Swallowtail Butterfly (paper pieced!)

Butterflies are endlessly fascinating with their bright colors and patterns! Here is a striking Zebra Swallowtail butterfly made with foundation paper piecing. With its green batik background, this mini quilt reminds us of a summer garden!

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Swallowtail Butterfly, made and quilted by Sara Quigley  

From the Flutterly Fabulous Butterfly Collection at Patterns by Shaley, the Swallowtail block was designed after the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly, scientific name Protographium marcellus. 

This block assembles in 44 sections and is Foundation Paper Pieced. It is recommended for those with lots of FPP experience as there is a lot of small piecing. Sara Quigley says: "I enjoyed being a pattern tester.  This one was a challenge and I love the result." 

The pattern finishes to 15x15", 20"x20", or 30"x30" - great for mini quilts and throw pillows, or add a border and make a baby blanket!  

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show. 

Glorious Gardens

Not all of us have an actual garden, but if you're a quilter you can create your own. Here are some glorious quilted gardens you might enjoy.

p.s. Please visit our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles! For continuous free quilt patterns, follow us on Twitter!    

My Whimsical Garden by Debbie Cole, quilted by Rose Maynes.  

This bright and beautiful quilt was based on My Whimsical Quilt Garden by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins. Debbie Cole says, "I have looked forward to making this quilt for 5 years. While I mostly utilized the pattern design, I added a little embellishment in the form of machine embroidery. And of course, everything is better with a dog" [see the third row, center block!] 

Flowers, Frogs and Flies, made and quilted by Mimi Braniff (Texas) 

This gorgeous quilt was based on the Flora and Fauna pattern by Dawn Heese and Bonnie Sullivan. Mimi Braniff says that she altered 6 blocks to reflect the flowers, critters, and fliers where she lives, using springlike pastel colors. "I wanted to reflect the tiny animals and beautiful butterflies that reside in my habitat."  We enjoyed this beautiful wool applique; look at the frogs amidst the vines.

My Secret Garden by Sara Quigley, quilted by Athena Lynn  

My Secret Garden was based on a 2023 Block of the Month quilt by Sarah Fielke.  Sara Quigley says that the BOM took 13 months to stitch.  "It was a great learning experience. All the pieces were needleturn applique, and some blocks were machine pieced before applique. No fabrics were provided by this BOM;  the majority of fabrics were in my stash, luckily."  

 Image credits: Photos of The Secret Garden and My Whimsical Garden were taken at the 2025 Tucson Quilters Guild show.  Photos of Flowers, Frogs and Flies were taken at the 2025 Houston International quilt show. NOTE:  Quilt Inspiration is an Amazon Associate, meaning we receive a small commission from any Amazon purchase that results from a link on this page.  Thank you for your support of Quilt Inspiration!