One Monthly Goal :: September 2018

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Not winter, but FALL! Our son started fourth grade this year and I may or not have shed a tear that it's his last first day at his wonderful school. He has been at the same school since pre-k. The staff is wonderful and we will miss them so much next year!

I have been slowly making quilts for his teachers and administrators over the last few years.

I made this quilt for the school and I'm honored that it hangs in the hallway.

I made this quilt for the school librarian when she retired.

I made this reversible I Spy/Checkers quilt for his pre-K teacher. 

And when her baby was born, I made him this train quilt. 

I made his first grade teacher this polaroid quilt with the self-portraits drawn by each child in the class. 

He's had the same teacher now for three years. Last spring I gifted her my version of Bonnie Hunter's "On Ringo Lake."

I've also gifted Tula Pink's Butterfly to our principal.

When his dance teacher brought home her first baby, I made this first year quilt, with a taggie that serves as a frame for monthly photos.

When another teacher had a baby girl, I made the same quilt in another colorway.

The next quilt is going to the school counselor. I chose the Labyrinth Walk quilt, which has been on my bucket list ever since I saw this trippy picture on Pinterest. He's floating!

I apologize profusely for not knowing who made this awesome quilt.

I think it's so fitting because she has helped our son so much figure out how to make sense of his mind and quirk, and has helped him to shine. I know that her favorite color is red, so made that the feature color. The top went together surprisingly quick.

I'm a little afraid to quilt it because I want to try something different. That's why I'm making it my One Monthly Goal. 

To see more pictures of this quilt, check the hashtag #KnochWalkQuilton Instagram. To see what I'm currently working on, please follow me at deJongDreamHouse.

Previous OMGs:
September 2018 - Knoch Labyrinth Walk
August 2018 - Anne of Green Gables Quilt

July 2018 - Dutch Canuck Quilt
June 2018 - Daybed Pillow

May 2018 - Oops and Ophan quilt started

April 2018 - Lots of Love Wedding quilt

March 2018 - On Ringo Lake: Top complete!

February 2018 - Grandma's Kitchen complete!

January 2018 - Project Linus complete!

December 2017 - Cards 'n' Cowboys quilts complete!

November 2017 - Cancer Can Kiss My Donkey quilt complete!

October 2017 - Stella's Memory quilt complete!

September 2017 - Texas Strong quilts complete!

August 2017 - quilt shops in Europe visited!

July 2017 - Lainey's Ladybug quilt complete!

June 2017 - no goal

May 2017 - why I gave up on Brutus

April 2017 - not finished with Lainey's Ladybug

March 2017 - Nana's Last Quilt quilts finished

February 2017 - En Provence quilt finished!

January 2017 - Zeke's first year quilt complete!

December 2016 - Falling for Alex quilt finished!

Linked to:
Elm Street Quilts
Color Party @ Clever Chameleon

Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts

Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts

Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Linky Tuesday @ Free Motion by the River

Main Crush Monday @Cooking Up Quilts

Monday Making @ Love, Laugh, Quilt

Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrap Bag

Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie

Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She

To Do Tuesday @ Stitch All the Things

Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inquiring Quilter

What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney
Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of Fabric Addict
WIP Linky Party @ Silly Mama Quilts
WIPs on Wednesday @ Esther's Blog

One Monthly Goal :: December 2017 Update

Thanks to Elm Street Quilts and her monthly challenge, One Monthly Goal, I was motivated to finish a few of my unfinished quits before the end of the year.

My goal was to finish the three Cards 'n' Cowboys quilts that I started for #quiltsforvegas.

I'm happy to report that all three quilts are finished and have made their way to Las Vegas and hopefully, by now, are on their way to their new homes.

As a bonus, I was also able to finish my Tula Pink Butterfly as part of Gnome Angel's sew along. 

I gifted this beauty to my son's incredible principal. 

Early in the month, I finished my Cancer Can Kiss My Donkey quilt, bringing the month's finish total to 5, and my annual count to 22!

Linked to:

Elm Street Quilts Finish Link Up

#95: Tula Pink Butterfly

Christmas break began this week. It was just the nudge I needed to finish quilting my Tula Pink Butterfly quilt. I had so much fun quilting along with new friends as part of the quilt along hosted by Gnome Angel. 

I first learned of this quilt along this summer when we were in the Netherlands. On a lark, I decided to order the pattern. It made it home before we did!

Gnome Angel offered several gorgeous kits, but I opted to use my own stash of greens, blues, teals, and purples. I was quite happy that I only had to buy the white background and peacock swirl border and backing. 

How this quilt along worked was that we had weekly assignments following Tula Pink's pattern. Each week we posted our assigned blocks on Instagram with the hashtag #tulapinkbutterflySAL.

The scariest part of this whole project was the curved piecing I would need to do for the last three weeks. I've never done it and the thought of it was intimidating! This is when a quilt along is real blessing. More experienced quilters shared their wisdom and I built my confidence checking another skill of my list.

What worked best for me was dabbing three dots of fabric glue on both ends and the middle of the top section before pinning in just those three places. Worked like a charm! Wombat quilts has shared a tutorial that is pretty close to what I did, except I only glued the ends and middle, not the whole seamline. 

The night before the deadline I double checked to make I had all my posted up and tagged correctly. It was a good thing I did because I missed one. And as it turned out, I won the grand prize! I was so excited to shop at Pink Door Fabrics with my $150 gift certificate. I bought lots of Elizabeth Hartman patterns, plus two Violet Craft patterns. I will be up to my eyeballs in patterns! 2018 is going to be a busy year!

We only had to finish the top by the end of the contest. When I started, I wasn't sure who I was making this quilt for, I was just along for the contest. By the halfway point, I knew exactly who deserved it. But that meant I was under the gun to finish it before school was out for the year.

I quilted it with a spiral. It's a big quilt, the finished size is 88" x 94", so I got a good arm workout getting started. 

I watched The Christmas Story Live musical as I worked. It was panned by a lot of viewers, but I loved it.

Once the movie was over, I knew I could finish with a late night. By 1 am on the last day of school I finished. D always wants to put his love in my quilts, so I placed the finished quilt over him when I finished at 1am. Since this quilt was going to his amazing principal, I knew he'd want to have extra snuggle time.

He got a Christmas tree for his room this year. It was the perfect lighting for a late night finish.

I called the school secretary on our way to drop off and asked if Mrs. Graves would have a few minutes to see us. I also texted D's teacher to make sure he could make the presentation. 

Our son's principal is an amazing person. She works tirelessly to advocate for our learners. The unique school she founded is a STEM-based learning environment where students are encouraged to learn independently, to collaborate with students in other grades, to dig deeper into the topics that pique their interest. They garden, they dance, they sing, they learn to research and present their findings. They are compassionate. They welcome visitors who are curious about how our school works. They excel. Our school is consistently ranked one of the best in the state. This was Mrs. Graves' vision and we are all the beneficiaries. 

Last year, our school lost its location and for awhile, it looked like our doors would permanently close. But Mrs. Graves was tenacious and never gave up. We are now in a new home with a new sponsor. This quilt is a tiny show of our appreciation for being part of her legacy.

The big reveal.

Reading the label.

Lots of love exchanged.

Best. delivery.ever!

To see more pictures of this project, check the hashtag #djtulabutterfly on Instagram.  You can also see other versions of the quilt using the hashtag #waywardtransparencyqal .You can see what I'm currently working on by following me at deJongDreamHouse.

Linked to:

Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inquiring Quilter