Category Archives: The Linus Connection

Fandom For Charity!

I have lots to tell you about my amazing weekend, but that will have to wait for the BIG REVEAL in tomorrow’s Talk To Me Tuesday!

Today, I want to share an epic and exciting event going on over on Fandom In Stitches: The Fandom For Charity Project of Doom Block Drive!

I’ve combined some of my favorite things: Fandom In Stitches, Harry Potter and The Linus Connection for this fun event! We will be creating a Project of Doom Quilt that will be given away to one lucky person while simultaneously raising money and awareness for my favorite charity!

Click here for details!

Photobucket

Featured Pattern:

Featured Pattern: A Little Haunted, $8 on Craftsy

TTMT #202 – All About Linus

1 Reply

Bees!, my first public offering on Spoonflower.

The Linus Connection

Fabulous Fandom Mashup Entries!

Photobucket

Featured Pattern: Two Little Hooters, $8 on Craftsy

FMQing for Linus

2 Replies

I’ve got three quilts to finish up for The Linus Connection meeting on Saturday. The first to get the free-motion quilt treatment is this simple version of In A Castle. Two more to quilt…all three to bind!

Photobucket

Linus Tomorrow

2 Replies

What with Blog Hops, awesome giveaways, Quiltmaker, quilt shows and my Trunk Show last weekend (wow, did that all really happen in the last month?!), I haven’t had much chance to mention my favorite charitable cause, The Linus Connection!

Despite all The Crazy, I continue with my personal goal to donate two blankets per month through Linus to children in crisis in Central Texas. This time of year is especially crucial because our requests tend to go up at the end of the summer as homeless teens graduate and we stockpile blankets for bereavement camps.

The quilt above is a Wonky Stars quilt I put together for last month’s Linus demo. When I took it to the meeting, it was just a quilt top, but with an hour or so of a Harry Potter audiobook and my favorite sewing machine, I have it done and ready to turn in!

I would love to take full responsibility for this beautiful quilt, but I cannot! The center medallion was pieced by a very kind and talented lady named Patty, who then donated it to Linus. I added the borders, quilted and bound it, all ready to be donated at tomorrow’s meeting!

Want to help?

I collect 12″ (12 1/2″ unfinished) star blocks for The Linus Connection!

Click for more information.

I hope you are all having a lovely week and that, wherever you are, you have a beautiful and crafty weekend!

Photobucket

Shop Sewhooked and help keep the free pattern page free!

Register Now for STITCHED and learn to paper piece with my full-length video workshop!

Fun with Stars For Linus

Leave a reply

I’ve recently accumulated 7 blocks from Stars for Linus donations, but was 5 blocks shy having enough for a top. Late last week, I remedied that!

I thought I’d give the Wonky Star (also known as Maverick Star) a try so I pulled out some scraps and started piecing.!

“Wings” added to the 4 1/2″ squares for star points.

All squared up!

Ready to make stars!

First one done!

Pieced top! The paper pieced Stars for Linus as well as the bottom right Wonky Star were donations.

Basted and ready to quilt! Free-motion quilted.

Tada! This quilt was donated to The Linus Connection on Saturday, March 17, 2012.

I will continue to collect Stars For Linus indefinitely. Remember, Stars need to be 12 1/2″ (unfinished)!

Also donated on Saturday, received in the mail from mkissa

hardhatcat donated several of these sweet circus panels! They’ve now been quilted and distributed.

See Show & Tell from Saturday on the Linus Blog!

Reminders:

This is the last day to comment on my STITCHED blog hop post for a chance to win a fat quarter of owl fabric! The winner will be chosen tomorrow.

In honor of my participation in the STITCHED Tutorial Blog Hop, get 15% off your TOTAL PURCHASE from the Sewhooked Shop during the month of March with coupon code MARCH15. Not valid on etsy or craftsy.

Paper Pieced Pattern-A-Day Garden Party Blog Hop

The Paper Pieced Pattern-A-Day blog hop is coming April 1, 2012! We have a full compliment of designers ready to share awesome Garden Party-themed FREE paper pieced patterns with you!

Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a fat quarter of the owl fabric used in this tutorial!

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post!

Photobucket

Register Now for STITCHED!

Shop Sewhooked and help keep the free pattern page free!

My February Linus

Leave a reply

Sideways Shell, made from scrappy bright yarns.

The February meeting of The Linus Connection was this past Saturday, and as usual, I have some fun things to show! I’m way ahead of goal of 2 per month this year, which makes me very happy.

This was Saturday’s demo, pattern by Osie. I pieced this one and she quilted it. I actually swapped the block strips around a bit (on accident!) but I still like the outcome, especially with the addition of the sashing. The block pattern pattern will be on the Linus website as soon as we clear up our technical difficulties.

Lost and found Granny Squares, from my 2011 UFO list. I’m not sure how I misplaced these, but I did. They are found again and off to a good home!

I also received quite a few donations in the mail, always a bonus!

The box on the left is full of quilt tops, backing and bindings sent by Rachel, as well as some lovely fabric panels donated by Cat.

Sideways Shell, donated by Amber

Lovely afghan donated by Adrith. You can see Chained Compass, one of my crochet patterns, on the top row.

Gabriel sent a lovely Stars for Linus quilt top, which was quilted by Osie and bound by Linda. I’ve received quite a few blocks in the mail recently, and will hopefully have enough for another Stars For Linus quilt next month!

See Show & Tell photos plus the raffle quilt winner on the Linus blog!

