Thursday, September 14, 2017

Grandma's Kitchen, block #12: Kitchen Door

It's been three months since I started making a block each week as part of  Pat Sloan's Grandma's Kitchen. I decided early on that this was exactly what I needed to do to make the memory quilt for my Gramma Ann. In recent weeks, I've shared the theme with my mom and aunts to get their input. At this point in the project, it's more important to me that the quilt blocks reflect the things that were important to Gramma, even if they don't necessarily fit the theme.

One of the most important things to Gramma was her Catholic faith. I knew that one of the blocks would have to reflect that part of her.


I chose the turquoise blue print because it reminded me of rosary beads. The jade rosary in the picture is the souvenir I brought her back from my trip to China in 2007.

I found a quote that connects the door theme to my faith block.


Pat drew inspiration for this week's block from the kitchen doors so many of her family members have or have had. 


In her introduction to this week's block, she wrote, "I wish I had photos of the doors in my home. The shipping department over the years has taken photos of mundane things like that, which over time, are really not mundane. They are the little pieces that make up our whole life."

 This idea really resonates with me, especially as I have been pouring over my photos of Gramma each week looking for different details. I feel very blessed that I had the opportunity to spend a few hours in Gramma's home in Arizona by myself. I took pictures of every room, just the way she left it before she went to the hospital. It was after that stay, that Gramma moved into assisted living. The beginning of the end. I think I knew it. And taking those photos was my way of accepting that reality.


Gramma was not  happy about the move She was proud of being able to live independently at 90, and it was hard to have that taken from her. I know a little something about having the life I love taken away. 

It's now been 13 years since sustaining my brain injury. As a result, I lost my job in publishing, my burgeoning writing career, the home I loved, and more than one friendship that couldn't adjust to the changes in me. I can say that now without bitterness, but it took many years before I accepted my new normal. It's easy to say that my faith got me through, but it did. But it isn't so simplistic. My faith changed me, but my faith changed, too. I like to think that both me and my faith became more compassionate, more whittled down to the essentials, more loving.  When so much was taken from me, I became more grateful for the things I still had, and more open to receiving what came my way. 

My ability to write professionally was taken, but my creativity bubbled up through quilting. The pre-TBI me would never have embraced quilting. Yet here I am. 

I made a memory quilt for Gramma before she died. It's one of my favorite accomplishments.


She loved that quilt. When she calle me to thank me, she said,"It's my whole life." At the end, the quilt was placed over her so that the hospice staff saw the vibrant woman she was, not the frail patient in the bed. 


I know her faith helped her prepare to say goodbye to this life and all those she loved.


When Gramma was raising her five girls, they lived close enough to the Catholic church that they could walk. I took my family to their little hometown of Blackduck, MN in 2015 when we were (relatively) close by in Bemidji for Russian camp. Of course we stopped by the church where Gramma spent so much of her time.


Look how cute my mom and aunties were when they were small and dressed in their Sunday best.


When I think of Gramma's faith, I also think of the little church in Wickenburg, Arizona where she attended until she couldn't attend anymore. I think of the big wooden Jesus statue that fascinated my young son, and keep him occupied during Mass. 


I think of how my mom and aunts have a different faith, but how Gramma brought them to mass one last time for her service. 


I think she must have been smiling to know she got them all back to church!


And I think about her ashes being reunited with those of her love.


We are just about halfway through the quilt along. We still don't have a layout yet, but I'm starting to see how it will come together. Pat suggested we hold up our blocks to see if any stick out as not fitting in. I had mentioned last week, that I wasn't happy with my attic window. I'm certain I will be changing that one, but first I need my headache to lighten up a bit. It's been a real pain lately, in more ways than one.


Previous blocks:

If you'd like to see what I'm currently working on, follow me on Instagram at de Jong Dream House.

Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 3:50 PM 13 comments
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Thursday, September 7, 2017

Grandma's Kitchen, block #11: Peppermint Swirls

We are nearing the halfway point in Pat Sloan's mystery quilt along, Grandma's Kitchen. This week I steered way off from the theme of candy. I'll explain how I got here in a minute.


Block 11 is called Peppermint Swirls and is inspired by the peppermint candy that filled her Na-Na's purse.

I love the community on Pat's Facebook page. My fellow quilters inspire me with their interpretations of Pat's weekly blocks. I especially like how Glenda White made her candy M&Ms instead of peppermint swirls.


