QAYG String Quilt finished

So pleased to finish my QAYG String Quilt today.
I sat in the garden enjoying our beautifully hot sunny day hand sewing the binding and embroidering the label.  Now all ready to post tomorrow!

I loved making the QAYG blocks, using lots of scraps of "Boy type" fabrics, including some scraps I have been given recently.  I also needed to augment them by cutting strips from fat quarters and yardage from my stash.  It's amazing how much fabric you use making strip blocks.
I used a variety of blue fabrics for the back of the blocks, including some novelty prints.  All of these appeared in the strips too.

A great variety of fabrics, so lots and lots of I Spy opportunities from elephants to insects, and space ships to bird houses!  Even some penguins and pukeko (swamp hens) from New Zealand.

 

Can you see the pukeko, bottom left?  The bright blue birds with red beak and legs? They are almost as bright a blue in real life!

 

 

 

 

And here's what it looks like on the back.  I used a lemon Kona Cotton to join the QAYG blocks, hand sewing the joining strips on the back.

 

 

 

Two more close ups to show some of the many different fabrics used in this quilt.

 

 

And the finished quilt, 63" inches square.  Very heavy as my husband will testify, as he held it up for me to photograph!

 

 

 

I have to say I found joining the blocks quite hard.  Joining the blocks into rows was OK but joining the long rows together was a challenge.  The weight of the quilt was unwieldy and dragged the 1/4" seam line off so many times. A lot of unpicking was done.

 

However I am pleased with the result and can't wait to see how this quilt is received by the 3 year old boy who will have it.  I only know of this little chap through his Mum's blog that I follow so hope they will both enjoy playing I Spy and that he will love being warm and cosy in the winter.