Category Archives: Events

First UFO Finish of 2014!

I’m happy to share that I managed my first UFO finish for 2014!

This is a simple flannel quilt made using a Quilt As You Go technique, completed with raggy edges instead of binding. I had very little flannel to work with and decided to not add borders.

Now that this quilt is done, it will be donated to The Linus Connection. I love the simplicity and softness of it and think it will make a very snuggly blanket for a little one in need.

#11 on the list is ready to be crossed off! You can see the quilt blocks, pre-piecing to the right of The List.

Next, I think I’ll tackle #5, the PoD Signature quilt. All it needs is a binding!

Also this week, I received some special Owl Post from my friend Amber. These two hoot-tastic potholders are twins to the two she sent to my best girlfriend! Also included was a fantastic Harry Potter postcard. My friends are THE BEST!

Share your Paper Piecing Vintage or any other Sewhooked-inspired photos with the Sewhooked flickr group for a chance to win fun prizes all year long! First winner to be announced Monday, January 27!

Photobucket

Paper Piecing Vintage BOM, just $12 on Craftsy

12 patterns in two sizes = 24 patterns!

Join the Paper Piecing Vintage Facebook Group and piece with friends!

Random Doings

1 Reply

Just this evening, I finished stitching my first set of blocks for the As You Wish Quilt & Stitch along.

The Princess Bride. Seriously! The Buttercup blocks were designed by Elizabeth from Such A Sew & Sew. The quilt layouts for the event were designed by me.

This is the one I’m using, though the more popular of my two designs for this event is definitely this one.

I did an epic post and my TTMT this week all about the UFOs I want to at least touch, and hopefully finish, in 2014. Today I made an actual, physical list on a giant piece of paper. My goal is to finish 2014 with less projects than I started with. I thought that maybe marking projects done from a real life list would inspire me and remind me of my goals!

New projects aren’t on this list, just stuff that’s been hanging around prior to this year.

Marie and Merlin say hello!

I made these postcards to send to my daughter. You see, I’m a giant geek mom and send my college freshman daughter a postcard every day. Yeah, you heard that right. EVERY day. She loves it. I love it. We’re all happy!

Anyway, I have these ancient printable postcards that are essentially a sheet of cardstock with perforations. To make these, I found an awesome wallpaper on fanpop.com by deedeedee123 and printed it to an 8 1/2″ x 11″ document without borders. It seriously worked a treat!

Because. David Tennant. Yeah.

Current crochet project…for The Linus Connection, my longtime favorite, Sideways Shell.

This one is slow going because I’ve mostly been working on hand embroidery the last month. My monthly goal is to donate two blankets per month to The Linus Connection. I missed it by ONE blanket in 2013 and I was super bummed. Seriously. ONE short. Pffth. I’ll do better this year!

This is the first UFO I’m tackling for 2014. It’s 11 on the list. *points up* I’ve already gotten a good start . It’ll be a baby blanket and will again be donated to Linus. This one is so ancient, I don’t even remember when or why I started it! So far, I have done a quilt as you go technique and have most of it done. The goal is to have this one finished before next Tuesday!

Share your Paper Piecing Vintage or any other Sewhooked-inspired photos with the Sewhooked flickr group for a chance to win fun prizes all year long!

Happy Thursday, friends!

Photobucket

Paper Piecing Vintage BOM, just $12 on Craftsy

12 patterns in two sizes = 24 patterns!

Join the Paper Piecing Vintage Facebook Group and piece with friends!

Finish It in ’14!

8 Replies

Yesterday, I talked about what I finished in 2013. Now let’s talk about some new goals!

This year, I am challenging myself, and YOU, to not just work on, but FINISH projects in 2014! Feel free to grab the image above for your own blog!

How many projects do you have to finish? Well, that’s up to you! My goal is to finish at least one of the projects on my list each month during 2014! My final count is 17 UFOs* and honestly? I’ve had longer lists!

*Paper Piecing Vintage and As You Wish are not included on this list because they are current projects.

