I Spy - Quilt Swap

New is good, right?  I've seen something called a "Quilt Swap" on a few blogs and it caught my attention.  I am by no means this fantastic quilter.  (I'm just finishing up my first quilt) but I've taken an interest in the rag top quilts- they seem a little more my style (for sewing at least - Have I mentioned that my mom makes heirloom quality quilts????)  I've also seen great ideas for "I spy" items like these :

 First, Obsessivelystitching shows these great story telling blocks.

 Than, Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy  gives one great idea for place mats . . . .

 And, Child of Mine gives another idea for place mats.

 Obsessivelystitching also gives a tutorial for making an ABC book - use I-Spy fabric to increase the use of the book!

And, of course, Oopsey Daisy shows how to make these great bags!

All great ideas but I'm, opting for the quilt first.  So today, I started the process:

 I picked up 10 different "boy themed" fabrics.  Technically you only need 1/4 yard of each but, this being my first one, I went ahead and got 1/2 yard of each.  (good thing - I REALLY messed up my cutting on the first one and almost didn't have enough!)

Than, once it all came back to me, I made quick work of all that fabric and here is my stack. 

So, what is next?  I have to ship these off on Monday to the person "in charge" of this one and than wait for my 200 blocks to return!!  I'm excited. 

I plan on using this quilt more for learning - I like to keep quilts in the living room for the boys that have distinct things on them (they have a space one and a dinosaur one my mom made - both with buttons - we call out colors and count the buttons!)  This one, we can use to find things, colors, for counting, and more. 

When I get my fabric, I promise to share :-)

Check out the following blog to learn more or just see her other great ideas!