Butterflies in Margot's Garden (Modern Baby Clam Shells) Ta-DONE!

I'm finally able to share my Modern Baby Clam Shells finish with you!  Its final name is "Butterflies in Margot's Garden," named after the little girl for whom it was made.  (This quilt is my original design; no pattern currently available).

Butterflies in Margot's Garden, Before Washing, 42" x 42"

I have always washed my finished quilts prior to gifting them, for a number of reasons: I want to remove any skin oils, hand lotion, dust, quilt markings, washable basting glue, spray starch, etc that may have been applied to the quilt during the process of making it.  I also want to be the one to discover any disastrous issues that a quilt might have (like a dye bleed) BEFORE I give the quilt away, so I could correct the problem and save the recipient the heartbreak of thinking that they had done something wrong to "ruin" the quilt.  I have also always felt like the quilt isn't 100% finished until it comes out of the dryer all soft and snuggly, ready for cuddling, and I want to be able to assess the quilt's changes in size and in texture to better inform my batting selections for future quilts.

I'm ESPECIALLY glad that I washed this particular quilt, because when I took it off the frame initially I was a little disappointed by the extent to which my E2E quilting (Daisies Galore pantograph) seemed to compete with and obscure the smooth curves and crisp points of my clam shell piecing.  Maybe it's just the change in the natural lighting from when I took the unwashed photo (above) and when I took the post-laundering photo (below), but even in real life I feel like the washed quilt is much closer to my intention.  Upon close inspection you can see the daisy quilting design, but the impact from a distance is of the pieced clam shells and the appliquéd butterflies, with soft, crinkly quilt texture throughout that is no longer screaming "LOOK AT ME!  

Butterflies in Margot's Garden, After Washing, 38" x 38"

Also of note: The quilt top measured 42" x 42" when I loaded it on my frame for quilting.  I did not measure it after quilting, before washing it, but after washing it in cold water and then tumbling dry with low heat, the finished quilt measures closer to 38" x 38".  That's nearly 10% shrinkage!  I used leftover 80/20 cotton/polyester batting, most likely Hobbs Heirloom, so some of the shrinkage is from the cotton in the quilt batting.  There is also some shrinkage that happens from the quilting stitches drawing up the quilt.  However, most crucially, I did not prewash any of my fabrics for this quilt because I was using a layer cake for the 9 1/2" clam shell prints.  

Pieced Backing, Butterflies in Margot's Garden

This is my first time piecing a quilt backing from two different fabrics.  I know everyone else has been doing this forever.  I was short on the giant scaled Kaffe Fassett floral print I'd purchased for the backing when I was first planning this quilt in December of 2018, and decided that I really liked how this leftover strip of backing trimmed from a previous quilt looked with the florals.  Look at that, you guys -- maybe I'm becoming THRIFTY after all these years!  ("Unlikely," says my husband...)

Detail of Hand Quilted Butterfly on Backing

I was a little worried that the heavy hand quilting stitches that I added to the butterflies might look weird from the backing side, but they blend in rather nicely (Can you see them in the photo above?).  I was grateful that the red dye in the cotton perle #5 thread did not bleed.  The skein was marked "colorfast" but sometimes they lie, especially with red.  ;-)

The Binding Shot

I remembered to take a picture of my binding this time.  I cut my strips at 2" wide, sewed them to the front of my quilt with a 1/4" seam allowance, and then stitched them to the back by hand with regular 50/3 Mettler cotton thread.

Butterfly Detail, Before Washing

Another interesting observation: The butterfly print fabric that I used for my broderie perse butterfly appliqués does not appear to be 100% cotton like the quilt shop cottons that were used for the rest of the quilt.  It was an eBay remnant that I purchased online, so I didn't have access to the bolt information and, frankly, I didn't care because the style, scale, and colors of the print were exactly what I wanted for this project.  The hand of the fabric felt slightly thicker and stiffer when it showed up in the mail.  The butterflies still feel slightly stiffer after washing and they didn't shrink as much as the background fabric, but this is actually a GOOD thing because it makes them puff up slightly for almost a trapunto effect after washing, helping to create the illusion that the butterflies are flying across the surface of the quilt rather than being stitched down.  Let's pretend I meant to do that! 

Butterfly Detail, After Washing

So, in my experience, an 80/20 cotton/polyester batting gives a very traditional, crinkly cotton batting look after quilting and washing, with just a bit more loft and less flattening in the larger spaces between quilting stitches than I'd get with 100% cotton batting.  That little bit of loft helps the machine quilting stitches look better on both sides of the quilt, and gives a little more definition to the quilting design.  But what I really like about 80/20 batting over 100% cotton is that the polyester fibers help a quilt with 80/20 batting to resist holding creases where it's been folded.  It's a little lighter weight than 100% cotton, too.

Butterflies in Margot's Garden, 38 x 38, Completed October 2020

All the Juicy Details:

• TITLE: "Butterflies in Margot's Garden"
• PATTERN: My Original Design, "Modern Baby Clam Shells," No Pattern Available
• TECHNIQUES USED: Traditional Curved Machine Piecing, Turned Edge Broderie Perse Appliqué  Machine Blanket Stitched Appliqué, Hand Embroidery (antennas)
• SIZE: 38" x 38"
• BATTING: Hobbs Heirloom 80/20
• FABRIC: Crystal Manning's Painted Garden collection for Moda (print clam shells) and Grunge Sky (background); Kaffe Fassett Collective for Free Spirit Fabrics Rose Clouds print in Mint Green (backing)
• QUILTING DESIGN: Semi-Custom quilting combining hand-guided edge to edge, SID around butterfly appliqués, and hand quilting on the appliqués themselves.
• E2E PANTOGRAPH DESIGN: Daisies Galore from Willow Leaf Quilting
• THREAD: Glide 40 wt, Color 37457 Cloud, top & bobbin

I started this quilt in December of 2018, a few weeks before Margot was born, and it was supposed to be something "quick and easy."  I got bogged down in technical difficulties and design dilemmas, and then had to set it aside to make my son's high school graduation quilt, after which I took a detour with my Spirit Song/Sermon Scribbles quilt...  It feels really good to finally get this project finished and shipped off to its final destination!  I hope it gets heavy use as a snuggling blanket, superhero cape, living room fort, etc.  

I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties:

FRIDAY

·       Whoop Whoop Fridays at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

·       Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More

·       Finished Or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

·       Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

·       TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: http://tgiffriday.blogspot.ca/p/hosting-tgiff.html

·       UFO Busting at Tish in Wonderland

SUNDAY

·       Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

·       Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

·       Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts

MONDAY

·       Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

TUESDAY

·       To-Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

WEDNESDAY

·       Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

·       Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

THURSDAY

·       Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

·       Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

·       Free Motion Mavericks with Muv and Andree