Definitions of some initialisms used in this post:

UFO = UnFinished Object – a project that has been set aside and allowed to collect dust. Chances are it’s existence has been forgotten until it’s pulled out of whatever dark hole it was stuffed into. While there, it probably multiplied like Tribbles, leaving many more UFOs than you remember putting there in the first place.

USO = UnStarted Object – a project that has yet not made it out of it’s incubation period. Often comes in the shape of a stack of fat quarters, a jelly roll or other similarly delicious fabric apparition. Can also appear as a pattern or book with little hearts doodled on the cover. Hopes to be a…

WIP = Work In Progress – Always in danger of becoming a UFO, a WIP is a project that is currently being worked on, and will hopefully become a…

FO = Finished Object – What all projects dream of being. The object of much blog activity and excitement and a good source of personal pride. The Ultimate Destination of a UFO and WIP.

You’ll recognize many of these from yesterday’s post, but there are some new ones here that even surprised me!

Project – HP Swap Quilt – WIP. This is the second of two quilts made from Harry Potter quilt block swaps from way back in 2007 or so. Pieced with border. Have batting & backing fabric. Needs to be quilted and bound. I’m planning on binding in red so the pale blue border has a solid stop.

Project – Vintage quilt top. UFO. My hubby bought this for me for our anniversary several years ago. In needs to be quilted, possibly by hand. Needs a back & binding. I’m thinking muslin for the back.

Project – Vintage Churn Dash Quilt. WIP. Vintage churn dash blocks with supplemental snowball blocks made with replica fabrics. Has borders, backing and batting. Needs to be quilted & bound.

Project – Green/Purple 10 minute block quilt. WIP. Green charm swap from TTMT 2011 or so, I think. Borders added, have backing and batting. To be quilted/bound.

Project – Project of Doom Signature Quilt. WIP. Blocks from the 2011 Participants of The Project of Doom. I love this quilt. Adore it. Quilted by Shannon Shaw. It needs binding. Seriously, I’ve gotta get on that!

Project – There and Back Again (TABABOM). WIP-ish. 2012 Block of the Month on Fandom In Stitches. Have backing, batting and binding. Not yet quilted.

Project – There and Back Again signature blocks. UFO. Similar idea to the Project of Doom signature quilt. I’m missing a block from one of the designers, so I have put off working on it. To be pieced into a top. Will need fabric for sashing and possible center piece, possibly the name of the event with dates in embroidery.

Project – Embroidered block quilt top. WIP. This was a 2011 BOM by a blogger that is no longer online. Borders added, have back & binding. To be quilted & bound.

Project – Topsy Turvy Trees. UFO. Needs a back and to be quilted, bound. One of my original designs.

Project – Australia fabric from Cat. UFO. (Actually, USO…UnStarted Object!). I’ve picked a pattern I like, and that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I need to find an accent fabric and cut this puppy out!

Project – Flannel Quilt Blocks. UFO. These were unearthed during the same archaeological dig that found the Flannel Quilt included in my 2013 Recap. I have no idea why these weren’t on last year’s list. No matter, they are on this year’s! These fabrics are from pajamas my kiddos had when they were small. As in pre-school and elementary small. Yeah. Anyway, to be made into a quilt for donation to The Linus Connection.

Project – Mustachio! quilt. UFO. Has backing and batting. Needs to be quilted. One of my original designs. In case you weren’t around in November (Movember!) for my almost-daily mustache spam!

Project – Misc. Published Blocks. UFO? WIP? Kinda Both. This is the bag where I stash blocks I’ve designed for magazines, blog hops, events, etc., when I don’t have a project in mind for them. I’d like to do, I don’t know…something…with at least some of these this year. I have another bag just like this of unpublished designs. Mayhap I’ll do something with those, too!

Project – Garden Party Blog Hop Blocks. UFO; 8 of 30. Way back in 2012, I hosted the Paper Pieced Pattern A Day Garden Party Blog Hop (the link goes to a round-up of all the designs). It was an amazing events, with 30 designers and 30 designs, one for every day in April, 2012. Between hosting, running three blogs, and having my first pattern published in a magazine, I kind of got lost and my blocks ended up in a bag collecting dust. I would love, at the very least, make some progress on these this year.

