Wednesday, August 23, 2023

I Spy quilt top finish..................


The I Spy quilt top just looks like checkerboard from a distance but what fun there is when you get close.

It is 56.5" x 72.5" so I'm considering a border but it won't happen today or tomorrow.  The squares are 4" finished.

Every I Spy novelty print is different, no repeats, 124 unique squares.  There were a few times when I could cut different areas in the same fabric.  I know there are 3 from the Snoopy baseball fabric and another was a zoo animals print where I cut several different squares.


I took 6 close up shots.  You can click on the photo twice to get an expanded view.

(For other Blogger users who post, if you notice you can't enlarge your photos you may need to go into your settings and scroll down to Post Template Optional and slide the button to turn off Image Lightbox.  You also need to upload large enough photos to be enlarged.  I post mine at 2000 pixels on the longest side.)


These 6 photos are a little crooked because I was holding the camera above my head for 2 and squatting down for 2.  The remaining 2 were straight on  shots.




I wonder if any of you recognize any of these novelty fabrics.  I have been collecting them for close to 30 years.






I used to teach a class on making I Spy quilts and I offered kits to the students.  After all I only needed a few squares out of many of them for my own use so there was plenty left over, even in a quarter yard.



One of my friends who also taught an I Spy quilt class had her students make a little notebook to go along with the quilt with a list of everything that was in the quilt, one page for things starting with A, etc, all the way through the alphabet.


These 6 photos probably don't show you every print that is in the quilt.

I have a stack of 6.5" I Spy fabrics to work on next.  The third quilt I plan to make might have a combination of both size left over squares.


 

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is really just too much fun and will be hours of entertainment for the lucky recipient.
Kathy

Julierose said...

I just love all those cute prints--esp'ly those chickens and the reading sheep--so funny--great quilt!! No two alike is amazing--your novelty stash must be amazing!!
Cool again here this morning 67 and DP 66--but sunny...DH off to PT and i am doing those pesky household chores...hugs, Julierose

JustGail said...

Adorable!
I'm trying really hard to avoid thinking I "must" make an eye spy quilt for GD. I don't have many novelty fabrics, and less than no room to start stashing them. And would I get it done before she's too big for one? How old is too old???? Maybe if I start now, and don't make it too big...?

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

what a variety of prints!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS QUILT!!! So much fun seeing all the different
fabrics. I think both a child and adult would love this quilt. I can't believe you have all these wonderful, different fabrics! Some of my favorites are the cow running across the fabric, all the zoo animals & of course the
Chicago Cubs-BIG FAN of my cubbies even though I've never been to Chicago!!
Not a Royals fan, only Cubs fan & not a fan of this heat we are having. We reached our all-time high of 112 degrees & broke the record from back in 1936! 2 weeks of over 100 degrees - ugh makes me hate summer even more....

Kay in Kansas

Quiltdivajulie said...

Remarkably, I see only three of the novelty prints that I've had in my stash (the bee skeps, the cat in the hat, and the rows of kitchen chairs but in the alternate color way). What a FUN quilt this will be to snuggle under!!!

JJM said...

What a wonderful happy quilt top ! So full of whimsical fun for everyone. Only you would have such an amazing stash of novelty prints. You have created yet another one of a kind design. Thanks for all the photos so fun to look at this morning.

JJM

Kristin said...

I don't know that I recognize any of the I Spy prints, but you do have so many cool ones!

Barbara Anne said...

What a great I Spy quilt and I vote for a border or two, narrow first, and your choice of width as an outer border ... or not!

Wonderful variety of fun fabrics, too, and of them all, I spy only two that I have or had.

Hugs!

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

That's quite a collection of prints! - ;))

Nann said...

What a great assortment! You are right about a quarter yard going a long way. I've made more than a dozen I Spy quilts over the years and it's a close bet that they share at least on novelty square. What I admire is your setting with the chain of jelly beans going one way and the misc. black/bright going the other way.

Patty said...

The prints are wonderful and I didn’t see any that I have. It’s amazing the thousands of different prints that have been printed over the decades.

Vicki W said...

I recognize several of those fabrics!

Mystic Quilter said...

A little one is going to have such fun and be occupied for hours
checking out all the squares.

helenreimers said...

Love this quilt. So fun. Recognize some of the fabrics. Have them. This will inspire me to make my great granddaughter a big girl quilt.

MissPat said...

I have a large collection of novelty prints from making lots of kid quilts for over 30 years, but I found only 2 amonst yours. And funnily enough one was the Cat in the Hat fabric just like Quiltdivajulie. A fun quilt that will be treasured by it's recipient.
Pat

Patricia said...

i love love this i spy quilt. a big lover of novelty fabrics and have picked them up for years, since 1991 or 92. i cracked up over how many of them i have also. those cherries are part of my favorite fabs, the pig in the tutu, the cows, the many cats and animals, the hamburger, the leaping cats, frogs. i'd love a quilt like this. i'd see something different each time i saw it. i'm so glad you posted this. maybe it's the push i needed to make one for myself. thanks so much for sharing your methods. patti in florida