Grandma's Kitchen Quilt Along: #3: Key Holder

It's week 3 of Pat Sloan's weekly mystery quilt, Grandma's Kitchen, and I have a new block to share.

This week's block is called Key Holder. Pat shared her childhood fascination with her grandparent's key holder.

I have a vague memory that there was a key holder on the wall going down the stairs in my grandparents' house, but they lived in a teeny tiny town in Northern Minnesota where most people didn't lock doors.

(As a side note, despite the small size, Blackduck has an awesome quilt shop!)

The beauty of quilting is that even when a group of quilters are working on the same pattern, we still make our work our own. My quilt will be a collection of memories of my gramma: the small town where she raised her daughters, the trips she took, the hobbies she enjoyed, the people she loved. While following the pattern for the block, I chose my inspiration not from Gramma's key holder, but the one who held the key to her heart.

Gramma and Grampa were married for 62 years before he passed away in 2004. They met in high school and married during World War 2. Grampa Leo, whose nickname was Moose, was a game warden who often brought home animals to be nursed back to health before being returned to the wild. Together they enjoyed fishing, hunting, golfing, playing cards, and exploring their retirement home state of Arizona.

For this block, I used some Minnesota Shop Hop 2015 fabric I bought the last time I was in Minnesota, as well as some olive green/khaki fabric that reminds me of Grampa's conservation uniform. 

These mugs were made for his retirement. 

One of the last photos of Grampa, still wearing his uniform with pride. 

So far, the only fabric I've repeated is the white tonal background fabric.  The final pattern hasn't been revealed yet, but I have some ideas for pulling it together. 

Something fun happened while I was making this block. There was a tap on the window of my sewing room. I looked up and saw this goldfinch watching me. He sat there for quite awhile chirping at me. I picked up my phone to take a picture and I swear it posed for me!

Previous blocks:

#1: The Kitchen Table
#2: Sticky Buns
#4: Half a Modern
#5: Glasses & Cups

#6: Wash Day

#7: Oh My Stars
#8: Grandma's Apron
#9: Kitchen Window
#10 Recipe Box

#11: Peppermint Swirls
#12: Kitchen Door
#13: Sunday Dinner
#14: Salt & Pepper Shakers
#15: Games Shows & Soaps

#16: Small Change

#17: Pantry Goods

#18: The Fridge
#19: Mending Basket
#20: Lovely Dishes
#21: Telephone Time
#22: Pick a Posey
#23: That One Thing
#24: Grandma's Purse
#25: Famous Cookies

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

Linked to:
Grandma's Kitchen Linky Up @ Pat Sloan (#111)
Let's Bee Social #186 @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Linky Tuesday @ Freemotion by the River
Main Crush Monday #80 @ Cooking Up Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Midweek Makers #81 @ Quilt Fabrication
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrapbag
Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie
Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun Thank Housework
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inspiring Quilter
Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
WIPs on Wednesdays @ Esther's Blog