Pat Bravo Minis Blog Tour

Hello! Welcome to the Pat Bravo Minis Blog Tour!
 

I'm so excited to be one of thirty makers chosen to create a mini quilt for this blog hop! The fabrics are a combination of Dare Fabrics and Essentials II Fabrics designed by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics. Pat's Dare fabrics come in two colorways: Dare to Be Bold and Dare to Be Funky (I'm using the latter). From the Essentials II line, I'm using several of the fabrics from the Azur colorway. You can read more about the blog tour on Pat's blog here.

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If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

If you're new to my blog, I always share the story behind each quilt that I make and give you a look behind the seams. I hope you'll snoop around and check out the other quilts that I've made too! I have several patterns that will be released this summer, so be sure to subscribe to my blog or find me on Instagram or Facebook so you'll be the first to know when they're ready!

As soon as I found out I'd be participating in this blog hop, I knew exactly what I wanted to make!

I started with a clipart image of a butterfly. I enlarged the image to be roughly 18 inches wide. Once printed, I taped the pages together and cut out the spaces where I wanted to put fabric to create a template.

I chose a light turquoise color for the background of my mini. I ironed Heat-N-Bond to the back of a piece larger than the butterfly template. Then using the paper template, I traced the butterfly image onto the Heat-N-Bond paper now on the back of the fabric and cut out the spaces. Once each section was cut out, I removed the paper backing.

The hardest part of making the mini was choosing which fabrics to go in each spot!

I fussy cut the fabrics to make the butterfly wings as symmetrical as possible, but decided on a random layout within each wing. Once trimmed to the size needed, I lightly touched the iron to the section to hold it in place before moving to the next fabric.

Once all fabrics were in place, I created the quilt sandwich. I used an 80% cotton 20% poly batting and ironed the butterfly top to it (it held due to the unused portions of Heat-N-Bond on the back still). I chose a coordinating fat quarter from my stash for the backing and used basting spray to hold it in place. (Shocking, I know! I once had a terrible overspray incident with one of my very first quilts and haven't touched it since!)

I started with a pink thread and outlined each section in the wings. Then I quilted around the entire butterfly to really define the shape.

I switched to a light aqua thread to quilt the background. I quilted swirls and pebbles in the rest of the space around the butterfly.

For binding, I used a dark blue RJR solid from my stash. The finished quilt measures 16" x 20".

I really love the overall result! AND, this is my 16th quilt finish for the year! I've hit my 16 quits in 2016 goal - in April!

But let's be real. I always try new things with every quilt I make and that leads to always learning new things.

First, I used a heavy duty Heat-N-Bond because that's what I already had on hand. But that caused major issues when quilting on my Bernina Record 930. The sticky residue gummed up my needle and bobbin hook, which then caused tension issues and thread breakage. Often. It's not noticeable from the front, but the back is pretty bad. I chose to leave these imperfections. It's not for a museum. It's for real life.

Second, many of the fabric pieces in the butterfly are significantly darker than the light aqua fabric I used for the top. Consequently, there is a fabric "shadow" behind several parts of the quilt that can still be seen after quilting.

Do these imperfections ruin the quilt? Absolutely not! They are proof that it is handmade. Twenty quilts from now, I'll look back and know exactly where in my quilting journey I learned these lessons. I won't beat myself up over it. No time for that - I have more quilts to make!

I love to use up even the tiniest of scraps, and I didn't want any of these fabrics to go unused! So here's how I used my fabrics to the fullest!

I started with 15 Fat Sixteenths of fabric. These each measured 9" x 10". From this, I cut all the pieces for my Dare to Fly mini quilt.

Then I used my favorite prints to make a covered button bracelet!

I chose a few coordinating prints to make key chains too.

All of these projects led to some pretty odd shaped scraps! So I used those to make some bunting notecards. I love sending a matching card when I gift a quilt!

Even after all those projects, I still have a big pile of scraps left! All from just fifteen 9" x 10" pieces!

I do hope you'll follow along each day to see the other 29 mini quilts! There are two makers each day until May 16th.

Here's the lineup for the entire Blog Hop! I can't wait to see the minis these amazing makers come up with! (Edited October 2024 to remove broken links)

April 25th - Me! (Slice of Pi Quilts) and The Wholesome Mama

April 26th - The Simple Life Company and EdensAccessories

April 27th - A Crafty Fox and SnickerDoodleStew 

April 28th - Why Not Sew and Anjeanette Klinder 

April 29th - The Little Bird Designs and Thistle Thicket Studio 

May 2nd - Christine Blessing and TinCat13

May 3rd - My Crowded Nest and Sewn Modern

May 4th - Sarana Ave and Storts Market

May 5th - Handmade 3D and Michelle Bartholomew

May 6th - Kate Basti and ModernMakerie

May 9th - Raspberry Sunshine and SkinnyMalinkyQuilts

May 10th - Marija's Fabric Creations and Lamb and Wolfie

May 11th - FortheLoveofFabric and t_jaye

May 12th - Aqua Paisley Studio and Betyipiernaty

May 13th - Tied with a Ribbon and That's Sew Kerry

May 16th - A Recap by Pat Bravo

Want to know more about the fabrics used? Check out the lookbooks for Dare Fabrics and Essential II Fabrics. Visit Pat Bravo's website for info on them too: here and here. You can also connect with Pat on her blog, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter pages.

If you've stuck with me all the way to the end of this post, it must mean you're just like me! You're here for the giveaway! {Giveaways now closed.}

There are actually THREE giveaways, so there will be THREE winners!

One person who comments on this post will win 15 Fat Sixteenths of the fabrics I used in my mini! A beautiful combination of Essential Elements II and Dare Fabrics by Pat Bravo! Just comment below with your favorite way to use up the tiniest bits of scraps.

There's a second giveaway for the covered button bracelet over on my Instagram account!

AND a third giveaway on my Facebook page for the key chains!

All three giveaways will run until the end of the blog tour! You have until midnight on May 16th, so be sure to enter all three! {Giveaways now closed.}

Thank you for stopping by!



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Flutterfly in Savannah Batiks

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Disclaimer: Giveaway is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Blogger. By entering, entrants confirm they are 18+ years of age, release Blogger of responsibility, and agree to Blogger's terms of use. No purchase necessary to win. Open to legal residents in the contiguous US only that are 18+ years of age. Giveaway starts at 12:00am CDT April 25, 2016 and ends at 11:59pm CDT on May 16, 2016. Winner will receive 15 pieces of fabric with approximate size of 9" x 10" with a retail value of approximately $12. Odds of winning determined by number of eligible entries received. How to enter: leave a comment on this post. One comment per person. Duplicate comments will be deleted. Winner will be chosen by random.org on May 17, 2016 from all eligible entries and notified by email. If prize is unclaimed after three days, a new winner will be chosen by random.org. Winner is responsible for paying any taxes related to the prize. By entering this giveaway, you release Slice of Pi Quilts from any liability whatsoever. Void where prohibited by law.

Second disclaimer: I received all fabrics for free in exchange for making a mini quilt and blogging about it as part of a blog hop. All opinions are my own.