Butterfly quilt

Well, I did it again. With all the open projects I have staring me in the face, I up and started a new one! It's hopeless. It seems that I am incapable of saying "well, I'll put this in the drawer and work on it after this, that and the other are complete". Nope. Can't.

I bought the butterfly fabric yesterday and I was so psyched about making the butterfly blocks that I had to try it out. I traced each butterfly design (there were 14 different butterflies) on parchment paper and figured out how much space to add around each one. Then, I added seam allowances. Using the templates, I could map how many of each design I could cut out in an area. I marked the corners of the template on the reverse side and used a ruler to draw the template boundaries. This method allowed me to make the best use of the fabric, since cutting out one of the shapes often would impact using the adjacent butterfly. Maximizing the number of patches I could generate from my yardage, I cut out 50 butterfly patches, ranging in size from 2 1/2" x 3" to 6 1/2" x 7". All are rectangular but vary in size proportionate to the butterfly design. Each will be sashed on all four sides using one of five coordinating fabrics and trimmed to 8 1/2". The completed blocks will be randomly interspersed with solid 8 1/2" square blocks of the coordinating fabrics. The border will consist of a 2" strip of crosswise stripes and a 6" strip of coordinating blue floral print. The binding will be the stripe, cut on the bias. The quilt will be 64" x 72", with a strip of patchwork design on the back as well.

So far, 10 blocks are completed. I will use anywhere from 25 to 30 on the quilt depending on what it looks like when assembled on my "horizontal design wall" --- i.e., the guest bed! The remaining butterfly patches will probably find their way into a Linus quilt.

This is a very vibrant, visually interesting design which is also very easy to do and quick to make. I'm certain I didn't invent it but I can't for the life of me remember where I saw it.