Category Archives: Holidays

Quilting Gallery’s Christmas Quilt-Along: Sweet Sue Tops The Tree

Welcome Quilt-Along visitors!

I have been excited about Quilting Gallery’s Celebrate Christmas Quilt-Along since the very first moment of my involvement. What an amazingly talented bunch of designers Michele has brought together. I’m absolutely thrilled to be included and to bring you today’s pattern!

Am I always this excitable? Yes, yes, I am!

My goal was to share a pattern that would reflect both the theme and my personal design style. With that, Sweet Sue was born. Sunbonnet Sue has always been a personal favorite, and I’ve designed oodles of patterns that feature Sue characters. More on that later…

Presenting, for your Christmas quilting enjoyment

Sweet Sue Tops the Tree

Sweet Sue Tops The Tree – a free 12″ paper pieced pattern

For best results, print with scaling set to “none.”

New to paper piecing? Visit my Paper Piecing Resource Page!

See this block on Quilting Gallery.

Isn’t she just a sweetie?

I’ve been designing patterns for quite a few years now, and it never gets any less fun for me, but it’s only been in the ten months or so that I’ve started using EQ7.

For those that might be unfamiliar with it, Electric Quilt is a quilting software that allows you to draft quilt patterns using specialized tools just for quilting. I primarily use the block drafting tools to create my own whimsical paper pieced patterns.

One of the most fun things for me is getting the chance to see my designs in a myriad of fabrics before I ever start digging through my stash. If you’ve visited Sewhooked before, you already know that I love to share design variations to get your creative juices flowing!

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Fabric variation is the spice of life! Each of these blocks was generated using EQ7.

Apart from designing and playing with fabric, one of the great joys of quilting, at least for me, is getting to share it with my friends! I am incredibly lucky to have quite a few quilting friends that are ready and willing to try out my patterns before I release them into the wild.

For your quilting pleasure, Sweet Sue has been tested by:

AnnMarie

and

Amber

Feeling a little lost? There’s a tutorial for that!

So what’s all this about a slew of Sunbonnet Sues? What I enjoy quilting most, whimsy and magic, found their way into my versions of Sue, entitled Sunbonnet Sue’s Magical Friends. All of Sue’s Friends are available as themed sets in the Sewhooked Shop.

Mrs. Claus Little Wonky Christmas Tree Lil' St. Nick Santa's Elf Wee Lil Penguin

Sunbonnet Sue’s Magical Friends, Supplemental Set 1: Holly Jolly includes Lil’ St. Nick, Wonky Lil’ Christmas Tree , Mrs. Claus, Santa’s Lil’ Helper, and Wee Lil’ Penguin.

In honor of the Celebrate Christmas Quilt-Along, right now through November 1, get Holly Jolly as an instant PDF download pattern for half price using coupon code CELEBRATE. Yep, just $3 for five sweet patterns!

Sue doesn’t do it for you? How about 10% of your total Sewhooked instant download purchase instead with coupon code QUILTOBER!

Tree Trimming

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post! And don’t forget, if you’re playing along, please share your Sweet Sue photos in the Celebrate Christmas Quilt-Along flickr.

Happy quilting, and thanks so much for dropping by!

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Two Little Hooters

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Two Little Hooters

Sitting In A Tree

One For You

And One For Me!

Two Little Hooters is one of Those Quilts. I woke up with a complete vision of it in my mind, started working and realized how cute and fun it was. And really, it was all about cute and fun while choosing fabrics and piecing it together!

Another fun thing? It’s my twentieth quilt in the Sewhooked Shop! *throws confetti*

Two Little Hooters

15 1/2” x 18 1/2”
Paper pieced and Strip Pieced

Includes full-color paper pieced patterns, cutting and piecing instructions for the quilt shown above.

~~$8 – PDF Instant Download~~

Now Just $5.95 in my Craftsy Shop!

I posted this teaser pic on my Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday. I couldn’t resist!

Follow me there for chances to win free prizes and lots of carpool crafting!

The quilt center is all pieced!

