Quilt #119:: One Giant Stitch for D

Like most people, December is the busiest month of all. Between the holidays and end-of-year activities, time is tight. In our house, December also brings Sinterklaas (Dutch Santa) and our son's birthday (my baby is 10). Once my son's birthday has been celebrated, I usually feel like the rest of the year is a breeze. This year has been even more chaotic because our son only has one semester left at the amazing school he has attended since pre-school. So in addition to everything else, we have been applying to schools, touring, and considering our options. 

All this to say, I haven't blogged much this month. 

I have been trying to do some sewing each day for my sanity, but even that has had to be given up some days. 

But today, I get to share my latest finish: One Giant Stitch for D. I made it for my son and as you can see, he is over the moon with joy!

I haven't made a quilt for D since he started preschool and needed a blanket for nap time. I was a new quilter and figured I could make him a nap quilt. 

I made the quilt in the spring of 2013, just after our trip to Florida when D fell in love with NASA. Six and half years later, his passion hasn't waned and he still wants to be a rocket scientist when he grows up.

D has slept with this quilt pretty much every day for the last six years and it is showing its wear. I've been wanting to make him another one, but it wasn't until I saw Kelli Fannin's pattern, One Giant Stitch, that I moved his quilt up to the top of my queue.

I first saw the quilt when several friends sent me Kelli's picture knowing that D would love it.

I immediately messaged her and begged to be a pattern tester. Luckily for me, she said yes!

I was at the big Houston Quilt Festival when she sent me the pattern. When we got home, D helped me pick out the prints he wanted me to use.

I have only pattern tested a few times, and only for patterns I'm really excited to make. I'm a visual quilter, so when I'm following a pattern, I usually look for the list of prints and cutting information. Once everything is cut, I just look at the pictures. When I'm testing a pattern, I take a little more time to make sure to read the pattern carefully--putting on my former-life-as-an-editor-hat--to make sure that each piece of information is clear and correct.

Because I was working on a pattern that had not yet been released, I was careful not to post anything on social media that would give away piecing instructions, though it was fun to offer peeks at my progress. I was working on Saturn on the day that the Mars Rover Insight landed. I only had a little bit of the wavy gold and black print, but it was just enough.

I picked up some glow-in-the-dark white a while back (Fairy Frost by Michael Miller). It is perfect for the shuttle. I did have to rip out a few pieces before I learned to double and then triple check for the right side of the print.

I was also able to use a little of the NASA print I bought in bulk at Joann recently. 

 It was a bit ambitious to take on another project, particularly, to test during our crazy time, but I couldn't help it. I'm so grateful for Kelli's patience with me as I battled my schedule and bad brain days. I only found a few errors in her pattern. Most of the mistakes and changes were all me. Like realizing that D's choice of a galaxy print fro the stars didn't have enough contrast. 

Out with the old...

In with the new...

I have been trying not to buy more fabric this year unless it is for a specific project, usually just backing. I did pretty well on this quilt, except I did by a jelly roll for my Jupiter prints. It turned out okay because I was able to use the leftovers from my Good Fortune mystery quilt that Bonnie Hunter is slowly revealing. 

One of my favorite parts, which has D's prints all over it, is the flame print for the thrust. (By the way, why is it that mistakes show up so much better in photos. Don't mind that blue flying goose. I fixed it).

I wasn't completely done with the quilt by Christmas Day, but he still wanted to snuggle with it when he went to bed, with one of his new books.

It was a pretty big surprise when he noticed that it glowed in the dark!

We had a lot of fun taking pictures with the quilt. I thought it would be fun if D wore (one of his) NASA spacesuits for the picture.

But he had the idea to defy gravity by jumping. 

I'd say we make a pretty good team!

Whenever D sees the phrase "I love you to the moon," he says, "That's not that much. The universe is so much bigger than that." He wants to design rockets and habitats for the Mars mission when he grows up. So this is what I came up with for the label.

To see more photos of this quilt in progress, look for #OneGiantStitchForD on Instagram. To see what I'm currently working on, follow me on Instagram at deJongDreamHouse. 

To buy the pattern, visit Kelli Fannin's Etsy Page.

Linked to:

Sunday 

Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

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

Tuesday
Color Party @ The Clever Chameleon
Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Linky Tuesday @ Free Motion by the River
To Do Tuesday @ Stitch All the Things

Wednesday
Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Midweek Makers @ Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inquiring Quilter
WIP Link Up @ Silly Mama Quilts

WIPs on Wednesday @ Esther's Blog

Friday 

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