Lepidoptera finished and off to Quilt Market

Lepidoptera
by Susan Brubaker Knapp (2009)
Cotton fabric, wool/polyester batting, fabric paint, cotton thread. 39" x 39"

I finished this piece, “Lepidoptera,” a while ago, but we’ve had so much rain here lately that I couldn’t find a good time to take nice photos. I usually shoot them outside. This aftternoon, after a day of much fog and gloom, the clouds parted and I ran outside to take a few detail shots. Here they are:



Lepidoptera is the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths.
Can you tell that it started with this photo I took in my garden a few years ago?

This is a Painted Lady butterfly. It has wonderful patterns on its wings, but it is not very brightly colored. I used the patterns and completely changed the colors. My quilt is a bit psychedelic in comparison to the butterfly!

Besides being the first wholecloth painted quilt I’ve ever done, it is the first quilt I faced, rather than bound, and the first quilt I made using batting made of wool and polyester (recommended by my friend Nancy G. Cook, who uses it in all her work). I liked it a lot.


“Lepidoptera” is also the first piece I have quilted with Aurifil threads. I had heard many quilters raving about Aurifil, and purchased some thread from them specifically to try on this piece.

I had used Aurifil Cotton Mako 50 thread for needleturn appliqué, but never for quilting or threadpainting. And I must say that I absolutely LOVED using it on this piece. It is very strong, so it didn’t break or shred, unlike other threads I’ve used. Even when my needle was flying.

I also tried piecing with Aurifil Cotton Mako 50 thread, and I love it for that, too. It is so fine that your seams lie nice and flat. I’m eager to try the Cotton Mako 40, which is a little heavier, and good for places you want your quilting to show up more. That’s my next experiment.

I had heard other quilters say that Aurifil thread leaves little to no lint in your machine, and this is definitely true. I made a point of checking every now and then inside my machine, and there’s no comparison between Aurifil and other brands of thread I’ve used (and I’ve pretty much used them all!) I think I’m hooked!

Aurifil noticed I was using their thread, and asked if they could display “Lepidoptera” in the Aurifil threads booth at Quilt Market next week. I was thrilled. If you are going, check it out there!