One of my goals for this year is to go back and write blog post for all of the quilts that I've made, but not yet shared. I started quilting in 2013, and have made virtual trunk shows all of the quilts I've made in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. (You can find a list of all 122 of my quilts, posted or not, here). I'm in the home stretch, with only 12 posts to go.
Today I'm sharing the quilt I made for our guest room. When we built the de Jong Dream House, we knew that we would always have our door open for guests. We have a second master on the first floor with access to the back patio, a walk in closet, and accessible bathroom.
In the past seven years, our guest room has played host to family, friends, soccer coaches, visiting teachers, college students, and refugees. The impetus for finishing this quilt was an impending six-week visit from Niels' parents. The comforter we had on the bed was looking a little sad, and rather than buying a new one, I decided to make a quilt.
The pattern I chose is called Hang Time, and it's a free pattern from Camelot Fabrics.
The pattern is designed to be 75" x 75". I added two rows of blocks to the length and one row of blocks to the width to make a generous king size top.
While I was working on this quilt, I had the brilliant idea to make a design wall in our laundry room, which is right next to my craft room.
It's a piece of batting hung by pvc pipe and command hooks. Best.Idea.Ever!
At some point since then, I upgraded to a king-size piece of batting and moved the hooks to the ceiling so it takes up the whole wall. So now, if I was making this quilt again, I would have to use the floor as a design "wall."
Quilting this beast on my domestic sewing machine was a bear. I kept with simple straight lines!
For the back, I pieced some long strips to go with the focus fabric.
When I finished the quilt, I used the scraps to make some shams and pillows. Gezellig is a Dutch word that roughly translates to cozy, but encompasses not only mood, but relationships as well.
I was really happy with my applique on this pillow.
This quilt and our guest room is on my mind now, in 2019, because in a few short weeks, my mom is moving in!!
This has been many years in the making. Two years ago, Mom left her house for the freedom of an apartment. We went down to Arizona to help her sort through a lifetime of photos, memories, and stuff. This past summer she came up for a trial, staying with us in between road trips, a cruise, and visits to friends and family.
We also had the chance to test out D's dog allergy desensitization treatment. Turns out, he does not react to Murphy. While Mom was out having adventures, Murphy stayed with us an enjoyed the extra love--and his own quilt.
We've moved things around as Mom started to imagine the guest room being her room. We moved in a smaller bed to make room for a recliner.
Her room has its own zone for heating and cooling. Since she is moving from Arizona to Ohio, we also bought her a fireplace to feel extra cozy.
I'm super excited to have my mom closer. It's hard to have her live across the country. (Though she is still much closer than my in-laws, who live in the Netherlands!). Our son adores his Gramma so I'm glad they will have the chance to enjoy each other's company more. And it will be nice to have another adult around when my health keeps me from doing the things I'd like to be doing.
But it won't be all work for Mom. She working on her bucket list, too. The idea is that she will use our house as her home base, and without the expenses of rent and utilities, she will have more money to travel and visit friends and family. And she will be able to go to Europe with us this summer to celebrate my in-laws 50th anniversary! I'm very excited for all the adventures she will get to have now. And we are excited to have a puppy in our home again. And mom too, when she's resting between her coddiwomples.
As for the quilt, it has been moved downstairs with the king size bed to our other guest area. And now I have another quilt to make for mom!
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:
Thursday
Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation
Friday
Beauties Pageant @ From Bolt to Beauty
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 Hatter
Sunday
BOMs Away @ What a Hoot
Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun that Housework
Monday
Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrap Bag
What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney
Today I'm sharing the quilt I made for our guest room. When we built the de Jong Dream House, we knew that we would always have our door open for guests. We have a second master on the first floor with access to the back patio, a walk in closet, and accessible bathroom.
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For the back, I pieced some long strips to go with the focus fabric.
This quilt and our guest room is on my mind now, in 2019, because in a few short weeks, my mom is moving in!!
But it won't be all work for Mom. She working on her bucket list, too. The idea is that she will use our house as her home base, and without the expenses of rent and utilities, she will have more money to travel and visit friends and family. And she will be able to go to Europe with us this summer to celebrate my in-laws 50th anniversary! I'm very excited for all the adventures she will get to have now. And we are excited to have a puppy in our home again. And mom too, when she's resting between her coddiwomples.
As for the quilt, it has been moved downstairs with the king size bed to our other guest area. And now I have another quilt to make for mom!
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:
Thursday
Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation
Friday
Beauties Pageant @ From Bolt to Beauty
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 Hatter
Sunday
BOMs Away @ What a Hoot
Oh Scrap! @ Quilting is More Fun that Housework
Monday
Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts & Doll Quilts
Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward @ Em's Scrap Bag
What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney
Tuesday
Fun story, love your quilt. Great colors and it looks super on the bed!
ReplyDeleteThis beautiful quilt was truly the focal point of the guest room. I look forward to seeing the quilt you make for your mom as she makes this space her own. : )
ReplyDeleteJen, I love this quilt! And I'm happy for you that your mom will be living with you. How I wish that my mother were alive and could come live with us. Enjoy every moment. By the way, did you see that "God Friended Me" has been renewed for Season Two? When I read that, I thought of you. :)
ReplyDeleteI did ! We were so excited! It's SUCH a great show!
DeleteIt sounds like a perfect solution for all of you!! Your son will have the opportunity of a lifetime to really get to know his grandmother. If I become a widow, I would definitely be moving in with one of my daughters. I am looking forward to seeing what the quilt for your mother looks like.
ReplyDeleteI always find it amazing how much changing the colors affects the look of the quilt design. Your quilt looks so different from the original pattern. I think I like your version even better :) Those colors are great! Good luck with keeping up the quilt-post-catch-up. My gallery on the blog could also use some of that :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty room it helped make! This was a nice way to set down a permanent memory of that. It's so nice that you'll get to have your mom with you. Her dog is adorable, too.
ReplyDeleteFun to learn the back story of that quilt, and wonderful to see how your guest room is transforming into a personal space for your mom. Love the fireplace, too!
ReplyDeleteSo much good news in this post. Hurray. I love your quilt even more than the original. And I need to rig up a design wall just like yours. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI hope your mom finds her new digs to be gezellig and that you all adjust to the new arrangements quickly. Lovely quilt! Thanks for linking up to What I Made Monday.
ReplyDeleteLove the colors in that guest quilt! The pillow shams compliment it perfectly, which is no surprise since that fabric was your inspiration. Can't wait to see what you make for mom. How lucky to have her with you! Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDelete