Welcome to Week 14 of the Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge.
It has been an exciting weekend with #RBDVirtualQuiltMarket just last week. I was showcasing (2) NEW fabric collections coming out this fall! Make sure you check back to recent Blog posts if you missed all the fun and announcements! Today is also exciting, as I am sharing with you the FREE Mosaic Butterfly Quilt Block Pattern on week 14 of the #RBDBlockChallenge!
What is the RBD Block Challenge?
It is a weekly free mystery block pattern hosted by Riley Blake Designs. There are (16) new and unique 10" quilt blocks designed by 16 Riley Blake Design designers (including myself)! It is fun and free and the final quilt is a surprise!!!
Every Tuesday, a NEW block pattern is released, except the last Tuesday of the month when we take a moment to catch up, get inspired and really enjoy all the awesome work happening on the Block Challenge around the globe! We are on the last month of the Block Challenge, but it is still, not too late to join in the fun!!!
Here are the links you will need:
Follow along on Instagram with the hashtag #rbdblockchallenge
Block 14: Mosaic Butterfly by Jennifer Long of @beesewinspired
Block 14 of the #RBDBlockChallenge is designed by Jennifer Long and is called the Mosaic Butterfly Block.
I designed the Mosaic Butterfly to represent our own creative, and personal journeys. The butterfly is well-known as a symbol of new beginnings. Each tiny scrap of fabric of life, builds upon the next to create your own, individual, creative and unique story! It is the perfect block to represent my own, NEW journey of designing fabric for my FAVORITE fabric company - Riley Blake Designs! What does the Mosaic Butterfly Block represent for you?
You can download the FREE block pattern HERE.
I decided I couldn't make just one Mosaic Butterfly block - after all, butterflies need to flutter around together. So, I chose to make (3) Butterflies! I will keep one for the #RBDBlockChallenge quilt, and perhaps make a couple of pillows, or a table runner?
I just love how the movement in their piecing, gives the illusion of them fluttering about!
I chose to make my butterflies from a fun fabric pull I put together from my Riley Blake Designs stash! I used a combination of a new RBD fabric line called Hibiscus by Simple Simon and Company and Misty Morning by Minki Kim as well as some coordinating RBD Basics and some Strawberry Honey by Gracey Larson (see my fabric list at the bottom of this post).
The fabrics in the pattern are designed to be scrappy. Feel free to play with the placement of your squares and rectangles!
We are building a simple log cabin block on each wing, and then adding a few HSTs to give the wings some shape!
Piecing this block was fun and simple with so many straight-edge sewing. If you are new to working with small pieces in your quilt blocks, here are a few tips and tricks:
Tips and Tricks for Tiny Piecing:
1. Press your pieces before you sew. Even adding a tiny bit of starch helps with accuracy!
2. Shorten your stitch length. When working with small pieces, I often shorten my stitch length to 1.5mm - 2mm. It is a great way to keep your pieces secure and will also help in the next tip.
3. Press your seams open. Pressing seams open helps reduce some of the bulk when working with lots of seams. Your seams will stay secure open with the shortened stitch length from tip #2.
Quilting together is all about community, friendship and creativity. I hope you can join us and share your progress. Please use the hashtag #RBDblockchallenge.
Fabric:
