Wednesday, August 19, 2020

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!


7 comments:

  1. Love this idea for an eye spy quilt! The whale is adorable too.

    Prayers and good thoughts going out for baby Nora, too.

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  2. Great job on the redraft of the pattern. The store did a terrific job on the pink. Prayers for the sweet little one that all goes well.

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  3. You did a wonderful job on the quilt, and the pink works really well. Will pray that all will go well for little Nora and the surgery.

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  4. I LOVE your heart eye spy quilt! It's perfect for wee little Nora! And, also looking at Emma's star eye spy and the backing ... that will tie them together, but be totally different! Emma's whale is still so stinking cute!
    Hopefully Nora's surgery, whenever it happens, goes well!
    Happy Quilting! :-)

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  5. What a fun I-Spy quilt, Emily! I pray Nora will grow big and strong.

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  6. Very fun and very cute! Fingers crossed that all goes well with the surgery.

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  7. We love the eye spy quilts!! Thank you so much!

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