Project – Not All Who Wander Are Lost. UFO. 2 of 29. NAWWAL was hosted by Lilja on my fandom quilt blog, Fandom In Stitches. I had every intention of making this quilt. See that on the right? That’s my collection of Stonehenge fabric kept specifically so this project will match my There and Back Again quilt. Despite my best intentions, the only blocks I made for these event are the two I designed for it. Like the Garden Party quilt, I would like to make some progress this year.

Project – Orphan Block Quilt 2013, #2. UFO. One of three made from orphan blocks for donation to The Linus Connection. These were slice and dice 9 patch blocks left over from a quilt I made for a friend’s wedding way back in 2007. Needs borders, backing, batting & binding.

Project – 1980s T-Shirt…Something. UFO. I’ve saved the most dubious project for last. Many years ago, before I ever held a rotary cutter or knew anything about squaring up, paper piecing, half-square triangles, batting, free-motion quilting or any other quilting term you might like to throw out, I got the crazy idea to cut up my favorite t-shirts from high school for a quilt-type project. Maybe a bag or pillow? I don’t know what I was thinking, but I can tell you I chopped without impunity, leaving very little seam allowance to work with. After years… And Years… And a few more YEARS stuffed in a bag on a shelf, I brought these memories of high school out into the light. This year, I will do something with them. I have no idea what, but something. It’s high time to get them off my self. Besides, I like a challenge. Ehem.

Feel like being challenged to work on your UFOs in 2014? Pren, from The Convivial Crafter, a long time crafty friend of mine, has started a crafty support group Facebook group for just that reason! Her goal: One finished UFO per month! Totally doable, right?! Join UFO Project 2014. There are drawings and stuff!

Photobucket

Piece with me! Paper Piecing Vintage BOM, $12 on Craftsy!

2013 To Do List…Recap (at last!)

5 Replies

At the beginning of the last few years, I have recapped the UFO projects accumulated at the beginning of the previous year to see how much progress I made on each one. These lists do not include new projects that popped up over the year, though newbies often make an appearance on the following year’s list! When 2013 began, and I made my 2013 list, I was working full time outside of my home. After half a year of burning the candle not only at both ends, but in the middle too, I realized the life I was leading was not working for myself or for my family. When I left my full-time position, I fell right back into Sewhooked and, most importantly, back to my family.

2014 UFO List coming soon
2013 Recap – You’re here!
2013 To Do List
12 for 2012 recap post
12 for 2012 Project List and 2011 Follow-Up Post
2011 UFO list
2010 UFO list and the follow-up post

Definitions of some initialisms used in this post:

UFO = UnFinished Object – a project that has been set aside and allowed to collect dust. Chances are it’s existence has been forgotten until it’s pulled out of whatever dark hole it was stuffed into. While there, it probably multiplied like Tribbles, leaving many more UFOs than you remember putting there in the first place.

USO = UnStarted Object – a project that has yet not made it out of it’s incubation period. Often comes in the shape of a stack of fat quarters, a jelly roll or other similarly delicious fabric apparition. Can also appear as a pattern or book with little hearts doodled on the cover. Hopes to be a…

WIP = Work In Progress – Always in danger of becoming a UFO, a WIP is a project that is currently being worked on, and will hopefully become a…

FO = Finished Object – What all projects dream of being. The object of much blog activity and excitement and a good source of personal pride. The Ultimate Destination of a UFO and WIP.

Project – 2011 Five @ The Hive block of the month, designed by Sue Carter January 2013 – Need to add top & bottom border, quilt and bind. Have border, backing and binding fabric.

Status – FO and Gifted! Discussed in this TTMT (6:40 or so). Quilted by my friend Osie and given to my in-laws last year.

Project – Harry Potter Alphabet Quilt, designed by me. January 2013 – To be quilted & bound. Have back/binding fabric.

Harry Potter Title Font Alphabet Quilt

Status – FO! I talk about it in this TTMT. Quilted by Osie. She practiced pebbles on this and I LOVE the way it came out! I’m keeping this beauty for myself. I started designing and piecing the blocks in 2005 or 2006 and they sat in a shoebox for years.

