Sew in Love {with Fabric}: Butterfly Forest

Showing posts with label Butterfly Forest. Show all posts

Friday, June 3, 2016

Summery magazine projects

Get into a summer mindset with these two projects using Ann Lauer's fabric collections!

First up is Summer's Promise, designed by Ann, using her Sundance and Poppy Panache fabric lines. This lap quilt was featured in the May 2016 issue of American Quilter magazine. It showcases large rectangles of a beautiful floral focal print, as well as a unique pieced sashing design.

Click here to find the kit for Summer's Promise.
Click here to see more of Ann's patterns and the Poppy Panache and Sundance fabrics.
Click here to find American Quilter magazine.

Next up is the Butterfly Forest Bed Runner, designed by Melanie Greseth and Joanie Holton for the Summer 2016 issue of Quilter's World. As the name suggests, this runner uses Ann's Butterfly Forest collection, adding a pop of color and beautiful butterflies to your favorite bed. The runner is made from four-patches and strip-pieced sashing rows, so it goes together quickly--you could be enjoying it on your bed this summer!

Click here to see the Butterfly Forest collection.

Click here to find Quilter's World magazine.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

All Aflutter: A Hint of Spring

February is the perfect time for a breath of fresh air, for a hint of spring. Which makes it the perfect time for Ann Lauer's wall quilt, "All Aflutter," featured in the April 2016 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. Ann designed this quilt using a bargello quilt-as-you-go technique and her Butterfly Forest fabric collection.

"All Aflutter" by Ann Lauer
Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine.
©2015 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

Here's what Ann has to say about her "All Aflutter" wall quilt:

What makes a great bargello design?

I particularly like asymmetrical designs. Skinny rows help to create dramatic impact, especially in a smaller project like this. The wider rows on the right side create a big swoop, which really shows off the butterfly fabrics.

Why do your Butterfly Forest fabrics work so well in this design?

There’s a really nice transition to move between the fabrics and get from light to dark. The fabrics that appear solid are actually the packed wing design, and then the lighter prints are the stained glass wings. In the stained glass prints you have lots of value and different colors, moving between greens and blues and purples.

What about the appliqued butterflies?

Those come from the large butterfly prints. You can pick and choose which ones you want to use—they’re simply fused on and then edge stitched. The butterflies in this collection are realistically shaped, but we’ve taken creative license in the coloring.

What are the advantages of quilting as you go?

Not only do you save the effort of having to quilt it after piecing, but you don’t add quilting lines over a pieced top that already has a lot of lines. There aren’t any quilting lines to compete with the design.
I recommend using gridded flannel for the quilt as you go technique—I pair it with a thin batt, and the combination is great for table runners and wall quilts. The grid is an easy way to make sure you’re keeping the quilt absolutely straight as you add the rows.

What do you like best about this wall quilt?

I love the fabrics and the way the combinations of the colors flow really well. I think the design is dramatic and gives a really nice composition and backdrop for the butterflies to show up.

Click here to see Ann's entire Butterfly Forest collection.
Click here to find the kit for this project.
Click here to find American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Butterfly Forest

Ann Lauer's new collection, Butterfly Forest, is butterfly-beautiful! Working in a cool color palette, she's combined butterflies with tropical leaves for a fresh and summery feel. Below, she talks about her new line and shows off some of the patterns she's designed.

Why did you choose butterflies for your new collection?

They’re popular, summery, and one of nature’s most delicate wonders. I like that the butterflies look realistic—maybe not in color, but in detail. I took a break from flowers and paired with tropical foliage instead.

Do you have a favorite print?

The piece I’m most thrilled with is the main print. I really like tropical leaves—they have such a terrific variety of shapes and scales. It also has butterflies, in black and white and in color. But the absolute coolest thing is that behind the leaves are detailed pen-and-ink-style designs of tropical leaves. It just shows up beautifully. It's a great focal print, but I also see it as a wonderfully showy backing choice.

Any other prints you'd like to tell us about?

The “packed wing” design really looks like stained glass, especially the dark multi version.

· And of course the stripe. This features the tropical leaves with the pen-and-ink background. The leaf “stripe” is bordered by strips of the stained glass motif. Four repeats across the fabric width means you can cut four borders out of one length of fabric.

Let's talk about the color palette.
The cool colors--blue, purple, green--really blend nicely together. I haven't used blue in a collection before. Purple is probably my favorite color--I don't know that I'll ever have a collection without purple. I used it as a coordinate in Poppy Panache and Sundance, but you see it a lot more in Butterfly Forest. The entire collection pops with color and has fantastic depth from the shading effects. I think it's really refreshing.

What's one thing you'd like people to notice about your line?

I think it has such versatility. If you like butterflies, there are prints in three different scales. If you're not as interested in butterflies, you can use the large leaf print, the stripe, and the frond coordinates. Same with colors--you can make a multicolored quilt or you can choose to use more of either the blue, purple, or green prints.