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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Quilt #118 :: Max's Robot


First, a moment of silence for the long-detailed blog I wrote about this quilt that I accidentally deleted. *Deep Breath* Exhale.....Okay, let's try again.

For the last six years, my son D has attended a fantastic community choice school with a focus on STEM and project-based learning. (Community choice is similar to a private public school. No tuition!). One of many reasons I love this school is that it is small enough that the students (and teacher) stay together for multiple years. 


One of D's best buddies for the last few years is Max. I met Max's mom, Nikki, one day while our kids were at the Y for swim lessons. Usually I keep my eyes on my phone--and occasionally D--during lessons, but Nikki started chatting me up and I'm so glad she did. She was looking for a school for her kids, so I was happy to tell her about ours. By the next fall, her kids joined D and Nikki became one of my best friends. 

Last year, Nikki coached our school's first Destination Imagination team. DI is an international competition in which students solve challenges. For our challenge, the team made a robot that navigated through a maze.


Shortly after our team competed in regionals, Nikki announced their upcoming move to Houston. It's not often that we find families where the moms, dads, and kids are all friends so we were very bummed. I'm glad for D's sake that we live in an age of technology where a cross-country move doesn't mean two friends can't stay connected.


Earlier this year, Max's sister Caroline needed a wheelchair due to some issues with her knee. I made her a Harry-Potter-themed wheelchair quilt


I gifted Nikki my newly-complete Wayward Transparency quilt. 


As soon as we learned that the Pauley's were moving to Houston, we made plans to attend the International Quilt Festival. And I had a deadline to finish a quilt for Max. I knew immediately which quilt I would make for him. 


The pattern is called "Does Not Compute." It was designed by Boo Davis of Quiltsryche and included in her awesome book Dare to be Square.


Boo is not your gramma's quilter. She is irreverent and her quilts are influenced by heavy metal. I first discovered her when I found her Bangover quilt, which inspired my Tool quilt. I bought her book a while back and have been waiting for the right time to make one of her patterns. The "Does Not Compute" pattern is a perfect way to remember our DI team with its robot and maze.

The only change I made to the pattern was to personalize it with Max's name in the center of the robot.


Originally, I made the name in blue, but it didn't show very well. 


It's never fun to replace blocks once a quilt top is pieced, but it was the right call. I also had a second chance to fix the X that I wasn't 100% satisfied with the first time.

Because Max and D are two peas in a pod, I knew that he would appreciate soft minky on the back. I ordered extra wide minky online and crossed my fingers that the shade of blue I picked would work. I think it does.


I've started doing my labels a little differently. Instead of using printable fabric, I've been cutting Kona White fabric into 8.5" x 11" pieces that I iron onto freezer paper. I design the label on my computer and, stabilized with the freezer paper, print the fabric. I find that the labels are much softer this way than they are with the printable fabric. I also use Steam a Seam Lite rather than Heat N Bond
for the same reason.


I fold the edges of the label under, then attach the Steam-A-Seam. I love that I can reposition the label before pressing it down. I topstitch it to keep it in place.


As always, D slept with Max's quilt to add the last bit of love into it.


All ready for Quilt Festival shopping and a very special quilt delivery.


Max is such a great kid. I love him so much. He has a wonderful attitude of gratitude. He is every quilter's dream recipient because of his joyful appreciation of gifts. I'm so glad I was there to see his reaction.


D was so excited to see his friend get his quilt. What a great way for these friends to stay connected.


To see more pictures of this quilt in progress, look for #MaxsRobotQuilt on Instagram. To see what I'm currently working on, please follow me at deJongDreamHouse.

Linky Parties:
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Scrappy Saturday @ So Scrappy
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
UFO Busting @ The Madd Hatter
Sunday
BOMs Away @ What a Hoot
Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Monday
Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts
Main Crush Monday @ Cooking Up Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney


12 comments:

  1. What a great quilt for a little boy! The white letters show off great. Good that you changed them. I love the wayward transparency quilt you made for your friend!! Enjoy Houston!! Would love to go there once.

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  2. What a special quilt, and I always love the extra love that D adds to the quilts!

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  3. Adorable quilt, and I love your label!

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  4. What a great story and a great quilt! I love the label!

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  5. A great story and perfect quilt! Thanks for sharing both.

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  6. Wonderful story! It looks like Max loved his quilt too! Right call on the letters...Now his name is front and center!

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  7. What a great quilt, and I love how you personalized the label with a photo of the kids together. Thanks for linking up to What I Made Monday!

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  8. Good Morning! OMG - you accidentally deleted the first version?!!! How darn annoying is that?! I get annoyed with myself with a compose a reply and then forget to hit send or whatever. Thank you for having the diligence to write this again. Because it was SO fun to read!! I love Max the quilt but even more the boy the quilt is for. How fun and special!! Happy Monday to you! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  9. (oh, I hate it when I lose a post in progress!) This is the coolest quilt, and what a neat label. That blue minky absolutely looks fantastic paired with the top. And yeah, the white name sure did improve things quite a bit. Superb work and gift!

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  10. What a wonderful story and a wonderful quilt. I hope the boys and your families get together often to keep this friendship going.

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  11. Awesome quilt! It looks like it's so perfect for him! Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

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  12. Love this quilt and how you personalised it. What a lot of work to replace that centre block, but oh so worth it. Thanks for taking the time to re-write this post and for sharing on Clever Chameleon - I always enjoy your work and blog immensely!

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