This Christmas, I finally finished a quilt was been two years in the making - an "I Spy" quilt for my family! In this post, I am sharing the story behind this quilt and details for how you can make your own.
I started this quilt top nearly two years before I finished it by slowly collecting 2-1/2" by 2-1/2" squares. One of the questions I get most about this quilt is where I got the fabric. The little squares came from so many different sources! Most are pieces from former projects. I cut come pieces from fabric my aunt gave me from her stash when I first started quilting. Some are from fabric I picked up at the Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild's annual swap. I cut others from fat quarters in my stash and some came from mini charm packs I received as gifts or as a free sample.
As I collected squares, I sewed pairs of colorful squares and neutral squares together every few months and then stashed them away. If a neutral square had some color in it, I tried to pair it with a square of the same color. I tried to collect the same amount of squares in each color (yellow, orange, red, etc.) and ended up with more blues than most other colors, but overall, I managed to get it pretty close. Red was the biggest struggle for me: I don't sew much with red fabric.
Once I gathered almost enough for the full quilt top, I first grouped them by color and then arranged each color into sub groups, such as dark blue purple, medium blue purple, light blue purple, blue, light blue green, medium blue green, dark blue green, and so on.
I brought all 500+ pairs with me to a Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild weekend retreat in October, and brought about two or three dozen extra squares in each color and some neutrals so that I could fill in any gaps. As much as I could, I kept all of the directional fabrics oriented up so having these extra squares helped to fill in when there was a gap in between the pairs. I was also able to add in a few pieces from the scraps that my guild mates had brought along with them, which was an extra special last-minute addition.
While at our retreat, I laid out all 1,080 pieces on the floor, creating the ombre effect. Then, my friend Kaitlin of Red Rock Quilt Co. taught me how to web piece. It was challenging not to twist the "columns" as I sewed them together, and I did have to undo my work a few times when the rows and columns got tangled up, but overall, the webbing technique allowed me to ensure all of the pieces ended up where I wanted them to be. If I were going for more of a random and scrappy look, rather than creating the ombre effect, I would not have bothered with the webbing.
Once I completed the quilt top, Carrie at Nightingale Longarm Quilting quilted it. We chose the Wavy Sea pantograph designed by Melissa Kelley. It was so hard to choose a panto but ultiimately, I loved this one because the swirls were on a diagonal that mirrored the diagonal stripes in the quilt.
At this point, it was very challenging to keep the quilt a secret from my family in the last few weeks before Christmas. I decided to make it hidden in plain sight, attaching the binding in the evenings with the gorgeous Anna Maria Fabrics backing face-up so no one could get a good look at the front. And even if they did, I doubted they would see more than a rainbow quilt.
I bound my I Spy quilt with this loud and fun Tula Pink striped fabric. It works so perfectly with the backing and brings even more energy to this playful quilt.
I'm not sure why, but this is the softest quilt I have ever made. Maybe mixing so many fabrics together somehow caused that? Or maybe it's the batting? Or Carrie did something magical while she was quilting it? I'm not sure, but it is super snuggly and has already gotten a lot of use.
Want to make your own I Spy quilt?
This quilt measures 60" x 72" finished and is a great way to use up small pieces of fabric in your stash.
Fabric Requirements:
- Fabric A - (540) fussy-cut 2-1/2" by 2-1/2" squares in a variety of prints
- Fabric B - (540) 2-1/2" by 2-1/2" squares in neutrals
-OR-
- Fabric A - (13) mini charm packs (42 squares each) in a variety of prints
- Fabric B - (13) mini charm packs (42 squares each) in neutrals
Instructions:
- Sew (30) 2-1/2" by 2-1/2" squares into a row, beginning with a Fabric A square and alternating Fabric A and Fabric B squares.
- Repeat step 1, beginning with a Fabric B square and alternating Fabric B and Fabric A squares.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have a total of (36) rows.
- Sew rows together.
- Quilt, bind, and snuggle.
Happy sewing!