My goal has always been to make this a memory quilt about my Gramma Ann. While Pat is focusing on the kitchen, my Gramma had a whole bit life outside that room, so my blocks reflect that. I try to have some connection to the theme, but sometimes I wander...

Wandering Whistling Duck
When I first started this quilt, I would talk to my mom about Gramma. Then, when we were on vacation with my Aunt, I added her to the conversation. Now I have my mom and all four aunties chiming in with their thoughts and memories. 

When I told them about this week's themes, we talked about Gramma liking lemon bars, ice cream with chocolate sauce, sticky hard Christmas candy (I'm picturing the ribbon kind), little boxes of raisins she shared with her great-grandchildren, and chocolate covered peanuts, which I quickly dismissed as looking like poo in this block layout!

Then my aunt Mary reminded me that she loved turtle candy.


That made me think of real turtles.


...which reminded me that one year for her birthday or Mother's day, Gramma's five daughters pooled their money to give Gramma the gift of a zoo sponsorship at the Minnesota Zoo. For one year in the 80s Gramma was the not-particularly-proud patron of the Wandering Whistling Duck.

Fun fact #1: The wandering whistling duck used to be called a tree duck, but the name was changed to reflect the whistling sound it makes when calling and flies.


Fun fact #2: I'm pretty sure my mom and aunts picked the wandering whistling duck because of its name. 

Fun fact #3: Apparently Gramma was not impressed that her daughters spent money on a duck, but it provided a lot of laughs over the years, mostly over her response. And, in my mom and aunt's defense, since she grew up the wife of a game warden, caring for wildlife as a gift wasn't that much of a stretch. I know there was a picture of her taken by her name plate, but it was before the cloud and it seems to be lost forever.

Now, as far as making my block, I stuck with the applique theme. I started with the image of the duck from earlier in the post, and removed the background using PowerPoint. I kept the shadow because I wasn't sure at that point if I would use it or not. (I didn't).


I printed the image on fabric stabilized with freezer paper.


I trimmed it down into a tight rectangle before applying Heat N Bond Lite.


Then I trimmed the duck and shadow.


I used my standard white print background and water print for the background.


I added a 80s era Minnesota Zoo logo sign and sun.


I used a teeny tiny zigzag for the applique.


I know some people remove a layer of fabric when they applique. I haven't figured out how to do that when I use Heat N Bond, so that lesson will wait for another day.


My quilt blocks so far. As much as I'm loving my cactus in the window, I'm thinking it may be too dark. More to ponder...


Previous blocks:

If you'd like to see what I'm currently working on, follow me on Instagram at de Jong Dream House.

Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 10:06 AM 15 comments
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Saturday, September 2, 2017

Tula Pink Butterfly SAL: weeks 1-5

While I was on vacation, my Instagram feed was filled with images of friends participating in different quilt alongs. It seems I always learn about them after they are underway. As I get more social with my quilting, I'm starting to learn about these things sooner. One sew along I started seeing at the end of our trip was the Tula Pink Butterfly sew along hosted by Gnome Angel.


I like this quilt because it's like a traditional sampler, but rather than placing the blocks in a grid, they are arranged to make a beautiful butterfly. 

This sew along takes place mostly on Instagram so you can follow me at de Jong Dream House, and see what others are doing by following #TulaPinkButterflySAL.

I've chosen to dig into my stash and scrap piles for this quilt, using purple, blue, teal, and green and gray. 

Here's what I've done so far. 

Week 1: Intersection


Week 2: Chunky Cross


Week 3: Floating Cross


Week 4: Stripe Block


Week 5: Large Log Cabin


It's a little busier than I usually like, but I'm excited to see how it turns out. So far, I love it!

Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 9:15 AM 8 comments
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Friday, September 1, 2017

One Monthly Goal: September 2017


As I write this on September 1, I am breathing a sigh of relief. Our long summer vacation is nearly over. My son's school moved to a new building over the summer. Between the early date that we had to be out of our old building and the late date that we took possession of the new building, we have had a long summer! My son has had a blast with 7 different camps, learning coding, engineering, and math with Brain Chase, working on his Dutch with Memrise, learning cursive with a workbook, and of course, 3 weeks in Europe visiting family and quilt shops. At this point, I'm happy to let him have a few days to stay in his PJs and watch videos all day while I sew. 

We're on the home stretch. We had our open house for the new school and it looks amazing! Here's the art space.


And this is my little contribution. I made the turquoise cushions for the benches. 


All that to say, we are ready to back in our school routine. And I am excited to have hours of free time to sew each day! Which brings me to my September One Monthly Goal. 

