'I Spy' Blanket

I had a neighbor in Arizona that was given an 'I SPY' baby blanket. All the quilt blocks had different pictures of things on them that you could play the 'I SPY' game with. I loved it and have wanted to make one since then. Her quilt was pretty intricate in that the blocks were in all hexagon shapes...I knew I wouldn't even attempt that one but I could do squares.

I was on my friend Jamie's craft blog awhile ago. She's one of those people that can make anything look cute! She posted a picnic blanket she had made from scraps of fabric she had saved from different sewing projects. I had LOTS of scraps from over the years and even had most of them cut into quilt blocks already. They were as cute as Jamie's fabric scraps but I had lots of them. I always had the intentions of using them to make an 'I SPY' quilt but always procrastinated thinking I didn't have enough different things yet.

I was inspired. I pulled out all the quilt blocks and started laying them out. I would have to have duplicates of some squares but I had plenty to make a little quilt for picnics. And how fun to have a built in game on a picnic?

I mixed the patters and made strips of boy-ish and girly patterns. I didn't plan on a specific size but happened to make the PERFECT size to use a piece of yellow fabric for the back I have been storing forever. I couldn't have cut it to make it a more perfect fit. I didn't have quilting stands so I improvised there too and just tied it on the floor. I figured it was for picnics so I didn't mind if it had a little...uh...personality.

I saved the extra blocks from this one and am starting to save for the next. I love how it turned out!

And the best part...it ended up costing less than $10 for the batting, thread and embroidery floss. The kids had so much fun playing 'I SPY' on it before it was even finished. We took it out in the backyard to eat lunch the other day and it might be a little distracting while they're eating but it kept them on the blanket near their food at least.