I Spy a Heart!

My cousin Tim & his wife Nichole had their second child, a girl, in late June.  Nichole is a quilter, so I get a little nervous about baby quilts!  I made an I Spy quilt with stars in it for their oldest daughter Emma when she was born.  I asked Nichole if she had any preferences--same design but different color?  Nichole said she would love another I Spy, but maybe something with a heart?  See, at 20 weeks they were told that Baby Girl had a heart defect and would require surgery.  Nichole has been using the heart as a symbol of strength.  And I knew exactly what to make!

A few years ago, Val who is now at Val's Quilting Studio posted an I Spy quilt she made with a heart in the middle.  Her blog has changed some and I can't find it to link.  I liked hers a lot but wanted more definition around the heart.  I used graph paper to sketch it out.  Then I went through my stash of 4" I Spy squares from a swap hosted by Val herself maybe two years ago? Those were the background, so no red, and I made HSTs from 5" I Spy squares.

I wanted to use one fabric to surround the heart to better make it stand out.  I wasn't sure I had anything that I liked, and this was fairly early into the pandemic shut down.  My LQS had just gotten in some elastic and was doing curbside orders.  Wanting to support them, I put "pink with small print" on my list, and this is what they brought me.  It's called Sugar Speckles and I used it for the binding as well.

For the back I used the same print that's on the back of big sister Emma's quilt.  My mom bought something like 5 yards of this for $1 at a yard sale quite a few years ago.  I'm glad the backs will match but the fronts are different--perfect for sisters! 

 

Speaking of big sister Emma, you may remember that I already made her big sister present.  This is William Whale by Funky Friends Factory made in Island Batik fabrics.

I am pleased to report that baby Nora is doing fine.  She did not have to have surgery right after birth; they'd like her to gain a little more weight before the surgery.  I suspect it will be in the next month or so.  I need to get this labeled and mailed off to her!