Best of Butterfly Quilts

For the past two weeks we've been chasing butterflies (quilts, that is).  Out of dozens of butterfly quilt patterns, here are the ones we've picked as our favorites.  As a bonus, we're including photos of two lovely butterfly quilts we've spotted at quilt shows.  Perhaps you'll be inspired to create a butterfly for your own collection !

Above: Row 1:  Butterflies for Amy pattern and variations by Barbara Bieraugel at Barbara Bieraugel Designs. Row 2: Butterfly patterns by Diane McGregor at Castilleja Cotton. Row 3: Butterfly patterns by Sheril Drummond at Serendipity. Row 4: Butterfly patterns by Debra Gabel at Zebra Patterns.

Above:  Butterfly quilts by Nanette Merrill at Freda's Hive, Lisa Cox at A Spoonful of Sugar Designs, Michele Lancaster at Nostalgic Cafe and Kumiko Fujita.  For details and links to the original posts, see Quilt Inspiration:  Butterfly Quilts (and free block patterns!)

Flying Flower, 46 x 37, by Nancy Swanson, photo by Quilt Inspiration

We spotted this quilt at the 2011 Arizona Quilter's Guild show. Nancy Swanson's own photo from a butterfly house inspired her original design. The butterfly is more than 12" wide, allowing for the detailed treatment of the wings with raw-edged applique and thread painting.  The subtly textured background seems just right; it provides the textures of bark and leaves without detracting from the butterfly.  An embroidered spider and painted web enhance the interest of the design.

Swallowtail at Red Flowers, 68 x 60.5, by Deborah Theresa Bailey, photo by Quilt Inspiration

This original quilt by Deborah Theresa Bailey was exhibited at the 2010 Pacific International Quilt Festival. The quilt was machine pieced, hand appliqued, and machine quilted. With this ethereal image, Deborah invites us to escape into the world of a butterfly indulging on the nectar of life.

Close-up, Swallowtail at Red Flowers by Deborah Theresa Bailey
 

The intricate detail of the large butterfly can be seen in this close-up photo. Hand dyed and commercial fabrics were embellished with fabric and glimmer paints over 30% of the quilt. On a domestic machine, free motion organic echo quilting was done to compliment the curved piecing.

Image credits:  Quilts by Debra Gabel, Diane McGregor, Sheril Drummond, Barbara Bieraugel, Nanette Merrill, Lisa Cox and Michele Lancaster are shown with the generous permission of the artists. The close-up of the Japanese butterfly quilt with applique is shown with the permission of Kathryn Krentz.  The other quilt show photos are by Quilt Inspiration.

Butterfly Quilts by Diane McGregor

From Calgary, Canada, teacher and quilt artist Diane McGregor designs for her family-owned company, Castilleja Cotton. Castilleja is the Latin name for the Indian Paintbrush flower, which blooms in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Diane's home province.  The vibrant hues of this flower reflects Diane's passion for the colors and fabrics of her gorgeous art quilts.

Stained Glass Butterfly, 23 x 33 by Diane McGregor

Like all butterfly quilts on this page, this Stained Glass butterfly quilt pattern is available for purchase at Castilleja Cotton. It is made with the easy-to-learn fusible applique technique, which produces beautiful, quick results. (There are some good online tutorials for fusible applique, like the one at Connecting Threads.) Here, Diane has chosen radiant analogous colors of grape, red-violet, lavender, and magenta, which produce a great contrast against the icy blue-green background. However, you could also use a warm palette such as scarlet, rose pink, deep orange, and apricot against a lemon yellow or gold batik background.  For some help in learning to select fabrics, check out the Castilleja Cotton blog.

July Butterfly,  16.5 x 16.5 by Diane McGregor

Do you love to make textile art, but have only limited space for sewing ?  If that is the case, you can still turn out projects that make a high impact on your decor and display your personal taste in color and design. This July Butterfly pattern with its deep purple shades against a tropical, aqua and green hibiscus-splashed background, evokes memories of summer days near the ocean or lake. By using several other of Diane's patterns for dragonflies, flowers, mountains, or sea life, you can create a series of accent pillows or a wall montage of individual blocks.  Over 500 patterns on a wide range of subjects are available at Castilleja Cotton.

