I finally finished my niece Charlotte’s I-Spy quilt! I’ve been working on this off and on for a couple years now. I had planned to have it completed and ready for gifting for Char’s birthday last year, but I ran into an issue and before I knew it, nearly a year went by without me working on it. I was determined to get it finished in time for her big day this year though and I am very happy to report that I accomplished that goal (though not without more snags along the way)!
I ran into a few issues when I went to add the borders to the quilt. One of the issues was that I had cut the borders last year and I was very surprised to discover that for some reason, they were all the wrong size (which does not make sense. The pink borders had been sewn to the quilt previously along with a different inner yellow border. As far as I know, the quilt hadn’t grown, nor had the borders shrank, so why they no longer fit is still a mystery to me 
.). I turned to the Quiltalong to vent my frustrations and received many kind and encouraging words. @MistressJennie suggested that I fix the problem with some cornerstones, which is how the purple corner squares came to be. I have to say, it turned out for the best!
The back of the quilt, complete with the clue strip:
A few of my favorite clues and their corresponding squares:
“Awakened from a dream on a sewing machine - gentle slumber has come to an end, thanks to pins and the paws of a mischievous friend.”
“Do I look good in my black beret? The answer is, “Oui!” as the French would say.”
“In the common way of spies, this agent’s wearing a disguise. To decode the secret message, you’ll need help from another. I highly suggest you seek help from your brother.” (I had previously included a fabric square with the decoder information on her brother’s quilt).
“‘Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!’ I exclaimed. ‘All the better to hear you with,’ this imposter proclaimed.”
As with my other quilts, I used my embroidery machine to quilt the borders, as well as the cornerstones.
I also embroidered the quilt label. It originally said 2023, but as mentioned above, I missed that deadline. Thankfully, Thread Astaire (my embroidery machine) has a function where I can take a picture of my project in the hoop to determine where to place my stitches. So, once I seam ripped the ‘3,’ I was able to seamlessly replace it with a ‘4.’
I also included a coordinating pillowcase:
The birthday card - made with one of the feathers that nearly killed Thread Astaire:
Rolled up and ready to be shipped:
I was really happy to see how excited Charlotte was to get this quilt! She truly enjoys handmade gifts and was thrilled to finally have her own quilt (her two brothers had each already received an I-Spy quilt for previous birthdays). She instantly started investigating and trying to solve the clues.
Soon, more of the family got involved, including her brother and grandpa.
It was fun to watch them read the clues and search the front for the answer
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Charlotte and her brothers with each of their I-Spy quilts:
And of course, a picture of my quilt helper 
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Previous I-Spy quilts - (1, 2, 3)
I-spy quilt stats - 4 down, 1 to go, 0 in progress
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