Butterfly Haven Blog Hop

I was invited to participate in a Blog Hop featuring the Butterfly Haven fabric line.  Butterfly Haven is a signature collection by Jerry Khiev for Jennifer Thomas of Curlicue Creations.  I had already worked with this stunning collection for my Island Batik November Dresden Blog Hop. I was excited to join in another event showcasing this beautiful fabric.

The materials for this quilt were generously provided to me by Curlicue Creations and Island Batik. Their industry partners also contributed; they include Aurifil Thread, Studio 180 Designs, and Hobbs Batting.

I brainstormed new layout ideas. I remembered a quilt I attempted to make years ago when I was just starting in quilting. It was a Hunter’s Star. Back then, I didn’t realize how crucial it was to square up each piece as you go. That quilt never got finished because it ended up so out of shape. To this day, it still sits in a small tub in my sewing studio.

I used Electric Quilt 8 to arrange the blocks for the quilt. I also imported the fabrics to get a sense of how the design would come together. I decided to use Flour for this quilt. It is a lighter fabric from Island Batik. I chose it instead of the black I used in my first Butterfly Haven quilt.

Hunter’s Star is made up of three different blocks. It features a simple 4-patch, along with two nearly identical blocks that are mirrored versions of each other.

I created 8-at-a-time Half Square Triangles (HST) and some 4-at-a-time, resulting in a total of 384 HSTs. I had so many squares to trim. I used the Tucker Trimmer I from Studio 180 Designs. This made trimming the squares quick and easy before pressing them open. This ruler was a game changer, allowing me to efficiently finish all the HSTs.

Next, I sorted the HSTs into 24 groups of 16. I laid them out on my table. This ensured that each group had only one of each fabric in the design. From there, I worked with the individual stacks to form the two different directional stars. I tackled one row at a time and alternated with the 4-patch blocks between the stars.

It’s important to pay attention to the direction of the stars. In my case, the last two rows ended up with identical stars. After sewing the rows together, I had to disassemble one. I needed to correct the mistake.

For the layout: Odd rows begin with a Star (Block 1) and end with a 4-patch (Layout 1). Even rows begin with a rotated 4-patch (Layout 2) and end with a Star (Block 2).

After sewing the blocks, into rows, I sewed the rows together to create the center of my quilt top. 

If you look closely at the Flour fabric between the Stars, you’ll notice an arrow design. You can see it with the color fabrics as well.

I decided to add some borders to the quilt.  The first is a coordinating fabric Cherio-Iris.

The Second border is Wavy Leaves from the Butterfly Haven fabric line.

The third (outer) border is also made from Cherio-Iris. The quilt is wider than my design wall, making it challenging to capture a good photo. (The quilt is 76″ wide, while my design wall is 60″).

To finish the quilt, I chose Thermore Batting in a Queen Size for this quilt. It’s an ultra-thin, non-bearding batting that provides warmth without adding weight, perfectly complementing the quilt. This batting was generously provided to me as part of my role as an Island Batik Ambassador.

The quilt was quilted on my Juki Longarm, with Aurifil Thread. Using a design I got from Quilting Pantographs, called Butterfly Rose Flip. What is better than having the quilting match the fabric. Quilting Pantographs has a great rewards program, and I got this design free.

Here is a close-up of the stitching.

The binding was more of the Flour Island Batik fabric. The quilt finished at 76″ x 96″. 

I want to express my gratitude to Jennifer Thomas of Curlicue Creations. She invited me to join in the release of her first collection.

If you are looking to buy the Butterfly Haven fabric, you can check the following stores:

• Creekside Quilts ~ OR
• Fabric and Quilting Delights ~ HI
• Fabric Square ~ OH
• JellyRollFabric.net ~ IN
• Roosters Mercantile ~ UT
• Mike & Mollys ~ CO
• Villa Rosa Designs ~ CA

Thank you so much for visiting today! The Butterfly Haven Blog Hop runs from December 2nd through December 7th. Here’s the schedule so you can visit all the blogs throughout the week:

• Curlicue Creations – 12/02/2024
• Bobbin with Brittany – 12/03/2024        
• Lisa’s Quilting Passion – 12/04/2024  (Currently Here)
• The Darling Dogwood – 12/05/2024
• Dizzy Quilter – 12/06/2024        
• Quilting Gail – 12/07/2024

#islandbatik, #iloveislandbatik, #studio180design, #TuckerTrimmer, #juki, #aurifil, #hobbsinside