November 2015
For some of
us, I Spy quilts are the popcorn of
the quilt world. You can never stop at
just one. This is particularly true for
those of us who collect “picture fabrics”.
Aptly nicknamed “conversation fabrics”, these pieces can have pictures of
pretty much anything – barns, dogs, birds, angels, stinky cheeses, Snoopy,
Nancy Drew’s magnifying glass...the list is endless. So far the only pop
culture object not depicted in fabric is Donald Trump’s hair.
Basically,
if someone, somewhere liked something,
there’s probably a bolt of fabric bearing a picture of it. And I probably bought a bunch it. These pieces, while looking nothing short of
fabulous in my fabric collection, are actually quite difficult to use up. It’s like cooking – you can’t just grab all
your exotic ingredients off the shelf and use them up in a single dish. That method yields the proverbial dog’s
breakfast whether you’re making food or quilts.
Our guild
recently made placemats to give to the clients of The Red Cross Meals On Wheels program. My contribution was two I Spy placemats. They’re fun
visually because every time you look at them you find something you didn’t see
the last time. It’s the same pleasure
you get from watching reruns of your favourite TV show. There are always subplots and cool props you missed
on your first pass.
Some of my
other adventures with I Spy quilts, including tips on making them, can be found
in my previous posts Julie’s
Garden and True North.
