I spy a second quilt

I finally finished my second I-spy quilt.  Actually, I did the majority of the quilt rather quickly but then I procrastinated with the hand binding (which is the very last step).  But anyway, it's done.  I tried to use a large range of themed squares, and I used the cutest backing fabric ever.  The overall quality of this quilt (as far as construction is concerned) is much better than the first one I made - which makes sense.  Overall I am very happy with it.  I made it with the intent to put it up for sale on my etsy site.....but it's just too darn cute to part with!  Eh, I'll probably put it up.  Or not.  I don't know.  We'll see.  Knowing me I will put it up then take it off then put it up......

my most time consuming project thus far

The I-Spy Quilt

I first started this quilt back in May.  6 months later and it's finally completed!!!  I blogged about it here once I had the front finish, but I still had a long way to go at that point. 

As I mentioned before, I followed Obsessively Stitching's tutorial to do the front of the quilt (a disappearing 9 patch).  I followed my Aunt's advice for taping the front down to the floor, layering, pinning, and trimming.  I decided on my own that I wanted to use an "s" stitch "in the ditch" (I have no idea if the stitch I used it actually called an "S" stitch, and I'm not quite sure if what I actually did is considered "in the ditch"....but just go with it).  Of course my machine didn't have the "s" stitch.  Nor did the amazing machine I'm borrowing from a friend.  I had to borrow another sewing machine just to get what I wanted!!  I followed the guidance of my Aunt to do the binding, and viola - a finished quilt!!!  I'm really very pleased with it, and my children enjoy playing with it. 

It's funny because the whole time I was making it I kept saying I will never make another quilt - that they are too tedious and time consuming.  But wouldn't you know, now that I'm done with the one, I want to do another.  Eeeek.

So, here she is in all her glory:

Here's a small glimpse of the back:

 A close up of a square, and the stitch I used:

"Hey Trent, show me the dog that looks like Maggie":

and in case anyone was wondering: it's approximately crib size. 

I spy with my litte eye....

As I mentioned, I was recently employed at a fabric store.  It's very common while working at the cutting counter to get into conversations with customers and co-workers about projects they're working on and what they plan to do with the fabric they are purchasing.  More than a few times I had people tell me I should make an I-spy quilt - that my kids would love it.  Eventually I decided to look the term up on the internet because while I had an idea of what an I-spy was, I was having a hard time picturing it. 

I quickly stumbled across Obsessively Stitching.  Even though I don't consider myself a quilter I knew I HAD to make this quilt!

The thought of buying 88 different fabrics made my head spin - do you know how expensive that would be??  So I searched ebay for I-spy squares.  Turns out you can buy any size and quantity of I-spy squares that you can image.  All pre-cut and fussy cut (meaning the primary image/print is centered).  So, I bought a lot of 100 I-spy squares.  I was so excited when they arrived in the mail that I took pictures!  (lame, I know)

I went thru the 100 squares and picked out the ones I wanted to use, which was somewhere around 40-50.  Rather than purchase more bulk sets of squares I went to the store and bought a bunch of novelty fabric that I liked and I made the remainder of squares myself.  88 total. 

I knew it would be easy for me to rush through process of sewing all the squares together.  It's so tedious and I was anxious to get it done - but I made a conscious effort to really take my time and do it right.  Not only did I take my time when I was pinning and sewing, but I often put the quilt to the side so I could work on different projects. 

I started the quilt at the beginning of May, and here we are at the beginning of August and I only JUST finished the front of the quilt!  Over the weekend I met my aunt (who is an amazing quilter!!!) at a fabric store and she helped me figure out what I wanted to do as far as a border, backing, and binding. 

I have a few things to do on my own then my wonderful aunt is going to come back over and teach me what I need to know to finish the quilt.

Here's the front of the quilt before I finished the bottom row.

My son already loves it!!  He's constantly pointing out different items!  In fact, just the other day he was saying "ants, mommy, ants".  I thought for sure we had ants in the house again.  But no, it was just the fabric!