I Spy with my jr eye

My goal is to have at least one quilt that everyone can connect with, whether it be through the traditional or modern quilt designs, the data presented with colorful batik fabrics, or the puzzles to solve. This quilt aims to appeal to a younger audience through a familiar game, I Spy With My Little Eye... except this time, we are "spying" items from around JOIDES Resolution (the JR)!

Quilt measures 40 inches wide by 40 inches tall and was completed September 22, 2023.

I Spy With My JR Eye quilt. To zoom in to an image and explore the various squares of fabric, click here.

This quilt is designed to appear to younger audiences viewing the Stories from the South Atlantic Ocean quilt collection, as well as adults. It is based upon the guessing game, where someone (the Spy) states, “I spy with my little eye something…”, and the sentence is finished with either stating a specific object in view, or the first letter of an object in a room, etc. Those playing the game must then correctly identify the object, or are allowed to ask questions to narrow down their guess.

The “I Spy” game is a popular design for children’s quilts. The template is typically a series of squares with novelty fabrics and bright colors for kids to search for animals, food, or whatever is contained in the fabric utilized.

For this quilt, I decided to use images I took on JOIDES Resolution during Expedition 390, supplemented with images from the IODP JRSO MerlinOne photo archive. I then created two lists of objects for an I Spy game – one list for kids, and one list that has objects and equipment relevant to scientific ocean drilling. Select your list, and enjoy playing the game!

Quilt details (click to read)

The photos were printed on fabric through Spoonflower.com. The fabric used for the letters J and R is a Three Cats Shweshwe fabric manufactured by Da Gama Textiles in South Africa. For Expedition 390, JOIDES Resolution departed from and returned to port in Cape Town, South Africa. Longarm quilting services were provided by Old Country Store Fabrics (Intercourse, PA).

Quilt measures 40 inches tall by 40 inches wide and was completed on September 22, 2023.

Photo credits: Except for photos taken by L. Guertin and M. Pincus, all images were downloaded from the MerlinOne photo archive.