My Summer Colorway Slab Quilt (Also an I Spy Quilt)

The weather finally cooled down a bit so I got the second of my waiting quilt tops quilted. I posted about the colorway for this quilt on August 13, 2026 and about choosing the final layout for my slabs on August 20, 2026.

I chose the fabrics for this quilt out of my stash just for their colors. But it has turned out to be an great I Spy quilt as well. (An I Spy quilt has lots of “hidden” animal or objects for a child to find). So that makes it a fun quilt, as well as a colorful one. I’ve made several I Spy quilts, but now I’m wondering if they are actually EYE spy quilts. Either title works I think! Here’s photo of a very traditional I Spy quilt I made from a pattern I found online years ago that was available to be used for charity quilts. I was so long ago, I no longer remember where I found this pattern and I couldn’t find it now with a quilt search.

The fabrics for this new quilt are all from my stash, and the binding is, once again, a collage of binding scraps. I have to say, I love scrappy bindings!

Somebody else spied my quilt as well. He does like to be included in quilt displays but isn’t so keen on facing the camera! Fortunately he has a great profile!

"I Spy" Slab Blocks

I'm a member of the Boston Modern Quilt Guild.  The guild is making a few charity quilts for children.  They requested 12 1/2 inch square slab blocks in rainbow colors.  Members of the guild are limited to making 3-4 blocks--they don't want to get inundated!!

Knowing the quilts were going to children, I couldn't resist including some novelty fabrics.  There are paints and painting tools in the hot pink block.  The yellow block is more fun.  It has 

• cats
• ladybugs (2 sizes)!
• butterflies
• lemons
• flowers (2 styles of daisies and one generic flower)

I've made a number of "I Spy" quilts in the past using several different patterns.  

While I was sewing these slabs I realized this would be a really fun way to make an "I Spy" quilt.  It is so random that it can incorporate little pieces of fabrics that wouldn't work in a set pattern. A slab block "I Spy Quilt" would really make an incredible treasure hunt! 

Need help constructing your own slab blocks?  Cheryl Arkison has a chapter in Sunday Morning Quilts for a quilt called "The Missing U" which is constructed with slab blocks.  The instructions for the slab construction are on pages 48-49 of the book.  (More info about the book can be found in the Recommended Reading tab above).  Cheryl also has a slab block how-to on her blog, Dining Room Empire.  In that 2013 post, she was collecting slab blocks to make quilts for flood victims in Canada. That project is now completed. If you use the instructions on her blog here's one helpful hint from the book.  When your block is done, sew a 1/8 inch seam around all 4 sides to keep all those seams in the block from pulling apart when you handle the blocks prior to final sewing.  It's an extra step, but you'll be glad you took the time to do it!

An "I Spy Quilt" isn't on my to-do list at the moment. But I do like this idea!