de Jong Dream House: January 2019

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

2019 Trunk Show

2019 marks my sixth year of quilting. I'm hoping to finish up my UFOs this year and make lots of scrappy quilts so my bins will close! I'm continuing my goal of using my stash as much as possible. And of course, I'm working on an epic brain injury temperature quilt to honor my 15th year as a brain injury survivor. You can read more about my goals for the year on this post.

And now, here are my 2019 finishes.

Quilt #121 :: Molly's Mermaid

My first finish of the year was completed during a rare snowstorm in Ohio. It makes me giggle because this mermaid is for my niece in Minnesota. I think maybe she was protesting!

Quilt #122 :: Buckeye Bricks

My second finish of the year is my first comfort quilt of the year. My buckeye brick quilt is going to a kindergartner at a local school.

Quilt #123 :: Beauty and Brains

My trio of quilts for my youngest nieces is completed with this quilt for my sister's youngest, Millie.

Quilt #124 :: Purple Abacus

2019 is the year of finishing my UFOs. This quilt is the result of my first quilting bee. On my month I chose the abacus block made with light and dark prints. This quilt went to a local kindergartner who chose it out of about 50 quilts my local quilting group made for the class.

Quilt #125 :: Mrs. Miller's Steinway

When I am old and gray, this will probably remain one of my favorite quilts. I had a lot of fun making it, it turned out better than I envisioned, and it was such a thrill to be able to take photos at the Steinway gallery.

Quilt #126 :: Peace, Love, and Intergalactic Donuts

I strayed a little bit from the theme of this year's Project Linus mystery quilt to make it more gender-neutral than the flower theme. I hope the little boy or girl who ends up with it feels all the love I put into it.

Quilt 127 :: Long Arm Minnie

This is a simple quilt compared to most I've made recently, but a panel with borders was the perfect design for my first attempt at quilting on a longarm.

Quilt 128 :: Big Lake Blooms

I started this quilt in 2017, aka the year of social quilting. I couldn't have known then how perfect it would be for a fundraiser in my hometown, where the school colors are blue and gold. The muted colors, along with the gray, are fitting for the tragic house fire that took two toddlers too soon.

Quilt 129 :: Theo's Milestones

This is the third quilt I've made on my original milestone quilt. I took extra good notes with this soon so I can finally write up the pattern.

Quilt 130 :: Omigolly Miss Jennifer

This quilt was more than two years in the making. I knew that I wanted our school secretary's quilt to have pieces from all 12 school quilts I made. The pattern is a super-sized version of Sue Garman's Omigosh pattern and includes more than 2800 pieces!

Quilt #131 :: Coded Thank You

My last school quilt for the a staff member of D's elementary school is a working QR quilt for the technology teacher. I also used binary code on the border and Morse code on the binding.

Quilt #132 :: Hannah's Good Fortune

When Bonnie Hunter announced that her 2019 mystery quilt was called Good Fortune and inspired by her trip to China, I knew mine would be gifted to my goddaughter Hannah, who was born in China. China is a special place to me because it was in China, visiting Hannah and her family, that I decided that I wanted to marry Niels, and my life has been filled with good fortune since making that decision.

Quilt #133 :: Thin Red Ironman Line

By far, the hardest quilts to make are memory quilts. This quilt was made for the mom of one of D's birthday buddies who lost the love of her life way too soon. I didn't get to meet Mike this side of heaven, but he was truly a hero to many.

Quilt #134 :: Jacob's World

As D's elementary friends have moved on to different middle schools, I am slowly making friendship quilts for those who have made his early school years so wonderful. J and D have been besties since kindergarten. I love J because he is silly, sweet, polite, and kind.

Quilt #135 :: Hidden Gems of Menlo

In November, I was asked to donate a quilt for our new school's winter benefit. I looked at my UFOs and felt motivated to finish my Hidden Gems quilt. The blocks were made by the members of my 2018 quilting bee, the Lola Swarm. The name is a fitting one for a school of kids who are going to change the world!