Reminder: Use coupon code QUILTMYPHONE in the Sewhooked Shop to receive the Floating Mariner instant download PDF pattern for half price as an instant PDF download with PayPal payment – completely secure shopping through E-junkie. This price is only good right here on Sewhooked during the month of February.

Shop Sewhooked and help keep the free pattern page free! (Craftsy Shop)

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post!

Photobucket

Register Now for STITCHED!

Packing Up For Linus

3 Replies

This is the photo post I promised earlier this week during Talk To Me Tuesday.

We’ve had two sewing days in the last month where Linus volunteers get together to stitch quilt tops. Usually, these tops are pre-cut and ready to sew together. Sometimes it’s a pre-printed panel that just needs borders or a donation of pre-made blocks. These sewing days are always a lot of fun and we get tons accomplished.

After piecing the quilt tops, they go off to our fabulous long-arm quilters who do a beautiful job quilting them for us.

Scrappy Brick Quilt, a favorite pattern for work days

This was my first new crochet project for 2012. These were all yarns that were donated to Linus in December. I brought home a tangled snarl of yarns and turned them into this. It’s all double stranded, DC, and super simple, but I really like how squishy and soft it is!

Box Stitch baby blanket, crocheted by me, end of December, beginning of January.

Pieced during the December work day, blocks donated by Kristel. Kristel, I hope you’ll forgive me for the willy-nilly layout!

Pieced at the January sewing day. This top and the following were pieced out of a huge assorted stack of funky 5 1/2″ pre-cuts fabrics. I just grabbed and stitched! The string pieced blocks were in the stack, too.

A panel that needed borders. Almost instant gratification!

This was a panel that was cleverly puzzle-pieced together by Osie. She did the cutting, I did the stitching.

Wonky Stars quilt, top donated by Kristel. Quilted by Marge.

Afghan donated by ladyoflosttimes

Afghan donated by Terry M.

The Linus Connection meets tomorrow to collect and distribut blankets to children in need throughout Central Texas, I hope to see you there!

Paper Pieced Pattern-A-Day Blog Hop Call for designers – We’ve had some great people sign up so far, but there is still space available! If you think you might like to design a block for April, please check out the post and fill out the form. We’re going to have a blast sharing Garden Party patterns for the entire month of April!

Photobucket

Workshops are open!

Register Now!

The Linus Connection – A Year of Blankets

2 Replies

This is The Linus Connection, my favorite charitable cause since I first volunteered in 2002.

Enjoy!

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post!

Photobucket

Workshops are open!

Register Now!

A Little Focus

Leave a reply

My 8th grader is flying home from Seattle right now, on a plane full of middle school honors band kids, directors and (I’m sure) exhausted chaperones after a very successful concert at the Western International Band Clinic (scroll down to see Deerpark Middle School Honors Band).

Knowing he’s headed home after not seeing him for almost five days is making it a wee bit hard for me to focus on anything for more than a few minutes.

That’s a good time for crochet. I can let my hands work the yarn while my mind jumps around in excitement at seeing my kiddo!

Today, I’m working on the Box Stitch Carriage Robe pattern, which is really just fancy talk for a baby blanket! This pattern is an old favorite for children’s blanket charities, originally shared by a Project Linus volunteer.

Mine blanket will go to The Linus Connection, as usual!

While Project Linus and The Linus Connection are not the same organization, we do have the same mission, to provide blankets to children in crisis and all of our patterns can be used interchangeably.

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post.

Photobucket

November Linus

4 Replies

With my Babylock back in working order and all missing stitches found, I was able to complete Stars for Linus quilts #3 and #4, as well as quilting a Scrappy Brick quilt top donated by Aalia.

Something I need to do more often: photograph quilts from the back. My free-motion is improving, but I think I need to only quilt one per day from on!

Finished after a month off from crocheting after repetitive stress kicked my crochet muscles sideways.

Granny Ghan donated by Amber

All the blankets above were donated to The Linus Connection during yesterday’s meeting. You can lots of great Show & Tell photos right here, including a couple of photos of yours truly!

It’s been such a busy time around the O household, that I completely forgot that yesterday marked my 9-year Linus anniversary!

I went to my first meeting in November 2002, invited by Osie, who I barely knew at the time. Our daughters were in first grade and in Brownies together. I heard her talking about Linus to another mom and mentioned I had made some baby blankets over the summer and would like to donate them. She encourage met to bring the blankets to the meeting.

It’s no small statement to say that volunteering for The Linus Connection changed my life. It gave my craft a cause, and encouraged me to learn to do things I had never before considered. It gave me friends I would not have had otherwise. At a time when I was a stay-at-home mom with two small children, it gave me something that was my very own. It’s really hard to sum up what the last nine years have meant to me.

These are my very first Linus blankets, donated in November 2002:

The predecessor to Oh Wavy Baby

…and Oh Wavy Baby is born

Linus Sideways Shell…see, I told you I’ve been making this one forever!!

You might be wondering where the quilts are. Well, I wasn’t a quilter nine years ago…

This is my first, very ugly quilt, donated in May 2003. I didn’t know about quarter-inch seams or rotary cutters. As horrible as it is, it was my first nudge toward quilting. I was ready to learn. The yellow afghan is a knitted sampler that was donated in pieces and I finished putting together.

My first real quilt, donated November 2003, one year after I started volunteering for Linus. I pieced, tied and bound this myself, encouraged by Osie. This was the result of my first ever Linus Work Day.

What a wonderful journey it has been. I found a passion for volunteer work I didn’t realize I had and made some of the best friends that I’ve ever had. Not least is the personal satisfaction that I receive knowing that my quilts and afghans have been providing comfort for children in their time of crisis all across Central Texas for the last nine years.

Photobucket