Author Archives: Jennifer Ofenstein
vlog #39 – TTMT – A Quickie
If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

2010 UFO Round Up
I’ve decided 2010 will be the year I finish some long-standing UFOs. I’ve made a list and added to the dry erase board I keep in my sewing & craft room. Here’s a more visual version to keep me inspired!
To Be Quilted:
- Grannie’s Autograph Quilt – This was my Grannie’s and was previously a tied quilt. I’d like to hand quilt it, but I’ve been reluctant to start until I finish my Electric Amish project (see below).
- Lost and Found Flour Sack Quilt – A quilt top my mom found when she inherited my Grannie’s house. It was originally much longer with holes in several of the squares. I removed a few rows across the bottom (which is not how it was pieced, so it was a pain!) and the damaged fabrics, then replaced those with some of that fabric salvaged from the bottom. The border is muslin, which is also what I’d like to put on the back.
- Yellow/Green Linus X-Quilts (from fabric donated by Laci L) – made from the Layer ‘Em Up book by Sharyn Craig. Easy peasy tops made from just 2 yards of fabric, both are baby-size. To finish by the next Linus meeting, January 16, 2009.
- Electric Amish (hand quilting project, about 1/3 complete) – modified Storm at Sea pattern. This is the first large quilt top I completed that I intended to keep for myself. I’ve been quilting on it for at least five years. To say that hand quilting is not my strong point is an understatement!
Tops to Finish:
- Brown Bear (blocks are done, need more borders and to be pieced) – from a pass around with my bee. We made the bear paws for each other. I’ve pieced the units, which still need borders.
- HP swap received (blocks are done, need layout, piecing) – from various online quilt block swaps 2007-2008. Not all of these will go in the finished quilt because a few were the wrong size. I’ll save those for something else.
- Christmas Cottage swap received (blocks are done, need layout, piecing) – blocks received from the 2009 All About Paper Piecing Christmas Cottage Swap. I’m not in a huge hurry for these since I just got them all, but they’re officially a UFO, so they’re on the list.
- Layer ‘Em Up 2 for Linus (blocks are pieced, need to be squared and top pieced) – To finish by the next Linus meeting, January 16, 2009.
- Batik Beauty (finish blocks) – this will likely be my quilt retreat project for March. I’d like to have this top done by April in order to show the NYB class I’m teaching at Honey Bee.
Sewing:
- Pillowcases to donate to Honey Bee for the 1 Million Pillowcases Challenge
- New Bag with pockets for BB & camera
Crochet
- Twilight Crafts Black & Red Swap Received (layout and finish) – knit and crochet squares. I might make a few more, or I might just border these and make them into a lapghan.
- Turn Around Granny Square ‘ghan (more rounds? and finish) – Oh geez, these have been sitting for at least a year. I’m uninspired as to what I need to do next. More rounds? Just put them together? No idea!
Portabella Crust Pizza
In an effort to feel healthier and happier, I started following the South Beach Diet. It’s been about a month now, and I feel better than I have in a good long while. The only thing I really missed was pizza on Friday nights with my family. My family and I have homemade pizza every Friday, along with a movie marathon. I experimented a bit with recipes I found online and just wasn’t satisfied. This is my own personal South Beach-friendly pizza, using a portabella mushroom as the crust. You need a fork to eat it, but other than that, it really hits the “need pizza” button!
Makes 2 servings.
Portabella Crust Pizza
- 2 portabella mushroom caps cleaned with stems removed
- olive oil
- sugar-free pizza sauce (try Exquisite Pizza Sauce without the honey)
- part-skim mozzarella or veggie cheese (like Veggie Shreds)
- toppings of your choice (I like Canadian Bacon, low-fat feta is nice, too)
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with a small amount of olive oil. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet or griddle (cast iron, if you’ve got it!) over medium-high heat. Add just enough olive oil to lubricate the surface. Place mushroom caps bottoms down on cooking surface. They’ll lose a lot of water as they cook, and that’s what you want. Leave for about five minutes and then flip the caps. When you can see moisture collecting inside the cap, flip it again, pressing with a spatula to flatten. Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes. Time can vary depending on the size of the caps, you want the caps to be about 2/3 their original size and to have released quite a bit of moisture.
Remove the caps to the prepared baking sheet, bottoms up. Add sauce, cheese and toppings. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly toasted.
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Wordless Wednesday – Man Down!
vlog #38 – TTMT – Resolute
In which I talk about Christmas crafties given and received, think about 2010 and have a hatterific slideshow.
If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

Happy Christmas
Have a sewhooked little Christmas
A little Christmas Cheer from the sewhooked flickr group!
by sewtobed on flickr
by Jennifer T.
by liljabs on flickr
Lots more great quilts in the flickr Christmas quilts group!
More Christmas cheer from sewhooked:
If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

vlog – TTMT – Bee-riffic Holiday
If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

Recycled Gift Bags from Paper Bags
The holiday head cold has grabbed me with both hands! Fortunately, I finished my gift making and wrapping before I could spread cooties along with my Christmas cheer.
I did something I almost never do and *gasp* bought pre-made gift bags for holiday treats. When I opened the packages, they all had a bottle neck. After I forced my eyebrows down out of my scalp, I realized the cute little bags were practically useless unless the entirety of my holiday giving included M&Ms.
Without any time to spare, I started digging around in my “keep just in case” drawer and came up with a stack of paper wine bags that I’ve been holding on to forever. Jackpot!
To make your own holiday gift bags/wrap from recycled wine bags, you’ll need:
- paper bags (any size)
- tape or glue
- hole punch
- ribbon
- iron
- Something to cut the bags (paper cutter, rotary cutter, decorative or plain scissors)
- stamps, stickers, or other embellishments
If your bags are like mine, they’re likely to be in all different states of crumpled-ness. So, first things, first, iron those bags if needed. Medium heat works. Ironing on a paper bag will also clean your iron, so you might want to start with a sacrificial bag, just in case your iron has any Ghosts of Craft Projects Past lurking around.

Much better!

I happen to have a snazzy wavy blade for my rotary cutter. Try scissors, decorative or plain, or fun rotary blades.

Each wine bag will make 2 gift bags. Determine how big you want each side to be, leaving about 1″ for folding for each bag.

Bottom and top (L-R)



If you’re making more than one gift bag out of your original bag, you may need to seal the bottom. Glue works for this, but so does tape or a cute sticker.
This is also a good time to embellish your gift bag with stickers, stamps, or doodles.

Top finish off, fold the top down and punch two holes through all layers. Insert your gift and tie a ribbon through to close.
Repeat the steps for all bags. The bottom half of your recycled gift wrap will only need the tops folded and punched since the bottom is already sealed. I stamped mine, but you can embellish your bags any way you like. Now, fill with holiday goodness and gift it! If you’re stuffing your gift bags with edible homemade goodness, I suggest wrapping it in plastic or wax paper before placing it in the bag.
Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches.
♥ Jennifer O
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