Author Archives: Jennifer Ofenstein

About Jennifer Ofenstein

Owner of sewhooked.com and fandominstitches.com. #quiltforgood advocate. Quilt designer, instructor, Talk to Me Tuesday founder & contributor, cat mom, and craft enabler.

TTMT #789 – Thrifted Chairs Makeover

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In which I share my thifted chair makeover journey! Next week, back to quilting!

If you know anything about furniture and have any ideas about the manufacturer or date these chairs might have been made, I’d love to know!

Chair Supplies (affiliate links)

Bonus Video! Almost an hour of backyard bird camera fun. 😀

More Links!

Doctor Who Quilt Along Patterns
Doctor Who Quilt when it was new! Video 1 & Video 2
Say hello to Erica at The Purple Quilt Company on YouTube.
If you enjoy my free content, you can buy me a Ko-Fi.
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

TTMT #788 – Well, It’s Not Chairs

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This week, I share a minor misadventure in the finishing of my new-to-me dining chairs, a new Sherlock Holmes-themed paper pieced quilt block designed by me for my husband’s bookcase quilt (pattern coming later this month), some tiny sewing machines made by my son, and a tiny bit of progress on my eldest’s Doctor Who quilt repair. Big thanks to my Ko-Fi supporters, with a special shout out to crankyrat for TEN coffees!

Sherlock Holmes Patterns on Fandom in Stitches (block shown coming soon!)
Doctor Who Quilt Along Patterns
Doctor Who Quilt when it was new! Video 1 & Video 2
My Retired Patterns
Say hello to Erica at The Purple Quilt Company on YouTube.
As requested: Bird Feeders with Cameras on Amazon (affiliate link). Please note that there are LOTS of bird feeders with cameras out there. What works for me may not work for you, so use your own discretion when purchasing.
If you enjoy my free content, you can buy me a Ko-Fi.
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

TTMT #787 – Surprise Finish with Some Quilty Progress

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Join me for today’s Talk to Me Tuesday Show & Tell as I talk about hanging out with a special TTMT friend, share progress on my #ttmtbom, a surprise UFO finish, an update on the Doctor Who quilt repair, and more bird feeder action, plus special thanks to my amazing Ko-Fi supporters! ♥

Sherlock Holmes’ Deerstalker Bookcase Block

designed by Jennifer Ofenstein

10″ paper pieced

free for personal use only

(machine embroidery not included)

My July 2024 #ttmtbom Blocks!

Sherlock Holmes Patterns on Fandom in Stitches
Doctor Who Quilt Along Patterns
Doctor Who Quilt when it was new! Video 1 & Video 2
My Retired Patterns
Say hello to Erica at The Purple Quilt Company on YouTube.
As requested: Bird Feeders with Cameras on Amazon (affiliate link). Please note that there are LOTS of bird feeders with cameras out there. What works for me may not work for you, so use your own discretion when purchasing.
If you enjoy my free content, you can buy me a Ko-Fi.
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

Free Pattern Friday: Sherlock Holmes’ Deerstalker Bookcase Block

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Hello, my friends, and welcome back to Free Pattern Friday!

As mentioned in a recent video, I’m working on a bookcase quilt for my husband. I have already designed several new blocks that I’ll share here and on Fandom in Stitches as they are ready.

We both love Sherlock Holmes, so adding our favorite fictional detective to his quilt was a no-brainer!

Based on my 2011 Deerstalker pattern, today is Sherlock Holmes’ Deerstalker Bookcase Block. I hope you enjoy this pattern. I look forward to bringing you more new bookcase blocks as I design them!

The following patterns are designed by me, Jennifer Ofenstein, and are free for your personal use. Links go to Google Docs that you can save or print. ♥

Sherlock Holmes’ Deerstalker Bookcase Block

designed by Jennifer Ofenstein

10″ paper pieced

free for personal use only

(machine embroidery not included)

Deerstalker (2011)

5″ paper pieced

Need some summer reading?

Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain!

You can access all the stories for free at Project Gutenberg.

Find my Fandom patterns HERE

More Sherlock Holmes on Fandom in Stitches!

Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Where did my retired patterns go? Read all about that here.

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

TTMT #786 – Two Blue Quilts & A New Tutorial

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This week I’m sharing two very different blue quilts, a passport wallet made on my new embroidery machine, and more birdfeed cam at the end!

BIG THANKS to my Ko-Fi supporters. Y’all are amazing!

