Wednesday, February 27, 2019

One Monthly Goal :: February 2019 Update


Wowza. February started off rough for me. If you follow me here or on social media, you may remember that I am making a special quilt for myself this year to commemorate my 15th year as a brain injury survivor. Flying geese pointing up indicate a day I quilted. Flying geese pointing down mean that my health kept me from sewing. I hope that others might find the quilt helpful for understanding what it's like to live with a brain injury, but I am surprising myself with how clearly it shows my limitations in such a stark way. It's not always this hard, but February sure was.


Things started turning around mid-month after a girls weekend with my long time besties, my Cloud of Witnesses (COWs). Thus, the cute little bovine block above. (Pattern by Sew Fresh Quilts).


Now, back to my One Monthly Goal. Thanks to Elm Street Quilts' gentle nudge, my goal was to make a quilt for my son's music teacher. It's his last year at his school and she has been teaching him for six years. Definitely quilt worthy!

My inspiration was this quilt by Deborah Lord Mosley. It was shared on a Facebook page. She didn't share a pattern, but it doesn't seem to be hers. 


I loved the way she added the sheet music. It was perfect because our school has a special song I was trying to figure out how to incorporate. 

This version was made by Lynne Hartman. She didn't have sheet music, and the edge of the piano is different. I contacted her about the pattern and she said she made this several years ago and thinks maybe she saw the pattern in a magazine. A reverse image search and Pinterest peek didn't help me find the designer either. Anyone know? I'd love to give credit.


To make the quilt my own, I wanted to make a vertical quilt, I sketched my version with a piano seat and the bottom part of the piano. 


The keyboard had me stumped for quite a bit. I wanted the perspective to be right if you were looking at a piano straight on. With a lot of trial error, I figured out that they finish at half inch squares for the black keys and .5" x 1" for the white keys. So tiny. 


Speaking of tiny, the part of the quilt I'm most proud of is adding the Steinway logo. I've never thread painted before, but it's on my bucket list of techniques to learn. Normally I would make things like this with my Cricket, but the letters are only about 1/8" wide, so that wouldn't work. I'll share more of how I did it in the full post I write when I finish the quilt. I'm tickled with how it turned out.


And of course, I added the sheet music. I realized, after I took the photo at the top of the post, that I attached the third page f the song, not the first page. I'm debating if I can get it off  (I used Steam-a-Steam) so I can replace it. Sigh...


All in all, I'm pretty chuffed with the quilt. Teachers have one of toughest job in the world. I am so grateful for the teachers at D's school, and wish I could buy his music teacher a real Steinway. Hopefully this will show her a little bit of my love and appreciation for her.

You'll be able to find pictures of this quilt on Instagram at #MillerMusicQuilt. To see what I'm currently working on, including my 2019 Brain Injury quilt, follow me at deJongDreamHouse.

Previous OMGs:






June 2017 - Niels' Weighted Blanket (full post)


Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 9:56 AM 12 comments
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Sunday, February 24, 2019

Quilt #44 :: Crazy Eights


One of my goals for this year is to go back and write blog posts for all of the quilts that I've made, but not yet shared. I started quilting in 2013, and have made virtual trunk shows all of the quilts I've made in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. (You can find a list of all 122 of my quilts, posted or not, here). I'm in the home stretch, with only 10 posts to go!

Today's post is my version of Crazy Eights. The pattern was featured in Quilt Quickly in Spring 2014. (You can watch a video tutorial for it here). I saw designer Deb Finan's original quilt at the Original Sewing & Quilt Festival in Pittsburgh in 2014 and snapped this picture. (You can see more pictures of quilts that caught my eye here).


I came home from that show with a lot of inspiration. Like this quilt, that hung in a vendor booth. (I asked permission to take the photo, but forgot the vendor name!)


It inspired the Little Learners quilt I made for my son's school. 


The biggest thing I came back with from the show was Pfiona, my Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2. Even though Pfiona is now my back up piecing machine and primary quilting machine, I still love her very much and made about 80 quilts completely with her.


