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Saturday, July 15, 2017

Grandma's Kitchen Quilt Along: #3: Key Holder

It's week 3 of Pat Sloan's weekly mystery quilt, Grandma's Kitchen, and I have a new block to share.


This week's block is called Key Holder. Pat shared her childhood fascination with her grandparent's key holder.

I have a vague memory that there was a key holder on the wall going down the stairs in my grandparents' house, but they lived in a teeny tiny town in Northern Minnesota where most people didn't lock doors.


(As a side note, despite the small size, Blackduck has an awesome quilt shop!)


The beauty of quilting is that even when a group of quilters are working on the same pattern, we still make our work our own. My quilt will be a collection of memories of my gramma: the small town where she raised her daughters, the trips she took, the hobbies she enjoyed, the people she loved. While following the pattern for the block, I chose my inspiration not from Gramma's key holder, but the one who held the key to her heart.


Gramma and Grampa were married for 62 years before he passed away in 2004. They met in high school and married during World War 2. Grampa Leo, whose nickname was Moose, was a game warden who often brought home animals to be nursed back to health before being returned to the wild. Together they enjoyed fishing, hunting, golfing, playing cards, and exploring their retirement home state of Arizona.


For this block, I used some Minnesota Shop Hop 2015 fabric I bought the last time I was in Minnesota, as well as some olive green/khaki fabric that reminds me of Grampa's conservation uniform. 












These mugs were made for his retirement. 


One of the last photos of Grampa, still wearing his uniform with pride. 


So far, the only fabric I've repeated is the white tonal background fabric.  The final pattern hasn't been revealed yet, but I have some ideas for pulling it together. 


Something fun happened while I was making this block. There was a tap on the window of my sewing room. I looked up and saw this goldfinch watching me. He sat there for quite awhile chirping at me. I picked up my phone to take a picture and I swear it posed for me!


Previous blocks:
#1: The Kitchen Table
#2: Sticky Buns
#4: Half a Modern
#5: Glasses & Cups
#11: Peppermint Swirls
#12: Kitchen Door
#13: Sunday Dinner
#14: Salt & Pepper Shakers
#15: Games Shows & Soaps
If you'd like to see what I'm currently working on, follow me on Instagram at de Jong Dream House.

Linked to:
Grandma's Kitchen Linky Up @ Pat Sloan (#111)
Let's Bee Social #186 @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Linky Tuesday @ Freemotion by the River
Main Crush Monday #80 @ Cooking Up Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Midweek Makers #81 @ Quilt Fabrication
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrapbag
Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie
Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun Thank Housework
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inspiring Quilter
Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
WIPs on Wednesdays @ Esther's Blog

9 comments:

  1. Hi Jen,
    Oh, I love these photos. Your grandparents were so in love - you can just see it in their eyes. I'm playing along with the GK quilt-along, too. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  2. This quilt is going to be so very special to you when it's finished. I love that you have so many pictures of your grandparents and that you are using them as inspiration for the color choices in your blocks. Thanks for sharing them on MCM!

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  3. I can tell it is going to be a great quilt...the stories it tells are fabulous. Quilt like these just run away with you and shout out ideas along the way.

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  4. Love this sharing of your grandparents to go with the block. I haven't done this block yet but intend doing it this week.

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  5. We had a blue jay like that once, he would come and tap the window at half past four in the afternoon, telling us it is dinner time for him, so we would put peanuts out for him. I love the story of your your grandparents, the stories they could tell.

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  6. Love how these blocks represent your relatives for a truly unique memory quilt. And lucky you to have the goldfinch so close - they are such pretty birds. Thanks for sharing today!

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  7. Wonderful block. Your quilt is going well! I really loved the photos of your Granddad. He looks like a wonderful man. Thanks for linking up to Wednesday Wait Loss

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  8. Your blocks looks great! Love hearing about your Grandparents.

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