Hi Joe'sMom, the phrase comes from the children's game "I Spy with My Little Eye...." My kids would play this visual scavenger hunt when we were on road trips, and we would have a list of things to "spy". When you found the sign or the color of car or whatever, you had to say, "I spy with my little eye (the school bus)." When it is a quilt, each "focus" fabric then has a different motif for kids to search for and find for the game. I've seen some insanely small cathedral windows I Spy quilts that are really amazing. Pinterest has a lot of photos of examples of "I Spy" quilts. Hope that helps! Hugs!