When most of my friends were making their I Spy quilts (otherwise known as Talking Quilts), I didn't have a Grandbaby to my name. They shared their fabrics and pooled their resources and finished up with interesting quilts that will be treasured for years to come. Now that I have a grand daughter Jocelyn, I decided it was time for me to jump into the I Spy craze and make her a quilt to play on and with, learning colors and letters and all that! It was a great project to piece together and now that it's finished, I am taking it to a quilter to have it machine done and Jocelyn will have it for Christmas. I am left with DOZENS AND DOZENS of fabric pieces that are part of the quilt...approximately 130 different patterns: animals, fruits and vegetables, toys, passtimes, sports equipment....you name it. My friend Lillian has a grandbaby boy and I am going to piece a quilt for him in the next little while. All of the pink pieces that appear in Jocelyn's quilt will be replaced with 'boy' pieces for this little guy. I have been shopping again for the fabrics to make this quilt for the opposite sex (seems odd to say that about one-year-olds!!)and really can't wait to get started.
The fussy cutting takes time!!!!! I am making these quilts with blocks a little bigger than the ones made by my friends. The blocks finish at 12 inches and in each block there are two six inch squares and two half aquare triangles or one HST and one stripped square. These blocks are framed with 1 1/2" strips rather than using posts and sashing. Jocelyn's quilt is 20 blocks, set in a 4 x 5 layout. It's larger than I originally planned but just couldn't stop!! I think it will be a quilt she will enjoy and I hope it will be used again and again.
