I’m so excited to show you Charlie’s finished quilt! I actually finished it the night before we left Florida two weeks ago on our family trip, and I had no time to take pictures before washing it, drying it and loading it in the car! These pictures were taken here outside the great little cottage where we’re staying right now. You’ll just have to ignore the fact that Charlie has loved this quilt well already, and it could stand another wash and a good ironing! (This is really how it will look from now on anyway!)The front is constructed with the 12” crazy (or wonky) log cabin blocks that I finished last year, along with the 12” blocks that I made with the crazy I-spy mini-blocks that I’ve completed over the last few weeks during the Sew Can She Crazy Quilt Sewalong. (Don’t forget that you have until 10 p. m. to submit your Crazy Quilt project entries for a chance to win some great prizes!)I mentioned before that this quilt is made similarly to the house-quilts that my other children have. It’s constructed with a pieced top and a minky backing without batting and quilted in the ditch. I’ve machine bound some, but since I was short on time with this one, I just turned and topstitched it. The piece of minky that I had planned to use wasn’t quite big enough, so I added a smaller piece, and I love the look that it gave the finished back! It works perfectly with the craziness of the front.The pieced name turned out just the way I imagined it. Charlie thinks it’s, “So cool!” and so do I!I’m also in the habit of using my embroidery machine to add a quick signature and date to these quilts. (An amusing little side note: this is the first time I’ve used my embroidery machine since we moved from Texas, and I seriously think that every single piece that I needed, from the hoop to the card to the software, was in a different unknown place. I was digging through drawers and boxes and . . . I almost gave up, but I’m so glad I didn’t!)

I think that covers everything. I’ll wrap up with close-ups of each section of the quilt. There’s a whole lot of stuff to spy!

Things are moving along quite nicely with the crazy I-spy mini-blocks for Charlie’s quilt.  (I love that he gets so excited when he finds me in my studio working on it!  I really have to get it finished for him before we leave on our trip!)I’m not sure yet whether I’m going to sew 10 or 12 of these mini-blocks.  Either way, these are the first five finished blocks.  (This week’s Crazy Quilt Sewalong Challenge is to show off at least one finished block.)For each block, I started with a fussy-cut focus piece and worked around it with the other scraps that I have on hand. I’m such a planner.  These blocks definitely push me out of my comfort zone because they’re such an exercise in going with the flow. I am having fun choosing fabrics that are very “Charlie”.  He was born in Texas thus the block below, and the Michael Miller Dino Dudes above makes me laugh a bit.  I worked so much with Dino Dudes between the interlock, the woven and the various colors of jerseys . . . oh, and the PUL!  This child wore Dino Dudes at least one day a week for the first couple years of his life!My blocks are incredibly simple compared to some of the amazing blocks showing up on the Crazy Quilt Sewalong Facebook Event Page!  If you’re looking for inspiration, you have to go check it out!

 ~Bonnie