Artistic Butterfly, 19 x 19, by Diane McGregor

We love Diane's designs, and we think this butterfly is especially pretty ! Here's a wonderful way to use small pieces of your favorite brightly colored stash fabric in all sorts of unique color combinations. The muted, subdued, colors of the background really help the high-chroma, glowing colors of the butterfly pop right out. All of Diane McGregor's butterfly projects take small amounts of fabric and make beautiful wall hangings or quilts which will brighten up your home.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Diane McGregor.

Quilt Inspiration Classics: Easter Quilts

We've always had a soft spot for Easter, bunnies, and eggs. The quilts in this post first appeared on March 31, 2010, when we had about 7 followers... so you may not have seen these before!  This is one of our favorite posts from that year.

Egg cups quilt, ~ 20 x 30, by Jean Loken



We came across the beautiful quilt, above, and were impressed not only by the 18 different Delft style egg cups, but also by the colorful, three-dimensional lattice work. The quilt was made by the late Jean Loken, who generously shared the story with us in 2010: "It was from a Dutch company, and friends of mine imported some of their fabulous fabrics and wondered if anyone they knew would tackle a quilt with instructions in Dutch... I found a Dutch lady who translated it for me. Then I had to change the centimeters into inches that I could cut with a rotary cutter. The diamond intersections were harder than I thought they would be, but we love the quilt." You can read about Jean Loken, her life and her quilts, at SJ Loken. 

Garden Bunnies, 66 x 77, by Darcy Ashton at Ashton Publications




Darcy Ashton has created a series of wildly popular bunny patterns and quilts. This marvelous quilt features ten hand-appliquéd bunnies set among log cabin blocks, done in the colors of spring. The patterns for all of the bunnies - and for eleven different quilts featuring them - are in Bunnies & More, a book by Ashton Publications.

Baltimore Bunnies,64 x 79, by Anne Sutton for Bunny Hill Designs




The beautiful Baltimore Bunnies Quilt by Bunny Hill Designs has twelve different appliquéd blocks, in the style of an heirloom Baltimore album quilt. Two of the ornate blocks, which feature bunnies framed by flower wreaths, are shown above. Also check out these classic Bunny Hill patterns: Garden Bunny, Sugar Bunnies, The Bunny Run, The French Rabbits, and Rabbits Prefer Chocolate.

Bunny Medallion Quilt, by Darcy Ashton at Ashton Publications




The bright pink cabbage roses, above, provide the perfect backdrop for the little white bunny. The bunny is from Darcy Ashton's original Grandma's Bunnies book. Although the book itself is out of print, the loose-leaf collection of 30 rabbit patterns is still available. To order, see Ashton Publications' patterns page.

Bunnies & Egg, 18 x 19.5, by Diane McGregor at Castilleja Cotton



Three bunnies and an egg: do the math. In this whimsical mini quilt, the white bunnies peer out from behind a giant egg, while pink and red butterflies... flutter by. The pattern is available at Castilleja Cotton along with the adorable Bunny and Egg, below.

Image credits: Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.

A Gathering of Angels

Angels to watch over you, and angels to bring you messages of peace and love, at the holidays and throughout the New Year.  Here are patterns by talented artists who we have featured in 2011. Happy holidays to all of our fellow quilt lovers and blogger friends around the world.

Row 1: Let It Snow Angel by Diane McGregor at Castilleja Cotton;  Monterey Angel by Helene Knott as seen at Story Quilts; Angel of Light by Ravenwood Designs as seen at Quilters Treasure.
Row 2: Angel's Flight by Tracey Campbell at Top of the Range Designs; Flower Angel by Nina Lise Moen at Mrs. Moen Patterns; Winter Angel by Laurie Tigner at Laurie Tigner Designs
Row 3: Angel with Harp by Joan Bouwmeester and Debbie Bouwmeester-Fasek at Three Swans Studio; The Angel by Ursula Riegel at Designs to Share with You, wall hanging kit at Creative Quilt Kits

Everyone needs an angel

Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The word "angel" actually comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means 'messenger'. Certain angels have the task of protecting and guiding human beings. Diane McGregor, the owner of Castilleja Cotton, believes that everyone needs an angel. Therefore she has created over a dozen charming patterns for angels that appear in human form.