Quilt #136 :: Zipped

My final finish of the year was started back in 2014 as one of my first quilts. It sat too long in one of my UFO bins. I'm happy I was able to finish it in time to send home with one of our University of Akron "sons." Go Zips!

Previous Trunk Shows

Monday, January 28, 2019

One Monthly Goal :: January 2018 Update

2019 is off to a good start, One Monthly Goal speaking anyway. Here in Ohio, our January is starting to remind me of my growing up years in Minnesota! On the plus side, the cold and snow kept me inside and sewing. I didn't realize how ironic my goal for this month would be when I set it, but I couldn't resist posting with my mermaid quilt in a foot of snow!

For those interested in making their own mermaid, my quilt is an adaptation of Be A Mermaid by CoopCrafts. You can read more about how I made the quilt on this post.

You can find more pictures of this quilt on Instagram at #MollysMermaidQuilt. To see what I'm currently working on, including my 2019 Brain Injury quilt, follow me at deJongDreamHouse.

Previous OMGs:
January 2019 - Molly's Mermaid
December 2018 - Baby Burd Quilt
November 2018 - Baby Burd Quilt
October 2018 - Carolina Jewel Quilt
September 2018 - Mrs. 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

Quilt #47 :: Sibling Neighborhood

The last quilt I shared was my niece's mermaid quilt. It reminded me that I still haven't shared the quilt I made for her mom, my sister, Carisa. I just started my 7th year of quilting, and there are several quilts from my third year of quilting (2015) that I never shared in a post. I'm not sure what was going on back then, but I vaguely recall that my brain was pretty fuzzy a lot of the time and it was easier to quilt that write about quilts. But this year, I'm going to catch up!

I often joke that my family tree is more of a family bush, because of a few divorces. One of (many) things I love about Carisa is that she strives to have a relationship with each of us in our own way. I don't live physically close to any of my siblings (or Niels' sister), so I have made each sibling's family a quilt.

The pattern I chose for Carisa's quilt is inspired by Welcome to the Neighborhood by the prolific and uber-talented Elizabeth Hartman. It's included in her book Modern Patchwork. Elizabeth made this version of her quilt for another of my favorite quilt designers, Violet Craft.

Quilt made by designer Elizabeth Hartman for Violet Craft.

I love the Eichler-inspired houses, and the design worked well with my idea of including a family photo and monogram with each sibling's house. I did have to adjust the block to include a door.

I printed photos of each family on Kona white fabric.

I didn't have a photo of my sister Liz and her husband with their fur baby, so I added Meryl by the front door.

With all the applique, I was able to see how teeny tiny my Pfaff was able to make the stitches. (Spoiler alert: VERY tiny!)

I used images of my house and Carisa's house for the label.

I often forget to take pictures of the back of my quilts, but I'm glad I remembered with this one.

It was fun to tell D about his aunts and uncles and cousins when he looked at the finished quilt.

The best part of this quilt for me is that we were able to deliver it in person on our way to Russian Camp. Liz came over and got her quilt, too.

It was so fun to see D and his cousin play together with the quilt.

When Carisa and family came to spend Thanksgiving with us the following year, they brought the quilt with them. The cousins had a sleepover and I about died from cute.

And with that, I have shared all of my sibling quilts! To recap:

For my brother Chris and his wife, Kelly, Divided in Football, United in Love.

For my brother John and his wife, Mary, Tool Tattoo.

For my brother Jake and his daughters, Sew It Forward for Jake.

For my sister Liz and her husband, Chris, Love Burds.

And for my sister-in-love, Ingrid, Floating Fireworks.

One of my goals this year is to finish writing posts for each of my quilts. This quilt was finished in 2015. You can see what I'm currently working on by following me on Instagram at deJongDreamHouse.

