Thursday, October 27, 2011

I Spy a 4 patch at Quiltville

www.quiltville.com is probably my favourite quilting site.  I have two of Bonnie Hunter's books.  I love her Scrap User's System and her Leaders and Enders Method.  This I Spy uses 4.5 inch novelty print squares and lengths of blue, orange and white fabric.  Bonnie's instructions are very clear and detailed; you can find them here.
This 4 patch is a great design.  I like the way you notice the white squares in lines, and then you focus on the orange squares... wait, blue squares too!  There is always motion as you keep looking - I've just discovered that the big squares seem to float above the rest...

Sunday, October 23, 2011

I Spy a Triple Treat

I finished making this I Spy quilt in time for Jack's 3rd birthday.  It ended up very bright and busy - just like Jack!  The blocks are made from 3 different sized squares - 2.5 inch, 3.5 inch and 6.5 inch.  The large squares, 15 in all, I chose carefully to reflect the things that Jack likes.  The smallest squares are a mix of I Spy and tone on tone fabrics in red, yellow, orange, blue and green.  I avoided purple and pink, this is definitely a quilt for a boy.
I made Triple Treat on my Singer 1950s Featherweight.  In fact, everything I've sewn in the last twelve months has been on this Singer. It runs like a charm.  Because this Singer is so small I used a Quilt As You Go (QAYG) method to quilt the single bed size quilt.  I enjoyed QAYG; it's so nice to finish the top and find the whole quilt is done.
And did Jack like his birthday present?  See for yourself!