Project – Hand applique wreath. January 2013 – Needs to be bound with green fabric (shown).

Status – FO! Done and gifted to my best friend, Jewells!

Project – Harry Potter swap block quilts (1 & 2) January 2013 – Quilt 1 needs a border, back and binding. To be quilted & bound. Quilt 2 needs to be pieced, quilted & bound.

Status, HP Swap Quilt 1 – WIP. Border added. needs to be quilted and bound. Have batting & backing fabric.

Status, HP Swap Quilt 2 – FO. These were blocks that didn’t quite fit the layout I worked out for the HP blocks. This one was pieced, free-motion quilted, bound and donated to The Linus Connection

Project – Vintage quilt top. January 2013 – To be quilted, possibly by hand. Needs a back & binding. I’m thinking muslin for the back. Status – UFO. No change. 😦

Project – Vintage churn dash & reproduction fabric snowball quilt top. January 2013 -Needs borders, back and to be quilted & bound.

Status – WIP. Has borders, backing and batting. Needs to be quilted & bound.

Project – Green/Purple 10 minute block quilt. January 2013 – Needs borders and to be quilted and bound. To be saved for a baby gift.

Status – WIP. Borders added, have backing and batting. To be quilted/bound.

Project – There and Back Again signature blocks January 2013 – To be pieced into a top. Will need fabric for sashing and possible center piece. Status – UFO. No change. I’m missing a block from one of the designers, so I have put off working on this.

Project – Misc 2 1/2″ & 4 1/2″ half-square triangles. January 2013 – To be pieced into a quilt top. Have taupe fabric for solid blocks to include in piecing.

Status – FO. 4 1/2″ half-square triangles pieced into quilt top. Free-motion quilted and bound, donated to The Linus Connection April 2013. Blogged about here. Still have lots of 2 1/2″ half-square triangles.

Project – There and Back Again (TABABOM). January 2013 – Needs a back and to be quilted, bound.

Status – WIP-ish. Have backing, batting and binding. Not yet quilted.

Project – Project of Doom Signature Quilt January 2013 – Finish the hand embroidery in the border, needs a back and to be quilted & bound. Will read “The Project of Doom 2011 Participants.”

Status – WIP. Embroidery finished, quilted by Shannon Shaw of Rock Creek Quilts. Needs binding.

Project – Embroidered block quilt top. January 2013 – Needs a border, back and to be quilted, bound. To be saved for a baby gift.

Status – WIP. Borders added, have back & binding. To be quilted & bound.

Project – Topsy Turvy Trees January 2013 – Needs a back and to be quilted, bound. Status – No change.

Project – Orphan block collection (mine and many many collected from others) January 2013 – Make into a quilt (or several!) for The Linus Connection.

And now it's a star again! #linusconnection

Status – FO/WIP – Finished one quilt and two quilt tops for donation to The Linus Connection and still have more orphan blocks! The second quilt needs a border, backing, quilting and binding. The third (star) quilt needs a backing, batting & binding.

Project – Flannel quilt top (I have NO idea when I pieced this, most of these fabrics have been gone from my stash for years!) January 2013 – Needs a back and to be quilted, bound, to be donated to The Linus Connection.

Status – FO. Quilted & bound, donated to The Linus Connection. Blogged!

Project – Monkey fabric from Jewells January 2013 – NEW PROJECT – Make into a quilt for The Linus Connection.

Status – FO. Made into a quilt top during Retreat 2013 and donated to The Linus Connection. Donated to The Linus Connection. This is only ph0to of the top I could find and it’s on the wall at the very beginning of this TTMT. I won’t lie, watching this video brought on the tears. My beloved Tackett is giving me some serious snuggles at the beginning which reminded me of why I miss him so much every day.

Project – Australia fabric from Cat January 2013 – NEW PROJECT – Pick a pattern and make top, hopefully king size!

Status – UFO. (Actually, USO…UnStarted Object!). I’ve picked a pattern I like, and that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I need to find an accent fabric and cut this puppy out!