Like nearly everyone, my heart has been broken by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. I am so relieved and thankful that my friends in the area are safe and have very little damage. I lived just north of Houston for a year after I graduated from college. It's hard to wrap my mind around what I see v. what I remember. 

As a quilter, my first instinct is to make something. Of course, I know that immediate need is cash. So after making a few monetary donations, I've set my mind to more tangible gifts. So, my September OMG is to make 3 quilts for folks affected by Hurricane Harvey.

I found a few patterns on Pinterest that I think will come together quickly. 

Pattern by EspritDecorGifts
Uploaded to Pinterest by Megan Myers
Source: itsalindy

I've landed on the last option. I like the idea of making a dent in my stash. I started working on the quilts today. First I pulled from my yardage stash.


Next, I grabbed my red scraps and cut as many strips as I could. I didn't really make a dent, after all.


As far as how to get my quilts into deserving hands, I will be working with my local quilt group through church as well as a fantastic organization called Quilts of Compassion. 



Quilts of Compassion was started by a friend of mine from our days in Michigan. Here's more about her story and the mission of Quilts of Compassion. 

After a terrible car accident in 1999, a young woman laid in a small hospital room suffering immense physical and emotional pain from her recent trauma. It was a daily fight to conquer the feelings of hopelessness, fear and loneliness that tried to overwhelm her. However, this despair was turned to hope and encouragement one afternoon when she received a beautiful quilt from a hospital Chaplain. This seemingly simple gesture had a profound and life-changing affect on this troubled young woman. With the quilt wrapped tightly around her at night, she felt God’s warm presence surrounding her, giving her peace and comfort during this trying situation. It was at this point she realized she wanted to give this wonderful gift to others…the gift of hope and encouragement to those that are hurting. 

 Quilts of Compassion was started in 1999 by this one young woman as a way to reach out to others in need. With their mission of giving hope and encouragement to those that are hurting, the Quilts of Compassion ministry works with volunteers from local churches and community organizations to gather fabric, make quilts and deliver quilts. In doing this, it has brought encouragement and hope to the hurting, but also has taught volunteers about the joy of giving. To date over 60,000 quilts and afghans have been delivered to hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, homeless shelters, Hospice facilities, rehabilitation facilities, half-way houses, at-risk youth facilities, homes for abused and neglected woman & children, in the missionary field overseas (Haiti, Guatamala and India) and Disaster Response in the United States. 

Okay, time to get back to work!

Edited: While the Gulf Coast is dealing with Harvey and Irma, our Western States are burning up. I have been looking for an organization working on quilts for fire victims but haven't heard of anything yet. If you know of something, please let me know in the comments!

Linked to:
Elm Street Quilts September Goal Link Up
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Let's Bee Social #193 @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Linky Tuesday @ Freemotion by the River
Main Crush Monday #87 @ Cooking up Quilts
Midweek Makers #88 @ Quilt Fabrication
Monday Making @ Live Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrap Bag
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie
Oh Scrap @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
TGIFF @ Devoted Quilter
Wednesday Wait Loss #31 @ Inquiring Quilter
Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
WIPS on Wednesdays @ Esther's Blog

Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 11:11 PM 14 comments
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Grandma's Kitchen, block #10: Recipe Box

Here we are at the 10th week of Pat Sloan's mystery quilt along, Grandma's Kitchen.


Block 10 is called Recipe Box.

Pat brought up a good point about recipe boxes. In this day and age, with Pinterest and the internet, recipes aren't kept in a box on a card written by hand or given by a friend. That's so true, in my own kitchen, I use Pinterest to keep new recipes, and keep favorites in binders in my command center to keep my favorites handy. 


But I'm sentimental too. When Gramma died, I was given her recipe box. 


I got a little choked up when I opened to find her famous lemon bar recipe right in front. I think she's used it a time or two.


You know Gramma was a true Minnesotan when a good number of the recipes were for wild rice dishes! 


After making this block, I decided I needed to make some of Gramma's lemon bars. The recipe was a little trick to use, so I found that Baked by an Introvert had a recipe that was pretty close, so I used it to fill in the blanks.


D helped me with the final touches. 


Today we will lemon bars and think of Gramma. 

My quilt blocks so far:


Previous blocks:

If you'd like to see what I'm currently working on, follow me on Instagram at de Jong Dream House.

Posted by Jen @ de Jong Dream House at 11:04 AM 6 comments
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