John's Calendar Quilt

I can now post about the calendar quilt I designed for my son. It was part of his Christmas and I didn't want to spoil the surprise by posting earlier. I knew that I wanted to make a calendar for his office but wasn't sure how to incorporate my quilting into the project. I decided to make a quilted holder for the calendar. I called my friend Susan, a fellow quilter, and asked for suggestions that would be "manly". She suggested this puzzle design. I arranged all the names as if it was a crossword puzzle and amazingly they fit in the desired size. Each letter is a 2 1/2" square. I used my Janome to embroidery each letter. I did multiple letters in each hooping allowing room for trimming to 2 1/2". The remaining part of the puzzle is 2 1/2" black squares. The bottom portion holds a heavy plastic pocket for the calendar pages. Calendar pages were made in Photoshop Elements.

John was very pleased and surprised by his Calendar Quilt. I'm so glad I took time to design a unique quilt for my wonderful son. He can display it in his office. I think you could also use the pocket to display the granddaughters art work or other items. It wouldn't have to be a calendar.