Project – Fabric collection from Kristel, won from one of her TTMT drawings. January 2013 – NEW PROJECT – I would like to make this into a new bag for myself! Fancy that!

Status – Not even a UFO. I picked a bag pattern and then changed my mind. I’m considering sharing the love and passing this on as a prize.

Summary – Not bad, not bad! That’s seven completed quilts, one quilt that just needs a binding, several completed tops and a couple of projects that just need to get a little closer to done. I’m always equally surprised by A) how much I finished and B) what I forgot completely about.

Now, to work on my 2014 list!

Piece with me! Paper Piecing Vintage BOM, $12 on Craftsy!

Flock of Crows!

3 Replies

Last week, I shared an open invitation for those of you playing along with Paper Piecing Vintage to share photos of your blocks with the Sewhooked flickr group and BOY did you come through!

Every version of the PPV January block, The King’s Crows is different and wonderful! I love seeing your fabric choices and speculating as to how your finished quilts will look.

One of the best parts for me is seeing so many familiar names. Thank you, friends, for being part of my first ever paid BOM and helping to support both Sewhooked and Fandom In Stitches. You all ROCK!

This first block was pieced by Amber! Amber is The Official PPV Pattern Tester. She tries every pattern before it goes live to double check that my instructions make sense and that everything prints correctly. She also puts up with endless texts about the crazy ideas that spill out of my head. She deserves a cookie factory just for that!

This block is by Jewells, my best girlfriend for the last 20 years. Despite totally not having time to BOM with us, she’s doing it anyway. She is by for the most supportive BFF a girl could have!

By TweLoQ, fellow designer over on Fandom In Stitches. She’s created her own layout for her PPV blocks!

These next blocks were shared by other PPVers, most, if not all of whom are part of the Paper Piecing Vintage Facebook group.

The joy I get from seeing your blocks is wonderful!

Thank you to each and every one of you for sharing!

by gheckoaz

by joygoldplanet

by MsMoomist

by Lunaneela

by Stephanie Zito

by dawnelvis

Share your Paper Piecing Vintage photos with the Sewhooked flickr group for a chance to win fun prizes all year long! On January 27, I’ll be giving away one autographed copy of Quilts from 100 Blocks, which features one of my patterns, Corn Maze!

In the case that the winner already has a copy, I will happily substitute a prize of equal value.

Sign up for Paper Piecing Vintage now!

Have you Joined the Paper Piecing Vintage Facebook Group?
I’m around to answer questions, there are special, Facebook-only bonuses and lots of wonderful new quilting friends just waiting to meeting!

I’ll be back tomorrow for my first Talk to Me Tuesday of 2014. I hope to see you then!

Photobucket

Learn to Paper Piece Sweet Skating Sue, just $3!

One Block Fun – The King’s Crows

Paper Piecing Vintage: January

2 Replies

Happy New Year!

Let’s get this year started right: with fabric and fun!

Introducing The King’s Crows, the very first block from Paper Piecing Vintage, my very special Block of the Month with patterns available exclusively through Craftsy!

The King’s Crows is inspired by a hand-pieced, hand drawn block by the same name that I found in a quilt catalog from the 1800s.

As with all the blocks from PPV, The King’s Crows is entirely paper pieced a both 6″ and 12″ patterns.

Already registered? Download your updated BOM file now!

Haven’t signed up for Paper Piecing Vintage yet? Registration for the entire year is just $12. That’s 12 patterns in two sizes, entirely paper pieced for one awesome price!

The King’s Crows, designed & pieced by Jennifer Ofenstein (sewhooked.com)

Join the Paper Piecing Vintage Facebook Group and piece with friends!

Join me every Tuesday in 2014 for Talk to Me Tuesday and the first of each month for the latest Paper Piecing Vintage block!

Share your Paper Piecing Vintage photos with the Sewhooked flickr group for a chance to win fun prizes all year long!

A very happy New Year, my friends…let’s make this quilt (and many more!!)!

Photobucket

Learn to Paper Piece Sweet Skating Sue, just $3!

