Quilt Dad: #NGAQB Mr. July: Ryan Walsh

I'm pretty much caught up on my #NGAQB commitments, but I am still WAY behind in blogging about the block I've made for my bee buddies. (For more about the No Girls Allowed Quilting Bee, or #NGAQB, see here.)

July was Ryan Walsh of Ryan Walsh Quilts' month, and he asked us to make him a colorful block using Elizabeth Hartman's fun Knee Socks Block tutorial. I had fun combing through my scrap bucket to piece together this rainbow block for Ryan:

Ryan has been a friend and quilting buddy for years -- so much so, in fact, that I can still remember when he, I, and Scott Hansen were the only manquilters running in the modern quilting blog & Flickr circles. But for those of you unfamiliar with Ryan and his work, here is some more about him:

Ryan Walsh is a self taught quilter and quilt designer who enjoys taking classic quilt designs and updating them with a modern twist. He’s employed full time as a NYS Licensed Funeral Director and manages a funeral establishment in his hometown. A busy dad, the majority of his quilting adventures occur in the late hours of the night after his kids are in bed! (Boy, that sounds familiar.)

Ryan uses quilting as a vehicle to satisfy his never ending need to be creative. His work is based around combining traditional piecing methods with free-style construction techniques. As a way to challenge his ability, Ryan participates in several online bees and quilt related swaps every year.

When he’s not quilting, Ryan also enjoys photography, embroidery, collage, crocheting, sightseeing and spending time with his family. Ryan currently resides in the Catskill Mountain region of Upstate New York with his children.