Removing the paper…you can see how I color my patterns while they’re still being tested.

Quilting in progress. I did simple straight line quilting to emphasize the design.

Another teaser pic posted to Facebook. Binding, almost done!

And, we’re done!

Fun alternate colorings created in EQ7

Alternate Layout, also created in EQ7

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

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A Sewhooked “I Love You”

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Paper Pieced Valentine, 2009

In a couple of weeks, Cupid will descend, and pink and red hearts will be exploding from every direction. That can only mean one thing… Valentine’s Day!

What better way to share a little love than with a hand made Valentine? My all-time favorite is still paper piecing tiny hearts to attach to blank note cards.

The original card tutorial is here.

Of course, I can’t make a suggestion like that without sharing my free heart and love patterns! I even have a broken heart if you need to get a different message across. Ehem.

Linus Heart	Scrappy Heart	Scrappy Heart II	Patchy Heart
Less Than Three	Bee-Treat	ASL I Love You	Broken Heart

Not into paper piecing? You can do the same thing with simple appliqué, card stock and a few buttons!

Still not your thing? Don’t risk your love with the gamble chocolates that come in the big red hearts…try a homemade sweet treat! These are some of my favorites.

Chocolate Chocolate
Marshmallow Cookies

Peanut Brittle

Ranger Cookies

Faux Rocher
Candy

Recipe Review:
White Chocolate
Rasp Cheesecake

Applesauce Raisin
Bread

Chocolate Balls

Stenciled Brownies

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2011 UFOs and WIPs

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With the finish of the TTMT UFO Deadline Challenge, my mind is filled with the projects that I am not only working on, but the ones that have been on the back burner.

Before we start, some definitions:

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.

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.

This year, in addition to my list of UFOs, I’m including my WIPs and some DYI. This is by no means a complete list because I’m very much a Do It Right now kind of person. That is to say, when I get an idea, I often have to stop everything and do it now!

See my 2010 UFO list and the follow-up post.

Quilting Projects

Bear Paw Pass Around

STATUS – UFO

Started as a pass around project with my bee in 2008, I sadly have not touched these blocks for over a year. I did go through the box and make a plan…

I plan to use the gold fabric for sashing and was playing with the idea of using brown for the cornerstones. The more I look at the fabric, the more I think I want brick red cornerstones. The brown just sort of disappears against the gold.

Half-square triangle exchange blocks

STATUS – UFO-ish

These are the results of two half-square triangle exchanged I participated in last year. I have not yet decided what I’m going to do with them, which is what gives them their “ish” status. They’re just waiting for the right project to crop up!

InuYasha Quilt

STATUS – Still Collecting

I started collecting shirts for an InuYasha quilt for my daughter last year. The plan is to use the Shoji Screen pattern and place the t-shirt fronts where the large panels would be. Unfortunately, I only have one t-shirt so far, courtesy of ladyoflosttimes. If you have an InuYasha shirt you’d be willing to part with, please let me know and we can work out a trade. InuYasha is her fandom of choice and the least a good fandom mommy can do is make a fandom quilt for her daughter!

Harry Potter/Magical Swap blocks

STATUS – UFO

These quilt blocks are the results of several swaps. Sadly, I’ve had them several years now. I am one step closer to doing something with them now that I realize I need to break them into sets. The top set are all the 10″ blocks with images on them that say “Harry Potter” to me. The bottom set are more traditional blocks, blocks that are bigger (or smaller!) than 10″ or magical blocks that aren’t as HP-ish. I still love all the blocks, but I definitely need to make two, possibly three, quilts out of these!

Christmas Quilt

STATUS – UFO…leaning towards WIP

Started two years ago from a swap I participated in on All About Paper Piecing (a currently defunct ning network), this quilt is getting a piano key border out of Christmas fabric. I’ve already got it sorted out and plan to start cutting in the next month so it’ll be ready to go to quilt retreat in March.

