Pat Sloan Podcast

So...I have some pretty big news! Sometime today, my interview with Pat Sloan will go live on her American Patchwork & Quilting Podcast!

If you aren't familiar with Pat Sloan, she is a popular and prolific quilter who hosts many sew alongs at her website, I Love to Make Quilts.  

I have been part of Pat's active Facebook community, Quilt Along with Pat Sloan, for several years. The quilters there are supportive and talented. I didn't jump into social quilting until less year, so while I admired the progress others made on Pat's sew alongs, I wasn't a participant until I saw her write about her upcoming Grandma's Kitchen quilt. 

My Gramma Ann passed away in 2014 When my family was packing up her things, I requested some of her clothes so that I could make a quilt with them. I had only been quilting for a year at that point. I wasn't confident enough yet to cut up her clothes out of fear of making a mistake. So I put them in a tote while I waited for inspiration.

Nearly a year ago to the day, Pat posted the first block of Grandma's kitchen, called "The Kitchen Table." Just seeing the name, I was transported to Grandma's kitchen in tiny Blackduck, Minnesota. I thought her cupboards were so cool because the doors were flat panels that opened only when you pushed them. I spent many hours entertaining myself by opening and closing those cupboards.

I knew then that this sew along was just the inspiration I needed. I decided from the start that my quilt would be all about Gramma's life, in and out of the kitchen. You can read about the entire process here.  My mom and aunts were very excited about the quilt and talked about who should get it...so...I made six of them!

After finishing each block, I would post it to a link up on Pat's website and/or share the block and its story on Pat's FB page. A few times, Pat herself would comment on the post! And then she contacted me privately after seeing all six quilts, and asked if I would be on her show. Of course, I said, "YES!" 

I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I enjoyed talking to Pat. 

Finally, I have to share one last thing about this project. My mom and aunt were so grateful for their quilts and send me the most wonderful thank you notes and gifts. My aunt Lori, did something really fun! She took all the blog posts I wrote and had them bound up in a book. What a labor of love! 

They say the internet is forever, but this is such a thoughtful way to make sure that Gramma's legacy lives on to the next generation(s). 

I've so enjoyed re-reading the blog posts again. I wrote them as I went along, without knowing how the quilt would turn out. It is really cool to read them all at once, kind of like binge-watching a favorite show!

 I love that she wrapped the book in the blue paper that inspired block "Pantry Goods."

If this is your first time here at de Jong Dream House, especially if you visited after hearing the podcast, WELCOME! This blog started as my husband and I build our dream ultra energy-efficient, universally-designed dream house. After moving in, I posted about organizing and green living. Once I discovered quilting in 2013, my blog started featuring more and more quilts. And that's mostly what you see today. 

You can also keep up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for keeping in touch!

Linked to:
BOMs Away Monday @ What a Hoot
Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Finished or Not Friday @ Slice of Pi Quilts
Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Linky Tuesday @ Free Motion by the River
Main Crush Monday @ Cooking Up Quilts
Midweek Makers @ Quilt Infatuation
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt

Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrapbag
Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation
Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
To Do Tuesday @ Sew All the Things
Wait Loss Wednesday @ The Inquiring Quilter
Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
WIP Linky Party @ Silly Mama Quilts
WIPs on Wednesday @ Esther's Blog

2013 Ultimate Blog Party

In the last few months, we've been working on being a little more social with our blog. I stumbled upon the 2013 Ultimate Blog Party, sponsored by 5 Minutes for Mom.  

If you're looking for some new blogs to follow (besides ours, of course!), this party is a great way to find what you're looking for. There are categories of blogs that you can browse through, including Mommy blogs (and Daddy blogs), Faith blogs, Special Needs blogs, and Specialty blogs like ours. 

For those visiting from the blog party, we are Niels and Jen de Jong, the dreamers behind the de Jong Dream House. Welcome! We are an international family who write about building and living in an earth-friendly, energy-efficient, universally-designed home. We started building our house in July of 2011 and moved home in February of 2012. Now that the boxes are unpacked, our blog is focused less on construction details and more on how we are making our house a home. Our current projects include DIY décor, projects with our preschooler, green cleaning, organizational tips, my new sewing hobby, living with a brain injury, and (mostly) healthy recipes.

You can read more about us here.

Here are a few of our favorite posts, which will give you an idea of what we're all about.

How I Turned Green

Anniversary Wall

Seeking Sole Mates Missing Sock Holders

Growing Up Gallery

D's Book Nook

Easy Rag Quilt Tutorial for the Sewing Newbie


Epilogue


Chair Rail Photo Gallery


Nine Years Ago


2012 Pinterest Challenge

Thanks for stopping by! If you'd like to keep up with us, we'd love to have you follow us. Our social media buttons are on the top left side of the page.

Blogs We Love

Pardon our mess if it looks a little sloppy around here these day. We're working on a few things and there may be a few coding bugs while we're playing around.

Our newest tweak is a button you'll see on the left side column that looks like this:

There are so many great blogs out there that inspire us. We started to have a blogroll, but it would take up the whole column. So if you're stuck inside on a rainy or snowy day, we invite you take a peek at some of the blogs we like to follow. 

What are some of your favorite DIY/green living/home decor/clean eating/home building/organization/parenting/fitness sites?