Linked to:

Monday
BOMs Away @ What a Hoot
Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts
Main Crush Monday @ Cooking Up Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrap Bag
What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney

Tuesday
Colour & Inspiration Party @ The Clever Chameleon
Linky Tuesday @ Free Motion on the River
To Do Tuesday @ Stitch All the Things

Wednesday
Midweek Makers @ Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inquiring Quilter
WIP Linky Party @ Silly Mama Quilts
WIPs on Wednesday @ Esther's Blog

Thursday
Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Friday
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Off the Wall Friday @ Nina Marie

Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Saturday
Scrap Happy Saturday @ So Scrappy
Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She
UFO Busting @ The Madd Quilter

Sunday

Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Quilt #121 :: Molly's Mermaid

Winter has finally arrived here in Ohio! I wasn't feeling good for a decent part of Storm Harper's visit, but I did manage to finish my first quilt of 2019. I couldn't resist having a little fun with my photoshoot.

This quilt is headed to Minnesota to be loved by my niece. This is the second quilt I made for her. The first was made 5 years ago. It was my 6th ever quilt!

Molly and I have shared a love of purple since she was very little. Every Christmas I send her a dress. A purple one! Until last year, when she broke the news to me that her new favorite color was turquoise. So she now gets a turquoise dress and her new little sister gets purple!

Since last year, when her sister was born, I have been planning to make quilts for both girls. But I'm slow so I'm just now getting around to them! I knew Molly's new quilt would be turquoise, but I would add some purple. Like most girls her age, she has jumped on the mermaid craze.

I found inspiration for her quilt with Coop Crafts' "Be a Mermaid" pattern.

I made a few changes from her pattern. I moved the mermaid over to the left and changed the arms slightly so that both hands can't stick out, but I realized after I was done that it is a bit harder to align yourself with so far to the side, so I would probably stick to the original centered mermaid if I made it again.

I also used a single fabric from the mermaid tail and bikini top.

One of my goals since last year is to use my stash as much as possible. I try to only buy backing fabric. I did make an exception for the mermaid fabric, but I was abe to pull all the difference teal and turquoise prints from my stash! Um...am I impressed or embarrassed? I'm not sure!

You know how an old song on the radio or smell can trigger a memory? The same thing happens when I'm working on a quilt. I will often listen to an audiobook or podcast or watch a show while I quilt. Later when I think of that quilt, I am reminded of what I watched or listened to. (And vice versa). For the main part of piecing the top of Molly's Mermaid, I watched the celebration of life service for the beloved husband of one of my December 2008 mama's. Mike Kreza was a beautiful human being, inside and out. He was a firefighter and Ironman. He was training for another Ironman when he was struck by a driver under the influence. Mike was the father to three girls, including D's birthday buddy. I wonder if I will ever be able to see a mermaid and not think of Mike's family.

When I finished the top, D was having a playday with some neighbors. Fortunately, his friend L was happy to model with the quilt.

This quilt is my January One Monthly Goal, which is a really good thing. I needed the motivation! My finished tops have a tendency to get stuck in UFO land because when I get to the quilting point, I start to look too much ahead to the next project. My goal this year is to finish a UFO every time I finish a new quilt. I used up all of my basting pins getting ready to quilt these three quilts! (I'm happy to say that the Buckeye brick quilt is also finished. My Project Linus mystery quilt will have to wait a little longer.

For my birthday, the boys gave me long arm lessons at a local quilt shop. I had a lot of fun and look forward to building my confidence as I rent the machine in the future.

I had an idea for quilting Molly's Mermaid, but then I am made a last minute change. It was a flop, so I was able to catch up on one of our favorite new shows this season, "God Friended Me," while I picked out all the stitching. Such fun!

I finally finished quilting the top the way I had originally planned. With the storm giving us an extra long weekend to stay inside, I was able to finish both this quilt and my Buckeye brick quilt. That turned out to be a good thing, because although D was willing to sleep with Molly's quilt out of love for his cousin, he did not want any photos of him with the quilt.