Wednesday, December 7, 2022

I-Spy 🔍 JOEE Quilts

Here are four I-Spy quilts for children in Japan!!! I had help from four quilt friends who pieced the quilt tops!!!
JOEE Info:
JOEE stands for Joyful Opportunity English Education, a non-profit in Japan that is "educating and enriching the lives of the youngest children in Japan's orphanages with drama, puppets, music and storytelling in English."

I hope you'll take the time to watch this beautifully made video introducing JOEE!
Ruth, the founder of JOEE, asked if I could help by providing some I-Spy quilts for use in teaching English. I made two I-Spy quilts back in March--more info on my blog here. Here's a photo of the first two quilts in action:
Recently Ruth requested four more! This time I asked for some help from my quilt friends: fabrics came from a few quilt friends, especially Sandi, who I work with at the quilt shop and is always willing to share her novelty fabrics bin--thanks, Sandi!!! 

And four other quilters who pieced the tops! Let me introduce them and their quilts now.

First off is my quilting cousin, Sue, and the quilt top she sewed together. 
She also provided the backing which was the inspiration for my quilting motif:
Next up is Quilter Lynn, who served as a missionary in Japan for 3 years and has a heart for Japan. 
Lynn also provided some backing fabric, which inspired the quilting motif I chose:
Colorful trucks at work, with tire tread quilting!!!
My third topper is my sister, Quilter Bonnie!
Bonnie provided some fabric backing of sweet children playing! The quilting is "Baby Animals":
There are cows, rabbits, pigs and sheep pictured in the quilting:
My fourth topper is my quilting neighbor, Patty!!!
The backing was donated by my DD2 and once again inspired the quilting--a map of the world! 
The quilting I added is "Malachite", a topography print!!!
Each quilt is made up of 6 1/2" squares--8 squares across by 10 squares down, for a finished size of 48" X 60".
A close-up of each of the quilts!!!
Here's a fifth quilt that is also headed to Japan! Ruth asked for a quilt to use as a fundraiser, also. This was a mystery quilt from a LQS. I made it mainly with Japanese fabrics, so I thought it would of interest to foreigners living in Japan.
You can help out by liking JOEE on their Facebook page here. Also, follow their blog on WordPress here

Thanks to my four quilt helpers, and Ruth, who is currently in the USA, these quilts will soon be winging their way to Japan! And a big thanks to Ruth and all the JOEE teachers for all they do for the children in Japan's orphanages!!!

23 comments:

  1. What a great use for a quilt to use in teaching English! Nicely done to you and all your helpers!

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  2. Nancy, you had some great help with the quilts - they are all so fun and colorful. I'm sure the kids will enjoy them! The fundraiser quilt is very pretty, too!

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  3. Aren't those fun?! I would love to look at them up close and in person. Even the backings and your quilting for each are special! Sounds like a wonderful group to donate them to, too.

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  4. Such a great charity! So glad your friends came through for you. What lovely quilts! The kids will really love them. The fundraiser quilt is especially pretty. Thanks for sharing on my weekly linkup Wednesday Wait Loss.

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  5. What a great cause and reason to sew I-Spy quilts. I also love your red fundraiser quilt. It is really beautiful! xo

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  6. What wonderful quilts to help a wonderful cause! Ruth will need another suitcase to bring all those over. I like the way the backs inspired the quilting motifs you choose; all are perfect! How lucky they are to have you and your quilting friends helping them.

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    1. Yes, Ruth did say she's be coming over with an empty suitcase!!!

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  7. Nancy all of the quilts are so magnificent. The children will love them . The fund raising quilt is stunning . Well done to you and all of the helpers.

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  8. Thank you Nancy for the beautiful work and labor of love. I can just imagine the kids are using the quilts

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  9. Another great use for quilts!! Great job on those , they will definitely inspire learning!

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  10. Wow! Wow! Wow! I can't wait to share these quilts with the teachers at JOEE and all of the children that they serve. They will be put to good use. These quilts are gorgeous! So many fun animals and objects to find and name. And I love the careful selection of quilt backings so that both sides can be used for language learning and games. I am so thankful to all of the quilters who have contributed their time and talents to create these excellent learning tools. We will be able to rotate the quilts through the children's homes so that every few months, the children will be challenged to find new English words to name. Quilt time remains one of the favorite activities of kids of all ages. Bless you for your incredible gift to JOEE!

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    1. What a great idea, Ruth--to rotate the quilts every few months! And I love that "Quilt Time" is a fav of the children!!! Thank you for all you are doing for these precious children!!!

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  11. What a wonderful project! The kids will love these fun quilts.

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  12. Oh my gosh!! those are so fun and amazing!! and what a great way to learn a language!!!

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  13. These are all so much fun! I love the fun fabrics and that the backings inspired the quilting designs you used. I'm sure they'll be well-loved by the children :)

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  14. Fabulous little quilts. I think I Spy quilts are some of the best patterns for kids. And the backings used were amazing. Well done kudos to all involved.

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  15. This is a lovely collection of quilts. The i-spy idea is a lot of fun and a great way to use in teaching English. And the one for the fund raiser is special, too. Hope that goes well.

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  16. Such a great idea fo learning English, and to confort little ones! These quilts have fabulous fabrics, cute and fun, and your quilting is so well inspired by the theme! Bravo to all of you, generous and talented ladies!
    Thank you for sharing, and linking up.

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  17. Awesome project, Nancy. I applaud you and your friends for these. Bravo! ;^)

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  18. What adorable quilts from all! But oh my! That last quilt is stunning!!! You knocked it out of the park on that one.

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  19. I loved the JOEE video. What a wonderful program for these precious children. These quilts will be a blessing to them!

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  20. Kudos to you and your crew, Nancy, for contributing to such a worthy cause!

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