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Dancing Butterfly Quilt-As-You-Go Sampler Quilt

Dancing Butterfly Sampler Quilt

Dancing Butterfly Sampler Quilt
Finished Size: 64 x 72 inches
3rd Quilt in the Sampler Series

In 2015 it was time to begin another quilt along. We'd had wonderful success with the Building Blocks sampler quilt, but many quilters were asking for tutorials on applique and more machine quilting designs. They also requested getting the videos at the beginning of the project so they could work at their own pace.

I began playing with ideas and designs in the summer of 2014 and decided to make a larger sampler quilt and to shoot all the videos in advance so the pattern would come bundled with longer, detailed videos to showcase how to machine quilt the single design blocks as well as the larger butterfly blocks. Click Here to find the Dancing Butterfly Quilt Pattern.

I based the design of the butterflies in this quilt loosely on a family quilt created by one of my great grandmothers. I always loved the cheerful butterflies in this quilt and tried to capture their whimsical shape in the Dancing Butterfly Quilt.

Butterfly Quilt Design Inspiration

Unfortunately this sampler quilt pattern was never as successful as its predecessor. Because everyone could quilt at their own pace, it lacked the feel of a steadily paced quilt along. Not many quilters liked the butterflies either! Many quilters changed the applique completely to create their own unique quilt.

This quilt along and the pattern both helped me learn an important lesson about making people happy. Specifically you can't make everyone happy! I made a lot of mistakes with this project, but ultimately learned a lot that helped me become a much better quilt along host, online quilting teacher and business owner.

All of the videos for the Dancing Butterfly Quilt have been put together in a playlist so you can watch them in order! Remember, these are the shorter versions of the videos. If you'd like to see the full version, please pick up a copy of the quilt pattern here.

You can also read more about each design and see photos on the blog posts listed below:

Dancing Butterfly Intro Picking Fabric Colors Butterfly Design Alternatives
Fusing Applique Tips When to Use Fusible Applique Satin Stitching Alternatives
Decorated Antenna Designs Free Motion Quilting Tips Design 1 - Paisley
Design 2 - Ocean Currents Design 3 - Zippling Design 4 - Feather Filler
Design 5 - Echo Shell Design 6 - Zigzag Path Design 7 - Sharp Stippling
Design 8 - Bamboo Forest Design 9 - Light Spiral Design 10 - Amazing Daisies
Design 11 - Echo Edge Design 12 - Spiral Matrix  Design 13 - Flame Key
Design 14 - Sleeping Seeds Design 15 - Coin Chain Design 16 - Echo Hook
Design 17 - Abstract Leaf Design 18 - Triangle Mosaic Design 19 - Queen of Hearts
Design 20 - Barbed Vine Design 21 - Sashiko Shell Design 22 - Flowing Lines
Design 23 - Hot Hot Spiral Design 24 - Bubble Fern

Yes, you can still create the Dancing Butterfly Quilt! Click Here to find the quilt pattern.

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