Work in Progress

About five years ago I had a butterfly binge. I actually don't like applique, I don't have time for it and my old sewing machine doesn't like it either. But I had a book of butterfly patterns and made many postcards and then a largish wall quilt with migrating monarchs. A year or so later I found this book with other patterns that are for both butterflies and moths with several quilt suggestions as well. It's been languishing in my "some day" -- well I can't say pile as the potential projects are scattered among m quilt stuff. I have also had some of that gridded fusible backing that is marked in two inch squares.

I have made a backing for what I'm already calling "moths at evening". The two inch squares are all sorts of dark colors but, from a distance in living room ambient light sort of blend into that time of night when everything outdoors is loosing color and moths come to the screen because of the interior light. The moths in the book have no indications of their true markings so I've Googled many of them, but I'm also using some batiks and patterned fabrics and have decided against going for verisimilitude. As I'm making some dozen or fifteen moths I'm getting experimental with color. I'm only picturing one moth which is not among the most inventive. This is probably going to move along slowly. Optimist that I am, I think I'd like to do another with the two inch square backgrounds in a colorwash garden effect and bright colored butterflies ... I wonder if that will take another five years.