New York Beauty Quilt

STATUS – UFO

I started this NYB for a class I taught last year. I had lots of models for the class, all in different stages of done-ness. The class was a blast…and then I lost my steam. I will be optimistic and take this one to retreat in March. I have all the pieces cut and just need to get them together. Will I? Who knows!

Beginning Hand Appliquéd block

STATUS -UFO…leaning toward WIP

I took a beginning hand appliqué class last year and learned lots! I even almost finished my class project. Can you see there are two leaves that need to have buds added and to be stitched in place? That’s it…all I have left to do to finish this block. I’m putting it in my car so I can work on it in the carpool line. Maybe I’ll actually finish it then!

The Project of Doom

STATUS – WIP

All the blocks for the PoD are designed and I am several weeks ahead of everyone else in piecing them. I plan to have my quilt top finished by the end of March. This is my pet project for 2011 and my gift to my friends in the Harry Potter crafty fandom. Want to play along and make your own Harry Potter mystery quilt? Click the banner above!

Below – Tackett protects the PoD blocks.

5 @ The Hive Fall Colorway 2011

STATUS – WIP

5 @ The Hive is Honey Bee Quilt Store ‘s Block of the Month. I’m participating for the first time this year. The two blocks above are my January blocks. I’m doing the fall colorway with the extra block. By the end of the year, there will be enough blocks for a completed quilt top. I’m super excited about this one because 1)I’m not designing it and 2) it comes with fabric and 3)I love the blocks and the layout.

Crocheting

Variegated and Browns

STATUS – UFO

I completely forgot about this until I cleaned out my stash. I will get back to working on it after I finish the next project on the list. This will probably be a blanket for The Linus Connection.

Black/Red Knit or Crochet Swap

STATUS – WIP

After doing absolutely nothing with these fabulous black and red knit and crochet blocks from a Twilight Crafts swap in 2009, I have created enough white blocks to make a chess/checkerboard out of the set. The next step is to crochet them all together and then add a red, white and black border.

Crafts

Rope Bowl – “It’s A Wrap” style

STATUS – UFO

This is the only unfinished craft project I found, and it can really be classified as a sewing project…so, go figure. This was the bowl I started when I taught the It’s A Wrap class last fall. I brought it home from class and promptly forgot all about it. I would like to get back to it and finish it up because the technique is just so darn fun!

DIY

Staircase makeover

STATUS – WIP

Just last week, I pulled the carpet off of our stairs. It had horrible, gross carpet that the builders installed 20 years ago. I’ve steamed cleaned them so many times, the thought of doing it again made me feel like weeping. The stairs are now de-carpeted, de-carpet-tacked, scrubbed and primed. The next step is a faux finish to turn the stairwell and stairs into a stone passageway. Yeah, you heard that, I actually said it out loud!

Projects In Mind

I have about a million and one other projects that I’d like to tackle this year. These are some ideas that have crossed my mind that are on the high end of happening.

A Twi-Wizard She-Shirt in Ravenclaw colors with “ofenjen” on the back. Because I can. And for DH, part 2.
A new Monk’s Bag 2.0
A granny ripple afghan for Linus. Someone made several in December and they were really neat. I want to make one.
A multitude of fun layout patterns for the Sewhooked Shop, like Classic Film, intended specifically for 5″ (finished) blocks.
A werewolf wall hanging or cushion for my daughter. Not found in all my stuff today were the blocks designed by Cat Magraith that I started making for Miss E last year (definite UFO status). Hopefully they’ll turn up before March!
Miscellaneous gifts for people I love. I do have some things in mind, but hey, spoilers!

What are you working on this year? Do you have any UFOs or WIPs? Blog about them and leave me a link so I can see what you’re up to or tell me in comments!

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All Packed Away

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My family un-decorated a week ago today, but it’s always hard for me to take down the holiday cards. They are concrete evidence in my hands of the existence of so many of my friends and family, all in one place, and I LOVE THAT.

Cheesy? Possibly, but I don’t care.

The cards are all down and packed away. Yes, I save them all.

One last look. Thank you to everyone that sent us a card!

