Saturday 30 August 2014

The Butterfly Challenge part 2


Well I'm always up for a good challenge and so I decided to have a bit of fun with my 2nd entry in Tartan Kiwi's Butterfly Challenge.


 

http://www.thetartankiwi.com/2014/07/the-lowdown-on-butterfly-challenge.html?m=0
 
I decided this time around that I would alter the original pattern and do something different on the wings.  Using this butterfly picture as my inspiration, I dug out my scraps of batiks.
  

After playing around with a few ideas, I finally settled on using a Basket Weave design for the upper and lower wings.  I paper pieced these bits separately and then trimmed them down to size to fit the main wing template.
 
 
Once I had  finished piecing the entire pattern, I decided to add some sparkle by using some DMC Light Effects Embroidery Floss (E130).  This time I didn't just hand stitch on the antennae, but I also stitched around the outside perimeter of the butterfly and highlighted each of the colour block sections.  It glistens & sparkles each time the light catches it.
 
 
As I didn't have enough of the darker blue or pink batik fabrics to use for borders or binding, I decided to turn this one into a cushion instead.  I raided my fabric stash and found some blue butterfly fabric which also had a bit of sparkle in it.  Perfect!  I sewed around the outside of the butterfly and stuffed it with Hobby Fill.



Once finished I let it fly free around the house.  The first place it settled was on the futon next to Gemma the cat.


Then I let it fly around outside:
 




 
Here are some close ups of the detail of my "Basket Weave Batik Butterfly":







11 comments:

  1. What a beautiful butterfly, I love that you really got into the spirit of the challenge.
    Good luck! J x

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    1. Thank you Juliet, I thought I'd have a bit of fun with this one.

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  2. Fiona this is magnificent!! Love everything about it!!

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  3. Wow, the colours in this one are even more stunning than in your other butterfly. Gorgeous!

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  4. Such a pretty, rich color wash :)

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  5. Gorgeous! Love the use of the embellishments!

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  6. Breathtaking! So nice to have found your blog!
    Following your blog and Flickr , sister ;-).

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    Replies
    1. thank you so much, it is a delight to "meet" you! xoxo

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