Hello again, fellow quilters or music lovers, or friends and family, or whatever might have brought you here.

Butterfly Baby, Summer 2017

For lack of topics, time, or moxie, I have been away too long, and I apologize. I am back now…I hope.

I see that one of my earlier posts is popular again today, so thank you to those of you who have been sharing it! Your comments always brighten my day and I appreciate all of you who are here reading.

To quickly catch up anyone who might be new here, I started this blog in 2011 to promote my (then upcoming) acoustic EP, “Driven.” (You can hear it for free on YouTube and Spotify.) Within a couple of years, I married a wonderful airman and moved away. Changing music scenes was a bit intimidating to me, and ultimately, I got back into sewing. As my time filled with quilting and my garage filled with fabric, the focus of my blog shifted as well. I started and finished writing exactly one quilt pattern. (So far.)

Then I had a baby.

As parenthood often does, it shifted things for me again–in all the ways you expect it to, as well as a few I never saw coming. As I continue, I need and am going to give some of the focus to that–the unexpected ways parenting has changed me. And yes, the therapeutic and quite possibly life-saving benefits of keeping creativity in your life.

Please stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I share with you a quilt I made while I was expecting my daughter. This was made from a stack of nine-patches I had started for a different purpose, that over the years I just couldn’t quite get to work as intended. So, I gave up and stitched them all together. It still needed something, so I added some fun butterly appliques. This is quilted with a super-simple stipple.

I love how well this turned out, when at the start, I had no idea where it was going. Maybe you have a stack of precuts or fabrics that you love, but aren’t sure how to use. Why not try combining them in a simple pattern with a complementary neutral and using it as a base for applique? I am not at all well-practiced at applique. I use public domain clipart to help me draw the designs, and with fusible web I attach the fabric pieces before stitching them down, leaving raw edges to fray when washing. It may be the easiest (or in my case, laziest) way to applique…and if it isn’t, please tell me how I can possibly be lazier! I still love the results–they are fast and cute!

What are some of your favorite ways to make a fast, fun creative quilt? Please share them in the comments!

Thank you again for reading!

Dana Jo