Monarch Butterfly - Animal Quilts Blog Hop -

To say the patterns in Juliet van der Heijden’s new Animal Quilts book are spectacular is the understatement of 2017. I was blown away by the artistry and clear thoughtfulness of each of the patterns, but knew right away that I had to make the Monarch Butterfly. My best friend Jennifer and I have a thing with butterflies and each time we see one its like she’s seeing her father and I’m seeing my sister, both of whom have passed away. And I haven’t show this to her either, so Jen if you’re reading this Helena has already claimed it and she’s a feisty one.

When making animal projects, I’m a big fan of pulling inspiration from nature for the colors, but finding a non-traditional color story. For this one, I went the Blue Morpho route, but went with the teal-turquoise gradient instead of cobalt in Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements because it’s my favorite. These are the specific colors that I used in the quilt: Tile Blue, Cozumel Blue, Mirage Blue, Fresh Water, Icy Mint, Lavander Water (Background), Caviar & Snow.

Not that I really had any doubt with this pattern and color combination, but once I had finished the first half of a wing I knew that this quilt was going to be beyond.

And here she is all stitched up with nowhere to go because I’m totally waiting for more of the more background fabric to make a full quilt for Helena before quilting.

And since it’s Friday in New Zealand, which is where Juliet resides, I’ve decided to post right now because I couldn’t wait any longer. To get your copy of the book, head here. And make sure to check out all of the amazing quilts from the talented makers below.