I Spy Quilt Parade

I found some beaut quilts over at Sew in Peace.  Sandra ran an I Spy swap, and then posted a parade of quilts made from the swapped squares.  These two caught my eye.

The swapped squares were 5 inches.  This quilter wanted a larger square, so added plain sashing

which made the square larger and emphasised the colour.  Quite clever! 

The more I look at this one the better I like it.  The sash colour helps to define the rainbow stripes,

but because it's only on two sides the charm square isn't boxed in.

Instead of sashing the I Spy blocks with plain sashing, here the plain and prints are reversed.  It's effective, isn't it.  There are plenty more quilts on parade in the blog, lots of new ideas to try.

Eye Spy Eye Candy

I had a look at a blog last week that had a fat quarter swap.  Any fabric was welcome, except I Spy and novelty prints. How sad!  Here, everything is a Novelty!

I've put up some photos from Flickr.  The linkback to Flickr or a blog comes under each photo.  Enjoy!

P.S. Don't forget the charm square giveaway - 4 days to go!  Take me there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77828480@N00/7129293881/

Nice variety of charm squares in a star shape.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/felicityquilts/7155651330/

http://felicityquilts.blogspot.ca/2012/05/rainbow-i-spy.html

Five inch charms with a double sashing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethadeezoo/6687844155/

Sweet and simple.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93499134@N00/6888899605/

A wide variety of traditional blocks made with I Spy fabrics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50590626@N04/5590308939/

Appliqued circles on the sea and sky.

Baby I Spy with Setting Squares

I came across this tutorial for an I Spy baby quilt just the other day.

http://www.cloverandviolet.com/2011/12/i-spy-baby-quilt-tutorial.html

The instructions are clear, fabric quanities included, and there are lots of photos for each step of the quilt.   I only have one fabric in my stash that is the same as one of the charms pictured.  There must be a lot of different fabrics in the world....

Another Over and Under ... Wait, there's More!

Sandy's done it again.  Not one, but two finished I Spy quilts for lucky great-nephews.  Check them both out on her blog here.  One has blue sashing and the other quilt has green; the two different colours create two quite different looking quilts. There's lots of close-up photos too. I love them!

Let's Play I Spy

This new quilt is on show at Riel's blog The Q and the U.  For someone who's only been quilting for two years her quilts are very impressive.  The I Spy charms are 4 inch squares and sashing is 2.5 inches. The sashing in this top is quite clever.  Why?  You'll have to visit Riel's blog here to find out!

Twisted Happy Blocks Quilt

When it come to writing instructions, I'm not your man.  Or woman.  I would much rather put up a photo and say, here it is, figure it out.
Fortunately, Mary Johnson of http://www.maryquilts.com/ is one of those generous folk who not only make a terrific quilt, but then also take the time to write a comprehensive, full colour set of instructions and put it up on the internet free!
Follow this link to download the instructions for Twisted Happy Blocks.  By the way, it's not the only quilt that Mary has on her website, there are dozens are patterns for scrappy quilts.  Well worth a visit.

I Spy a Rainbow Quilt

Let me share with you another great blog and a striking I Spy quilt.  Hilary lives over at Quilary- Take a Peek Over the Fence.  Hilary likes rainbows and it shows in this quilt she made for her daughter.  I love the range and placement of the charms.  I reckon I'm a fan of rainbows too.

Colourwash I Spy

I found this gorgeous I Spy quilt while cruising though cyberspace the other day.  It's a raffle quilt for the 2012 Quilt Show of the Victoria's Quilters' Guild.  The quilt show is in May, and I thought, seeing as I live in Victoria, I should find out where it is and have a look.
The show is at the Pearkes Recreation Centre in Tillicum Rd., Victoria.  That is Victoria, BC.  British Columbia.  In Canada.  On the other side of the world from Victoria, Australia.
Nevermind.  It's still a lovely quilt.

I Spy Halloween Over and Under

This magical quilt is Sandy's work; her blog is Sew...This is My Blog.  The quilt here is all Halloween fabrics and the pattern is called Over and Under.  The prints are 4.5 x 6.5 inches and the 1.5 inch black sashing makes 6.5 inch blocks.  It's another very simple pattern that creates a good looking quilt.

Funky Ant Farm

How cool is this kid's quilt! The sashing for the blocks is white fabric crawling with litttle ants.  (I have some of this fabric in my stash.)  The occasional random ants in the rectangular blocks make the quilt top look like an ant farm.  Read about this work in progress at The Q and the U, there are still a few more borders to go.

P.S. All the borders are on now - finished top is here.

I Spy a Charming Quilt

Some of the nicest I Spy quilts are the simple ones.  A charm square quilt is made from many, many squares and no two squares are the same.  Collecting the charms takes time and swapping with other quilters can speed the collection process.

http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-spy-quilt-for-jellybean.html

One of the blogs I follow is Obsessively Stitching.  I enjoy the quilts and other projects pictured, many of which are Quite Small.  Her latest quilt shown above is a great I Spy.  No sashing, no filler fabrics, just dozens and dozens of bright I Spy squares.   This blogger runs charm square swaps for I Spy fabrics too, very handy if you want to increase your collection for your charm square quilt.