Charmed I'm sure, I-spy in a Low Volume vibe.

It started like this...  I've been amassing Low Volume (usually the most required fabric in bee & swap blocks!) for a few years now, and keeping my favourites separate.  The very top right of this picture is a stack of charm squares, all different.  This summer, I finally had a concrete vision in my head of what I wanted to do with them!

Never mind all the amazing, complex, beautiful, clever Low Volume quilts I've been admiring for so long, I wanted to sew. And quickly!  Goodness knows how the wonderful mothers I see on Instagram get their children to play by themselves so that they can get some sewing time...  Moo is Monkey Central..  Anyway.  I started with a plan - the simplest sewing I can think of, squares.  Then I thought about Scrappy Trip Around the World quilts, and Scrap Vomit quilts.  Neither quite hit the mark.  But the notion that every print must be different was a hit.  (Lets not bother pretending that had nothing to do with justifying more shopping... )

It took me about 3 weeks to do all my cutting.  Thats how tired and crappy I was over summer...  But when everything was cut, I had the urge to sneak in a few wee blocks too - the odd drunkards path, a four square here and there, a random pinwheel or two, and the ubiquitous Half Square Triangle.  But keeping to a minimum so as not to be obvious.  Cos you know subtlety is so me...  I also decided to have it On Point.   I counted out what a quarter would look like, chucked it on the wall, and with Supergran to assist, I got 4 mornings sewing, three hours a quarter.  

 This was a biggy in my books.  Our new bed is a whopper (well poor man does have to share with me and my 101 symptoms of sleep disorders and hip pain...) so this had to fit.  (and it does, just!).  There was no way I could quilt it though, and you know, I'd never in a million years have done it justice.  I handed it over to the only woman who would.  Ms Trudi Wood.  She's not just a fabulous quilter.  She's a friend.  She is kind, thoughtful, creative, AND a fab quilter!  I explained my quilt to Trudi.  I told her how much I loved it already.  I told her that every print was different, and so many of them said so many different things to me.  I can remember which were used in who's blocks.  I remember which prints were given to me by friends.  I can spot right away the prints which came from the first swap I ran. And then there are the prints I included for Moo.  You see, this quilt will be on my bed.  As Moo grows up, this quilt will be on my bed and no doubt she will join me snuggling under it.  When Moo has a bad dream we will cuddle under this quilt.  When Moo is feeling poorly we will snuggle under this quilt.  There are many, many I-spy squares included for the very purpose of distracting Moo!
Anyway.  I told Trudi everything, and she told me how she could quilt it.  "an all over with a few things hidden in for fun".  What can I say.  She gets me!  She understood completely.  I knew she was the only person who could or should do the quilting for this quilt.  And she excelled herself!!!

Here it is.  As usual my photos are awful but I'm including so many I hope you'll get a feel for it.  Coming in under 100" x 80" it still looks small on the bed!  You can see the all over pattern though, and I'm happy that no one part of it stands out more than the other.

And this is how the little differences pop up!  Gold Birds.  I love that there are quite a few metallic prints in this too.

Meeses and birds and windmills and bicycles and flowers.  Drunkards Path and two of the prints I bleached to soften the colours for this quilt.

Animals, ballerinas, music, gold sparkly triangles.  An HST, a DP and a four square.  

Postcards, butterflys, girls on swings, pussycats!

Alice in wonderland, Kitchen utensils, cookie cutters, bunny rabbits... Pinwheels!

Mermaids, toadstools, foxes, doodles, scooters, fish, frogs and lighthouses...

Stars, cakes, tents!  Flowers, Letters, Red Riding Hood...

There is so much to find in this quilt, and the quilting itself joins in with the game.  I could not possibly love it more.  I hope you like it too.