Hive 2 September Block Tutorial

6 inch Rainbow postage stamp i-spy block

I turn 50 years old in a few months, and many of my friends are grandparents or almost grandparents, I find myself an Aunt for the first time.  Elizabeth is 15 months old and the cutest happiest little girl ever!  I made her a baby quilt, and now I want to make her an i-spy quilt.  To make it fun and colorful, I want each 6-inch block to focus on a single color.  I hope that in the end, I will have a rainbow of blocks, making this look very much like an i-spy version of a rainbow postage stamp quilt.

Here are a few finished blocks.  They end up at 6½ inches, which means when sewn together they will be 6 inches finished.

I couldn’t find a sample or tutorial for this block, so I’ve made one up below. I’ve added pictures to make it make more sense.  I know personally, I can figure stuff out from the pictures easier than reading all the text.  This really is much simpler to put together than it sounds!  It is basically a block of 36 squares with some of the squares replaced with a larger picture type block.

Tutorial:

1.       Select the i-spy item:  Start by finding an i-spy item in your fabric that Lizzy would enjoy. This could be things like a dog, fish, truck, sun, or any item type thing. In a pinch, it could be a block of dots.  It needs to be anywhere from 2x2 inches to 4x4 inches,  It can be 2x3 inches finished or 2x2 inches finished or 3x3 inches finished or 3x4 inches finished or even 4x4 inches finished.  Cut this item out so that it is a square or rectangle.  Don’t forget to leave that ¼ edge all around to make it ½ inch bigger! 
For example, if it will finish at 2x2 inches, the piece should be cut out 2½ x 2½ inches.

2.   Decide where you want to put the I-spy piece within your block:
Sample configurations:

If you use a 2x2 inch finished block for the i-spy item, you will need 32 additional 1-inch finished blocks (36 total minus 4 for the 2x2 inch finished block).  If you use a 3x3 inch finished block for the i-spy item you will need 27 blocks.

3.   Add the color blocks:

The i-spy block will be surrounded by a single color family, so you will need to calculate how many of the finished 1-inch squares you will need to complete the block.  Once you decide on a color, cut out a bunch of 1.5 inch squares.  It would be ideal if the primary color matches the i-spy item, but coordinating is also OK.  Ideally we would be able to ask Lizzy 'find the red block'.

4.       Put it all together:   The easiest way is to start sewing blocks together in twosies.  Then make the twosies into foursies etc. keeping in mind that the i-spy item may have a single row next to it.  I pressed seams open, but you can press to the dark side if you like.

Question:

Ok, I have a couple questions, but don't feel you have to answer more than one.

1. How do you organize your solid fabric? Do you sort by manufacturer (Kona, moda, etc.)? Do you label them with the color names or use the fancy color card?  Do you seperate them from prints? Please post a picture of your system if you can.

2. When I was a teenager, I stayed with my Aunt Joanne for a few weeks.  I had known her my whole life, but since we didn't live close, I had never spent any one-on-one time with her prior to this visit.  During this visit, I realized that my Aunt Joanne was pretty much the mom I always wish I had.  She liked the same crafty things that I did, she was very warm and emotional, unlike my mother, and I felt a strong connection with her and still do to this day. 
My question is, do you have that special 'aunt' in your life?  Is there a story about your relationship with a aunt/uncle/grandmother, etc. that helped you at some point in your life?