to life.

Newbie Jen said...

just stunning!

Anonymous said...

This whole quilt shimmers and glows and moves, as if the butterflies are resting a moment before they take off. Thank you for sharing in the BQF.

Katy Cameron said...

Love the flock of flutterbys, and the quilting is fab :o)

DuAnne said...

You did a beautiful job on this quilt. I just love the design.

SarahZ said...

This is so gorgeous, and so sweet!

Margaret said...

Wow! My children also knew when something came from Nana--for the same reason. Truly beautiful and thanks for sharing.

Aoife said...

This is such a beautiful quilt! I'm so glad I've gotten to see it :)

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What a beautiful quilt and love your feather quilting!

Renee said...

Stunning quilt! The butterflies and the quilting are gorgeous!

sarah elizabeth :: {no} hats said...

What a sweet and whimsical quilt!!

Robin said...

Just lovely! The design is so striking and the quilting is absolutely beautiful. You did a beautiful job!

Quilt+Bitch said...

Beautiful, wordless. I love the quilting.

Amy said...

It is stunning! What gorgeous quilting!

Casey York said...

This is just jaw-dropping. What a wonderful tribute to and gift for your grandmother. Beautiful work!

Mara said...

WOW, that's all I can say!

Elita@Busy Needle Quilting said...

Absolutely stunning work Emma! I am speechless. :-)

beaquilter said...

gorgeous quilt I voted for you

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Love your quilt, it will get my vote!

Cynthia said...

Beautiful quilt! The butterflies are perfect and the quilting is great! Nice job!

Scrapatches said...

Beautiful! ... :) Pat

FabricDonkey said...

This is simply stunning! The quilting is gorgeous and is very much a part of the quilt design. Beautiful work!

purduepam said...

What a great quilt. So much thought went into all the choices.

Di said...

A true labour of love. Gorgeous design, beautiful colours, and stunning quilting (your feathers are to-die-for!).

Vicki said...

Where does one begin? The colors are amazing, the placement of each butterfly is perfect, the quilting is beyond beautiful and the pride in your voice speaks volumes! One lucky gran...

Jean said...

This is absolutely beautiful. I love everything about it!

jeifner said...

She must have been thrilled! The butterflies look great.

Cindy said...

Absolutely gorgeous! What a special gift you created.

DeborahGun said...

stunning :-)

Quilterbell said...

~Gorgeous!!!!!

Grit said...

Congratulation !!!! Your quilt is so fantastic.
Greetings from Germany, Grit