Here is a super quick idea and a great stash buster! Someone gave me a little pack of three Hawaiian fat quarters. So, what could I make with a few fat quarters of cute Hawaiian fabric? Hmmm, I thought, wouldn’t this make a cute I Spy quilt?!
Typical I Spy quilts have quite a bit of variety, but I only had these three fat quarters, so I added an orange woven from my stash and went to work. You could make this with just about any cute novelty print scraps. The smallest size scrap you can use to cut one of these hexagons out is a 4½” x 5½” rectangle.
I cut my fat quarters into 4½” strips. Using the 60 Degree Diamond Ruler, I cut four hexagons out of each strip. I centered a turtle inside the hexagon bracket so I was sure to get at least one full turtle in each block. These blocks are easy to cut, just lay the strip down between the 4½” hexagon lines and cut one side out. Then, rotate the piece so the cut end is nestled inside the bracket and trim the other sides off.
Here is a perfect little I Spy block!
Next, cut 2½” strips from the background fabric. Using the point of the ruler, cut 2½” triangles. Rotate the ruler 180 degrees to make the next triangle cut.
Here, I started my layout. With just three block fabrics, it’s a little bit predictable, but I've seen really cute versions where there are only two matching blocks, and it’s sort of a game to have a child find the match!
Each hexagon has two triangles sewn to it. Here you can see the placement on opposite ends. Lay the triangles onto the hexagon, and use the flat tip as a matchup point to gauge your ¼” seam perfectly.
Press the seams open. This will help during final assembly.
I started with a few sets, just to make sure my seam allowance was right, then went into mass production mode and chain-pieced the whole pile of them! Quick!
I laid all the blocks out in horizontal rows and sewed them together. Because of the chain- piecing method, I had a few extra triangles sewn to ends that would eventually be cut off… oh well :)
Here you can see all the rows sewn together. I pressed all the seams open between the blocks and then again between the rows. This makes for a flat quilt and no bulky seams between angled pieces and points.
I trimmed the two side edges even and added a 3” border all the way around. Then, onto the longarm it went. A nice simple swirl design and it was done!
Whew, I think I’ll bind it in that bright turquoise color, that’ll really round things out :)
I was thinking, this ruler cuts two sizes of hexagons: a 4½” and an 8½”. What you just saw was the 4½” size, but wouldn’t this make a great football quilt pattern or movie night quilt in the 8½” size? There are all kinds of layer cakes out there, with cute collections or larger prints that would make really fun quilts without cutting the print up too much. I just saw a collection of football fabrics that would make a great guy quilt! In that case, the background triangles would be cut at 4½”.
Well, there’s a little inspiration for your week! I hope you enjoyed that :)
Happy Sunday everyone,