I haven't posted in a while, not because I haven't been sewing but because I've been working on a secret project for a friend.  When it is delivered, I'll post about it here.

Finally, I'm back to working on the butterfly-in-the-rain challenge quilt!  I've been fairly happy with the appliqued stem and leaves, but it's so hard to get points on those skinny leaves.  After the very close work on stitching those, I took a step back and looked at the whole picture.  The stem, leaves, and flowers looked lovely until I threw on the yellow butterfly.  Yuck!

The other colors and designs were so subtle, that the butterfly looked like a cartoon character.  Even the one drawn on graph paper with a pencil looked better.  Although the yellow was the palest shade I had, it ruined the rainy effect I had created with the mottled stems and leaves and grayish lavender flower.

My friend Andrea and I had planned a field trip to Olde City Quilts in Burlington, NJ, today, so I took this block along, and she (and the friendly staff at the shop) helped me pick out this fabric.  I never would have chosen it, or even looked at it, myself.  I was thinking of plain white or gray.  The white would have been too stark and not improved the situation.  And, really, who wants a gray butterfly?  This is a batik with a white and gray background and scattered dots of turquoise and lavender.  I bought a quarter yard to give me lots of background shades and dots to choose from. 

Here's a close-up.  The color is somewhere between these two photos.

I think that I'll divide the butterfly pattern into three parts: the two wings and whatever that other piece is that hangs down.  The body?  I also think I'll switch to a more subtle embroidery thread than black.  Maybe charcoal gray. 

It feels a little crazy to do the whole butterfly again, but I have a lot more time to put into this, especially the quilting with beads, so I want to like it when it's finished.  Snow is predicted for tomorrow, so I'm hoping for lots of time to remake the butterfly.