I -Spy Alyssa

The core of Alyssa's I-spy quilt is now done as well.
I'm really happy how these two quilts have turned out. I was more consistent with the dimentional sashing of Alyssa's but many won't notice that unless you compare them side by side. Alyssa's quilt is different to that each block is different while Hannah's was done in pairs. I have enough of these blocks left that I believe I will make at least one more of these with left-over blocks. I really enjoyed this process and the results.

I still haven't decided how I will get them quilted. I have some information gathering to do. I'd better get going as I am starting to get these tops piling up!

Double Irish Chain

I couldn't help myself! I was at Wal-mart the other day getting groceries, when I spotted these fabrics that called out to me! I love the brown and teal. They had several other prints that went with this, but I settled on these 4 thinking I could make the Double Irish Chain that I've been wanting to try. I had no idea how much of each fabric, but based on a previous project, I should get 2 yards each of the 'chain' fabric and 6 yards of the background. Here are the fabrics I got. I planned to use the dark, the floral and the background prints where they are placed here. I expected to use the teal that is similar pattern to the brown as a border.

Well, once I got everything home and started studying the pattern I realized I needed more of the lighter chain fabric. Here's what I came up with. I've got strips made up - ready to cut apart and re-sew. I will have alternating teal fabrics coming what I call the center cross of the brown. Maybe someday I'll learn to have the pattern first...then buy the fabric, but it seems that these fabrics just surprise me! I guess I kinda enjoy too that I can figure out how to make it work, and I think this will be a pleasing pattern - we'll see!

I found this wonderful sunflower panel that I just had to have.
We took it out to the shop and built a stretcher frame for it.
We lined the frame with some batting, and stretched the print on that - wrapping the fabric around the frame and to the back. The print was 24" X 44". There were stems that came down from the top from the previous panel, so I took a marker to darken them out. I may have to go back again after they dry with either more marker or maybe even some paint.
The print length was just 24" - and I didn't want to lose any of it top and bottom wrapping it around the frame, so I also added a strip of Kona cotton to both the top and bottom to give me room to stretch and staple.

We made the frame 24" X 37 - so we had fabric to wrap around the sides.
I haven't decided if it needs a frame or not. For now it won't have one - but we could easily add one later if we decide to. $6.95, some scrap wood and a little bit of batting and we have a dramatic print to fill part of that big empty space on the wall. It looks like it could use a whole lot more - I'll see what else I can do.

I Spy Hannah

Many months ago I decided to make an I Spy quilt for the new grandbabies and got involved in a swap with the great gals at the HGTV Quilting message board. I did some trials of different fabrics and different methods. While I didn't seem to have a lot of trouble with the Y-seam if I was really careful, I did think the method with the half-square triagles work up quicker.

To give you an idea how long this has been in the making, I traded blocks on the board back in April 2008. I then shared the blocks with the Mikayla who picked out blocks for her daughter Hannah, and Megan who picked out blocks for her daughter Alyssa. These are turning out larger than I'd first thought, but I figure that will be just fine, and will be large enough for them to use for a long time.

Mikayla wanted pairs of blocks so they could also play matching activities. Megan chose having every block different. Both girls ended up wanting the same layout - so at least I didn't have to figure everything out twice! (Bless their hearts!)

I've been working on Hannah's quilt - after all - she is the oldest! While I had hopes initially to give the girls their I Spy quilts for Christmas of 2009, I've now decided more realistically that they should be for their 2nd Birthdays. Now I know their moms won't reveal this secret even if they do see this posting.....will you girls? I've still got a ways to go even on this first quilt, but I couldn't wait to share how it's coming along.

Can you tell from the picture where the matches are on Hannah's quilt?