Back to my Crazy Eights quilt. When I saw the original, my thought was, "Hey! I'm finally starting to get a collection of scraps like real quilters do!" I had more blues that anything else so I knew I'd use blue scraps with the gray background.


It was really fun to see some scraps from my first 43 quilts in this quilt. 


This quilt was donated as a comfort quilt to my local quilt group. I don't know know where it ended up, so I will just picture it being loved like the love my little put into it for the few days he got to snuggle with it. 


In my mind he's still this small, not a big ten-year-old tween. 


One of my goals this year is to finish writing posts for each of my quilts. This quilt was finished in 2015. You can see what I'm currently working on by following me on Instagram at deJongDreamHouse.

Linked to:

Monday
Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrap Bag
What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney

Tuesday
Colour & Inspiration Tuesday @ The Clever Chameleon
Linky Tuesday @ Freemotion by the River
To Do Tuesday @ Stitch All the Things

Wednesday
Midweek Makers @ Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inquiring Quilter
WIPs on Wednesday @ Esther's Blog

Thursday
Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Friday
A Pageant of Finishes @ From Bolt to Beauty
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie
Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Saturday
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
UFO Busting @ The Madd Quilter

Sunday
BOMs Away @ What a Hoot
Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework




Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 11:10 PM 11 comments
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Sunday, February 17, 2019

Quilts 42 & 42 :: Jan & Kitty's Amish Caravan


One of my goals for this year is to go back and write blog posts for all of the quilts that I've made, but not yet shared. I started quilting in 2013, and have made virtual trunk shows all of the quilts I've made in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. (You can find a list of all 122 of my quilts, posted or not, here). I'm in the home stretch, with only 11 posts to go.

When I wrote my last throwback post about our guest room quilt, I mentioned that my incentive to finish that quilt was my in-law six-week visit from the Netherlands. I had in mind that I would finish the quilt for the guest room, and then when they arrived, take them to a fabric store to pick out fabric for their own quilt to bring home. I figured this was a good plan because my father-in-love is particular and with six weeks, I'd have plenty of time to finish. 


As it turned out, when I brought up the idea, my father-in-law said not only did he want to pick out fabric, but he had an idea for the pattern and wanted to help make not one, but two!

Jan (pronounced "yawn"), like a lot of Europeans, likes lean lines and modern trends. He didn't want a busy quilt, which he thought was more American. His vision was to make quilt comforters for his and Kitty's new caravan (travel trailer). His first design was to have black quilts with stripes, and an appliqued caravan.
But after doing some sightseeing around here he decided we should make Amish carriages instead for just a little bit of America to remind them of his family in the US.


Because I am not fluent in Dutch and he is not fluent in English, it is difficult to have really significant conversations together. We visit them in the Netherlands about every other year, and they have come here about every four years. It's nice to have them on my turf, so to speak, because then I'm not battling a brain injury and jet lag and a second language. I feel like I have a chance to communicate myself. I really loved that he wanted to do this with me because it was a wonderful way to connect and deepen our relationship. 


At first Kitty wanted to help, but once we got going, Jan shooed her away so it could be our thing. (As mom and cooks, Kitty and I have had more ways to connect). He was a quick and eager student.


The second top went together much faster than the first. 


While Jan was piecing, I designed and printed the carriage with my Silhouette.


The applique was pretty taunting to Jan so I did that part. 


I always like the underside of applique. 


Jan did a great job on the quilting, and then I did the binding.


D did this part to roll his love in the quilts.


Of course, Jan wanted to test out the quilts as well. 


I made and attached the label. Jan dictated what he wanted it to say...in English.


We had fun with the photo shoot. I love this picture because it shows his personality and fun-loving side. 


When Jan and Kitty returned home, he sent me this picture of their caravan with its new quilts and pillows. 


This was such a sweet memory for me. It meant a lot to me that Jan not only wanted one of my quilts, but that he wanted to join me in this activity I love so much. It is something I will always remember. It is no wonder my hubby is such a wonderful man, he had a fantastic role model.

