From this to.........

THIS......
My niece just sent pictures of her twin girls...now almost 5 months old, laying on the I Spy Quilts I made for them. They each got their own to drag around and sit on....the quilts are a little different from the other but both very colorful and fun for a little one...

I know I'm partial but I do think these are the cutest babies ever...just want to squeeze them and kiss on them. They live in NY so it will be a while before I get to see them.....so glad they're enjoying their quilts.

I Spy II

  Trying to finish up projects while I'm on lockdown...I find I'm slower than normal as my days don't have much structure and I've always been better in a structured situation. When I was a public school teacher, I accomplished more in a day than any other time....I guess there were no other choices....also a tad bit younger....... 

  

One of the things on my list was to finish "I Spy #2" for my 2 great nieces - twins....I made the first "I Spy" and a wall hanging for their room...but they should each have their own "I Spy" to drag around. This one is a little different and I do like this pattern better.

My first choice for a backing was this darling "doggie" fabric. The girls - Ellie and Abby have a dog (maybe 2) and thought they would love this....but then I got to thinking...

hmmmmmm....flannel is such a nice backing...so much softer but often hard to find the big selection you want.

While looking through my blocks, I found one was a ladybug and almost identical to the flannel so voila...think I found my backing. I washed it several times to make it shrink as much as possible and it worked perfectly....now to send it off.
 On another note, everytime I sit and sew or do something that fulfills my heart and day, I do think of all those on the frontline, having to leave their home, working so hard to make things safe for us...I want to give a big Shout Out and a heartfelt thanks to each and everyone...

Welcome to the World

My niece and her husband recently gave birth to twin girls....a lot of excitement. They are darling and a little over 1 month...how fast they grow.

I often do I Spy quilts for new members of the family but I decided to do a wall hanging for their room along with an I Spy quilt. Their colors are gray, pink and purple. I threw in the blue that Jen (the mom) likes also. The entire piece is stitched using a buttonhole stitch which I love to do and my BERNINA 710 does it really well. I find that some machines don't do it evenly...different amount of space between the stitch. I also used 2 strands of embroidery floss to embroidery some of the details.

I actually saw something like this on Pinterest...thought it was so cute and whimsical...and adapted it for this piece.

It's also small so will fit anywhere...But what a doofus I am...Notice the date...which I obviously didn't....According to this, the girls aren't even born yet....But we'll be going up in October and it's an easy fix...already have the floss, needle and scissors in the glove compartment so I won't forget. I added a flange on every side...2 are pink and 2 are blue. I also like to couch Candlelight thread or some kind of heavier metallic decorative thread in the ditch to add just a tad of sparkle.

It was great fun to do and as with any of these things a labor of love. Now the label on the back was correct...swear I'm losing it!

This I Spy is the one I often do...I found a darling backing (above) lots of wonderful animals and used lots of prints for the front.

They are very colorful and great fun for the little ones....At first I thought it was a bit redundant to make two I Spys as they would be so similar and have since re-thought it and am making another one...each of the girls should have their own....and they are great fun to make.

Here's the completed piece and another one in the works...a little different pattern and blocks...having fun and will keep you posted. Til next time....