Flutterbies!

(affiliate links to my fabric designs)

I began dyeing my crochet thread with professional dyes about seven years ago. I got serious about dyeing my own thread about three or four years ago, and now I rarely use store-bought colored crochet thread.

I decided in about May of last year to crochet a simple owl from each color of thread I had dyed at that point. Two months later, I decided to go ahead and make a butterfly from each color, too.


I finally finished the butterfly project at the end of October, and it took me until nearly the end of December to Photoshop my individual butterflies into a fabric design for Spoonflower.

Last week, my newest fabric arrived!


This project has been a long time coming, but nothing feels as time intensive as the Photoshopping process. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours went into this. But now that I'm looking at (and drooling over and caressing) the actual fabric, it was worth every single second!

I'd already done a quick and easy design with a few of the butterflies before I finished crocheting all the relatives. This particular design required very little photo editing. I just had to eliminate a couple of dust spots.

I meant to order a yard of the fabric but accidentally left the selection on fat quarter. I may go ahead and order again because I have a great idea for four complete butterfly circles.


I did remember to order a full yard of the Flutterby Blues.


I plan to use that in a brand new butterfly dress, similar to the one I made last year for my niece Ashley's wedding. The one I made last year is my favorite dress. Each time I make a new dress, it becomes my new favorite. I've made three more dresses since the butterfly dress, and it's still my favorite.


So I decided I should make a new one, sort of to force the original to last longer. I will split wearing time between two dresses. Maybe both of them will have a longer life this way!

I have six more (commercial) butterfly fabrics I have been saving to use in the new dress. I need eight fabrics for the skirt. With my Flutterby Blues, I need only one more fabric. I can't decide if I should get a yard of the Butterfly Vortex for the eighth panel (the dress kind of needs another light panel, don't you think???), design another fabric with bigger butterflies (Flutterbies are only an inch wide) or buy a yard of Chong-A Hwang's new Awaken butterflies...


It wasn't difficult to come up with an idea for the Rainbow Flutterby fat quarter. I chopped it into a couple of 10-inch squares to join the existing collection of butterfly blocks - my own homemade butterfly layer cake - then made two jelly roll strips with the remainder to go with my ongoing homemade butterfly jelly roll bundle. That turned out so well, I did it with the Butterfly Vortex fat quarter, too.

I saved a strip of the Rainbow Flutterbies because I have a sneaking hunch a certain nine-year-old neighbor will want to make a new scrunchie the instant her eyes meet my new fabric!










I like to make my own fabric collections, and I really like whipping out layer cake quilts for new nieces and nephews. I've already made one butterfly quilt with my own choice of 10-inch squares, plus some jelly roll strips I cut myself.




The Rainbow Flutterbies fit in nicely with the butterfly squares, but they also look awesome in my collection of black rainbow/multi-colored squares, so I put one block in each collection, Then I replaced one block in the yet-to-be-made niece/nephew quilt with the Rainbow Flutterbies, and I like it even better now! Just need to figure out what to use as sashing, then I need a new niece or nephew! (New nephew coming in May...)




Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict and TGIF Friday at Alycia Quilts.

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