One of my goals this year is to finish writing posts for each of my quilts. This quilt was finished in 2015. You can see what I'm currently working on by following me on Instagram at deJongDreamHouse.


Wednesday

Thursday
Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 9:02 PM 13 comments
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Thursday, February 14, 2019

Quilt #41 :: Be Our Guest


One of my goals for this year is to go back and write blog post for all of the quilts that I've made, but not yet shared. I started quilting in 2013, and have made virtual trunk shows all of the quilts I've made in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. (You can find a list of all 122 of my quilts, posted or not, here). I'm in the home stretch, with only 12 posts to go.

Today I'm sharing the quilt I made for our guest room. When we built the de Jong Dream House, we knew that we would always have our door open for guests. We have a second master on the first floor with access to the back patio, a walk in closet, and accessible bathroom.


In the past seven years, our guest room has played host to family, friends, soccer coaches, visiting teachers, college students, and refugees. The impetus for finishing this quilt was an impending six-week visit from Niels' parents. The comforter we had on the bed was looking a little sad, and rather than buying a new one, I decided to make a quilt.


The pattern I chose is called Hang Time, and it's a free pattern from Camelot Fabrics.

Credit
The pattern is designed to be 75" x 75". I added two rows of blocks to the length and one row of blocks to the width to make a generous king size top.


While I was working on this quilt, I had the brilliant idea to make a design wall in our laundry room, which is right next to my craft room.


It's a piece of batting hung by pvc pipe and command hooks. Best.Idea.Ever!


At some point since then, I upgraded to a king-size piece of batting and moved the hooks to the ceiling so it takes up the whole wall. So now, if I was making this quilt again, I would have to use the floor as a design "wall."


Quilting this beast on my domestic sewing machine was a bear. I kept with simple straight lines!



For the back, I pieced some long strips to go with the focus fabric.


When I finished the quilt, I used the scraps to make some shams and pillows. Gezellig is a Dutch word that roughly translates to cozy, but encompasses not only mood, but relationships as well.


I was really happy with my applique on this pillow.


This quilt and our guest room is on my mind now, in 2019, because in a few short weeks, my mom is moving in!!


This has been many years in the making. Two years ago, Mom left her house for the freedom of an apartment. We went down to Arizona to help her sort through a lifetime of photos, memories, and stuff. This past summer she came up for a trial, staying with us in between road trips, a cruise, and visits to friends and family.


We also had the chance to test out D's dog allergy desensitization treatment. Turns out, he does not react to Murphy. While Mom was out having adventures, Murphy stayed with us an enjoyed the extra love--and his own quilt.


We've moved things around as Mom started to imagine the guest room being her room. We moved in a smaller bed to make room for a recliner.


Her room has its own zone for heating and cooling. Since she is moving from Arizona to Ohio, we also bought her a fireplace to feel extra cozy.


I'm super excited to have my mom closer. It's hard to have her live across the country. (Though she is still much closer than my in-laws, who live in the Netherlands!). Our son adores his Gramma so I'm glad they will have the chance to enjoy each other's company more. And it will be nice to have another adult around when my health keeps me from doing the things I'd like to be doing.

But it won't be all work for Mom. She working on her bucket list, too. The idea is that she will use our house as her home base, and without the expenses of rent and utilities, she will have more money to travel and visit friends and family. And she will be able to go to Europe with us this summer to celebrate my in-laws 50th anniversary! I'm very excited for all the adventures she will get to have now. And we are excited to have a puppy in our home again. And mom too, when she's resting between her coddiwomples.

As for the quilt, it has been moved downstairs with the king size bed to our other guest area. And now I have another quilt to make for mom!

One of my goals this year is to finish writing posts for each of my quilts. This quilt was finished in 2015. You can see what I'm currently working on by following me on Instagram at deJongDreamHouse.

Linked to:

Thursday
Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Friday
Beauties Pageant @ From Bolt to Beauty
Finished Or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie
Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Saturday
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
UFO Busting @ The Madd Hatter

Sunday
BOMs Away @ What a Hoot
Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun that Housework

Monday
Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrap Bag
What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney


Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 12:35 PM 11 comments
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