Dragonflies and Butterflies

So last spring I was looking for a specific black and white print to finish a certain project. I ended up visiting a number of shops in my area which I had never visited before. This had the unfortunate effect of causing me to pick up fabrics while I was in these shops. One thing I discovered is that Moda is king of the fabric companies right now. Boy, do they make some beautiful prints. What is worse, they sell sets of these prints in precut form for each line of fabrics. You can buy 2 inch wide strips, or 10 inch squares, or 5 inch squares. For someone like me, who is highly attracted to both sets of things, and scrap-type quilts, this is a nightmare. What this means is that I can buy a 5 inch square of practically every fabric Moda makes. I can collect them all! So far I have resisted. I still dream of a 5 inch square of every single 30s reproduction print ever made, however.

I did encounter a set of 5 inch squares ("nickles") that I couldn't resist. It was pouring down rain that day, and the prints were just so springy! I went home and decided to use a nine-patch crib quilt design from Quilt: Handmade Style. Too bad I'd need a second nickle pack! That gave me a chance to get the fabric for the back, anyway. Fortunately, I already had the white print. That had been for a project that never got off the ground. Thrifty!

I had to set this project aside at the begining of the summer to finish the signal flags one, but I was able to finish it off right after.

I decided to do something new with this one. I am getting it long-arm quilted at the shop. I am getting dragonflies stitched all over it! Another new thing I did: not pre-washing the fabric. Because it came in 5 inch squares, pre-washing didn't make sense. So we shall see what happens its first time through the dryer!

So that's the story! Here is the picture of the finished top, with the backing fabric:



I eagerly await the phone call telling me to come and pick it up!