Doctor Who Quilt Along Patterns
Doctor Who Quilt when it was new! Video 1 & Video 2
The Sashiko set from OESD I used for the blocks in this video.
Passport Holder (Wallet)
As requested: Bird Feeders with Cameras on Amazon (affiliate link). Please note that there are LOTS of bird feeders with cameras out there. What works for me may not work for you, so use your own discretion when purchasing.
If you enjoy my free content, you can buy me a Ko-Fi.
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

Tutorial – How to Lengthen Front Jeans Pockets

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Hello, my friends!

As promised in a previous video, let’s lengthen those jeans pockets!

For some horrible reason, the pockets in women’s jeans are often unusable. This is a quick & easy tutorial to lengthen your pockets using scrap fabric. You can make them as simple as I did here, or spend a bit more time to achieve a more finished look.

You will need two pieces of non-stretch fabric (quilting cotton works great) at least 1/2″ wider than the pocket you want to alter.

The length will depend on the jeans you’re working on. A good rule of thumb for me is a finished pocket size of 8″ – 10″ long. I find that I usually add around 4″ in length to get the depth I am looking for. You’ll want to double that number if you fold your fabric as I show in this tutorial.

This is an easy project to eyeball, so don’t feel like it has to be perfect. These pockets are on the inside and no one will see them but you, though you may get asked where you found jeans with real pockets!

Let me know if you have any questions!

All of my tutorials on YouTube
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Where did my retired patterns go? Read all about that here.

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

TTMT #785 – Birds, Blocks, & Daleks

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This was one of those weird weeks that felt a month long but also felt like I didn’t do anything while simultaneously doing All The Things. I worked on some machine embroidery, hit my favorite thrift store, Austin Creative Reuse, upcycled a tote bag, and brought home an old favorite project for some much-needed TLC. This little bit of chaos is the result. Stick around to the end for some bird feeder footage!

The Sashiko set from OESD I used for the blocks in this video.
If you enjoy my free content, you can buy me a Ko-Fi.
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

TTMT #784 – Reorganizing for a NEW Embroidery Machine!

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Today I’m SO EXCITED to share my clean and reorganized sewing room featuring my newly upgraded embroidery machine!

I spent last week reorganizing my room for my new Brother PR1X single-needle free-arm embroidery machine purchased from Austin Sewing Machines. They made me a great bundle deal with everything I wanted for lower prices than I saw online. I can’t tell you how excited I am for this upgrade!

Not sponsored, I paid for everything myself, I’m just VERY EXCITED about my new machine!

If you enjoy my free content, you can buy me a Ko-Fi.
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

TTMT #783 – Blocks & BFFs

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This week I share some wonderful belated birthday goodies Jewells shared during a quick visit, a finished crochet charity blanket (I use this tutorial), and some progress on my husband’s Bookcase Quilt!

If you enjoy my free content, you can buy me a Ko-Fi.
Join us on TTMT!
Follow me on Instagram for lots of photos of cats & quilts!
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches, where you can also quilt along with us!

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

Raggedy Rescue: Q & A #1

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What do you do when a button eye is missing? How do you deal with rips in the face?

It’s the first Raggedy Rescue Q & A!

In this video, I’m taking some of your questions and comments and sharing what I can to hopefully help in your Raggedy Rescue adventure!

All opinions are my own and I’m always happy to learn! If you do it differently or have other advice, I’d love to hear about it.

Have questions I didn’t answer? Leave them in comments and I’ll help if I can.

As mentioned in the video, I primarily use McCall’s Crafts Pattern 8377. The pattern is out of print but you can find it on Etsy or Ebay. If you have sewing friends, it’s worth asking if they might have a copy. I’ve had several gems come my way from friends!

Other McCall’s Numbers for Raggedy Ann & Andy: 5499, 2447, 846, or 713 (10″, 15″, 20″ & 25″). The patterns include the doll pattern, clothing pattern, and instructions.

Simplicity pattern 8043* is in print and certainly less expensive in most cases, but I haven’t personally tried it yet. The clothes and dolls look almost identical to the older McCalls patterns. Simplicity owns McCalls now, but I do not know if their pattern predates the merger. If you’ve already compared the two patterns, please let me know.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions. ♥

Looking for a different video. Check out all of my Raggedy Rescues here!

I have a new page here on Sewhooked where I will be keeping a list of my favorite supplies. I listed the ones used in this video below, and you can see the full list here.