Let It Snow Angel, 16.5 x 21",  by Diane McGregor at Castilleja Cotton (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

With Diane's easy patterns you could have an angel for every season.  The collection includes an Autumn Garden Angel, Spring Garden Angel, Garden Angel and Star Flowers and Winter Angel.

Asian Angel quilt kit, 16.5" x 21", by Diane McGregor at Castilleja Cotton

The Asian Angel is one of the unusual angels you will find.  There is also a Cowgirl Angel, completely decked out in Western attire and hat.  Finally, here is Diane McGregor's original (2003) Angel Quilt Pattern, 18 x 15".

To find all of the angels simply type in "angel" in the search box at Castilleja Cotton.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Diane McGregor.  Castilleja (ka_steel_ya) is the Latin name for the Indian Paintbrush flower, which can be found in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Castilleja Cotton has been in business since 1993 and has an eclectic selection of nearly 500 quilt patterns and themes. You can also find Diane's beautiful and original art quilts at her Castilleja Cotton Shop on Etsy.

Easterly quilts

We've always had a soft spot for Easter, bunnies, and eggs. Judging from the fantastic variety of quilts we've found this spring, we're not alone!

Egg cups quilt, ~ 20 x 30, by Jean Loken


We came across the beautiful quilt, above, and were impressed not only by the 18 different Delft style egg cups, but also by the colorful, three-dimensional lattice work. The quilt was made by Jean Loken, who generously shared the story with us: "It was from a Dutch company, and friends of mine imported some of their fabulous fabrics and wondered if anyone they knew would tackle a quilt with instructions in Dutch... I found a Dutch lady who translated it for me. Then I had to change the centimeters into inches that I could cut with a rotary cutter. The diamond intersections were harder than I thought they would be, but we love the quilt." (And so do we!)

Garden Bunnies, 66 x 77, by Darcy Ashton


Darcy Ashton has created a series of wildly popular bunny patterns and quilts. The marvelous quilt above features ten hand-appliquéd bunnies set among log cabin blocks, done in the colors of spring. The patterns for all of the bunnies - and for eleven different quilts featuring them - are in Bunnies & More, a book by Ashton Publications.

Baltimore Bunnies,64 x 79, by Anne Sutton for Bunny Hill Designs




The beautiful Baltimore Bunnies Quilt by Bunny Hill Designs has twelve different appliquéd blocks, in the style of an heirloom Baltimore album quilt. Two of the ornate blocks, which feature bunnies framed by flower wreaths, are shown above. Also check out these classic Bunny Hill patterns: Garden Bunny, Sugar Bunnies, The Bunny Run, The French Rabbits, and Rabbits Prefer Chocolate.

Snuggly Bunnies, 33 x 43, as seen at Pipers Girls


These bunnies are all dressed up! The original design is by Bonnie Sullivan for All Through the Night. The quilt shown above was done in wool, with button and embroidery details. The pattern also contemplates cottons (we can imagine each bunny wearing a little plaid coat). The pattern is out of print, but a few hard-to-find copies are available at Pipers Quilt Shop. (If you happen to be in Salt Lake City, visit the real Pipers Quilts & Comforts).

Bunny Medallion Quilt, by Darcy Ashton


The bright pink cabbage roses, above, provide the perfect backdrop for the little white bunny. The bunny is from Darcy Ashton's original Grandma's Bunnies book. Although the book itself is out of print, the loose-leaf collection of 30 rabbit patterns is still available. To order, see Ashton Publications' patterns page.

Bunnies & Egg, 18 x 19.5, by Castilleja Cotton


Three bunnies and an egg: do the math. In this whimsical mini quilt, the white bunnies peer out from behind a giant egg, while pink and red butterflies... flutter by. The pattern is available at Castilleja Cotton. The design group at Castilleja Cotton has created nearly a dozen charming bunny and Easter patterns, so it was hard to pick a favorite. The Bargello Bunny with Butterflies quilt pattern was a close second.

Image credits and additional links:

Snuggly Bunnies, courtesy of Pipers Girls

Egg cup quilt, courtesy of Jean Loken

Baltimore Bunny, courtesy of Bunny Hill Designs.

Garden Bunnies and Bunny Medallion quilts, courtesy of Darcy Ashton and Ashton Publications

Bunnies & Egg, courtesy of Diane McGregor and Castilleja Cotton