Happy New Year to you! I hope 2026 has got off to a good start for you and most especially that you are enjoying some inspiring creativity 😊
After whizzing together some octagonal Christmas tree skirts at the beginning of December, my stitching took a bit of a break (all those pre-Christmas jobs and a jigsaw puzzle or two took over!). But then something sparked me to make an I-Spy quilt. It was fun shuffling through my novelty fabrics before coming up with a patchwork design. I decided to go for blocks measuring 6″ finished with a 6 x 7 layout, so forty-two blocks in total. I had quite a few blue fabrics in my stash so that decided the background colour. And I chose two blocks to frame the novelty squares, both quick to cut and piece: A simple Economy Block and a square-in-a-square.
I added a stripey fabric around the patchwork centre which I think fits well with the background blues but also ‘lifts’ the colours in the blocks.
I had a piece of silky soft fleece ready to use and just the right size for the backing. As the fleece was quite slippery I decided to use wadding as well, just to stabilise the layers and add to the cosy feel of the quilt. After pin basting the layers I quilted an off-centre 2″ spiral starting from an image of a planet. I love the spiral pattern on the fleece. A funky zebra print provided the perfect binding.
The quilt is now listed in my Folksy shop.
I’ll be writing an easy to follow I-Spy quilt pattern to add to the project section of my new on-line teaching venture. It’s called ‘The Patchwork Hub at Home’, with my intention being to provide a library of patchwork tips, tutorials and skill building projects for members to access when suits them. It’ll be a friendly place to meet on-line to share inspiration and successes, to ask questions and share knowledge/experiences to help others push through patchwork-quilting challenges.
If you’d like to find out more about The Patchwork Hub at Home and maybe become a Founding Member please do subscribe to my email newsletter to keep up-to-date with developments. I am very excited about this idea, driven by my own experience of becoming a carer with all the scheduling uncertainties those responsibilities incur. I’m working on the Hub to make it a no-pressure space easily accessible to patchwork-quilters who aren’t in a position to sign up to regular workshops or meetings away from home.
Happy Stitching!
Allison
Don’t we all love the Economy block? It’s one of my favorites for showcasing a beautiful print. Your combo of that block with a square-in-a-square is great. I especially like that you used flannel for a backing. I noted you said you used wadding. But, have you ever quilted a top and flannel backing only? I’m thinking that would be a nice combination for those of us who live in a warm climate. Your spiral quilting is gorgeous, by the way. It’s one of my go-to designs.
Thanks Linda. I did enjoy using those two simple blocks to showcase the novelty print squares. Yes! I think with most fleece backings, wadding isn’t really necessary. It was just the fleece blanket I used was very silky and slippery and I was concerned it might shift about while I was quilting. So the wadding was really a precaution – although here we are in the season of reaching for warm covers!