PPV Pre-Registration is live!

8 Replies

Pre-registration for Paper Piecing Vintage is now live!

Today through December 31, registration is half-price, just $6!

Each pattern comes in 6″ and 12″. The 6″ patterns are full color and the 12″ patterns are grayscale to help save on ink.

That’s six bucks for 24 patterns plus layout instructions!’

The pre-registration download for Paper Piecing Vintage includes fabric amounts for both block sizes and how to get your update on January 1.

Want more information? Everything you need to know is on the listing on Craftsy!

Who’s excited? I’m excited!

Click here to grab the html for these fun badges

or copy and paste the images directly to your blog!

We have TWO winners for a free copy of the January pattern! Our winners will receive the actual January 2014 block of the month document, a preview of what’s to come. Congratulations and thanks to you both for commenting!

Our winners!

Do you Facebook? Join our spiffy new group for Paper Piecing Vintage and quilt with friends during 2014! I will be posting exclusing content to the group, including alternative color schemes!

See you later today for TTMT!

Photobucket

Learn to Paper Piece Sweet Skating Sue, just $3 on Craftsy

Blog Hop Winner!

4 Replies

Turkey Talk on Craftsy

On this day before Thanksgiving here in the U.S., I’m thrilled to announce the winner of my Blog Hop Party Giveaway!

You all answered the question of your favorite quilting technique. Your comments, as usual, were a blast to read! Mine is paper piecing, but you already knew that. 😉

There were 99 commenters at the time of the drawing, and as I usually do, I used the Random Number Generator over on random.org.

I sure was surprised at the results:

Congratulations to Jan Jones, commenter number one! Jan, you should have already received my email on how to collect your prize.

Blog Hop Party Giveaway, Nov 2013

Jan won the following:

Turkey Talk Pattern
Two Little Hooters Pattern
Poppies From The Past Pattern
Holly Jolly Pattern
Three Sewhooked buttons

Fall Placemat

Did you miss the blog hop post? Be sure to stop by for this fun, free project!

Paper Piecing Vintage: Sign-ups start December 3!

Coming January to Fandom In Stitches!

Time is running out! I’m donating $1 to Movember for every Mustachio! pattern set sold during November! You’ve got until Saturday to buy your copy and help with a great cause!

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I hope it’s a safe and happy holiday filled with friends, food and fun.

Until next time,

Photobucket

Featured Pattern: Tree Trimming, $8 on Craftsy!

Paper Piecing Vintage – Coming in 2014!

41 Replies

Let’s face it, when I get ready to sew, paper piecing is what I love best.

There’s this other thing, too: I’ve always wanted to make a vintage-inspired sampler quilt.

After years of contemplating the idea of paper piecing vintage blocks and considering what blocks I personally would most like to include in a quilt like this, the idea has solidified.

Please join me beginning January 1, 2014

for a very special year-long event:

This will be a for purchase Block of the Month (BOM) through my Craftsy store that includes each month’s block in two pattern sizes: 6″ & 12″.

The entire quilt is designed in two colors with a solid background. Can you make it scrappy? ABSOLUTELY!

If you sign up in December, you will get a super duper special discount, because honestly, I want you to play along. Quilting is more fun when we do it together!

The best part? You only need to sign up once:

It works like this:

Once you’ve paid, you’ll receive a notification from Craftsy to download your pattern.
One the first of each month, I will update Paper Piecing Vintage on Craftsy.
You will receive notification from Craftsy that the updated pattern is available.
Download and print the pattern for each month’s block in the size of your choice.
That’s one payment, one time for the entire 12 month series; that’s 24 patterns total, each of the 12 patterns in two sizes, all for one price.
Any questions? Ask! I’m just a comment away. 😉

‘

Remember, buying a pattern from time to time helps keep my free content free, and I LOVE to share free content!

Sign ups begin December 3!

Do you think you might play along? Let me know in comments before December 3 and I will give two lucky commenters a free copy of the first month’s pattern!

Do you Facebook? Join our spiffy new group for Paper Piecing Vintage and quilt with friends during 2014!