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Baking Day

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Today was the beginning of holiday baking. I’ve been wanting to make candy and treats since the first day of December, but it just has not happened.

2010 found me not only going back to work part-time after being a stay-at-home mom for almost fifteen years, but it’s also the year that I turned Sewhooked from humble blog and website into my own pattern publishing business. It’s been a crazy, exciting and very busy year!

The new (and exciting!) demands on my time have kept me out of the kitchen. With Linus over for the year and my kids out of school, I decided today was going to be The Day.

I broke out my favorite old cookbooks and hand-scribbled recipes and started cooking. These are today’s accomplishments.

Toffee, adapted from a recipe found in and old church cookbook.

Chocolatey Butter Toffee

1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 c pecans

Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet, sprinkle pecans on the paper.

Cook butter and sugar in a heavy saucepan until it reaches 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and pour over pecans. Spread the mixture with a non-stick spatula. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of hot toffee. All to sit for several minutes and then spread with the spatula. Move cookie sheet into the refrigerator for 1 hour to set chocolate. Remove, break into pieces and store in an air-tight container at room temp.

Holiday Mints, from a company cookbook found at a thrift store. This is a new-to-me recipe.

No-bake Holiday Mints

1 pound powdered sugar
3 Tbs room-temp butter
3 1/2 Tbs evaporated milk or 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
a few drops of food coloring

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl (I have upright mixer – it worked a treat!); knead mixture in bowl until smooth. Shape mints in candy molds placed on a baking sheet. Cover with a towel and allow to air dry.* Remove from molds and store in an airtight container.

*note – there is no time listed for how long these take to dry. I’m going to try overnight and I’ll get back to you!

ETA – These tasted like toothpaste…I even tried dipping them in chocolate to save the batch, but then it tasted like chocolate-covered toothpaste! If I did this again, I would omit the almond extract.

Cracked Ginger Cookies from Reader’s Digest Cookies – 1001 Mouthwatering Recipes from Around The World, another new-to-me recipe!

Jennifer’s Best Peanut Brittle – Yes, I did name this after myself. Follow the link and you’ll see why!

Fantasy Fudge, right off the back of Kraft’s Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme. I’ve been making fudge my entire adult life and this always, always gives me the best results!

Am I done for the holidays, you ask? Not by a long shot! I still have bon-bons and cookies for Santa to make!

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

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My Friends Make Stuff 2010

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You may remember Handmade For The Holidays 2009, where I talked about my crafty friends that make and sell handmade awesomeness.

I started posting this list originally on Livejournal back in 2007 and each year I collect names from personal friends who are crafty and awesome, making all kinds of great things to sell. This year, I’m including an author friend because he is a very talented artist and self-published, which is, of course, awesome!

I personally own stuff made by everyone on this list. It’s ALL amazing, and made with skill and love, and in the case of the books, beautifully illustrated and a joy to read.

Also, I will happily continue to add the names of my friends to this list until the end of 2010, so if you should be on here and aren’t, just drop me an email!

Also be sure to check out my shop and etsy store for quilting, paper pieced patterns, crochet hats and buttons!

Listings are in alphabetical order by first word. 🙂

Convivial Crafter

What you sell: this year will be hats, and aprons and maybe a few bags

Price Range: $10-$50Int’l Shipping Available?: yes but shipping will be charged differently.

Fateful Fiber

Neon Delirium (Sandman) Handspun, DFTA Yarn, Blazing Baby Hat

What you sell: Handspun yarn, fingerless gloves (coming soon but I do take custom orders), baby hats, adult hats. Right now the shop has yarn and 1 baby hat

Price Range: $10-30

Last date to order before Christmas: I’ll do my best to ship as close to Christmas as I get orders. Mail takes at LEAST 3-4 days so I can’t offer guarantees, but I promise to do my best!

Int’l Shipping Available?: Yes, just convo me for a shipping quote.

Von Allan Studios

What you sell: writes/draws graphic novels

the road to god knows… – available at these stores
Stargazer – available online (Amazon/B&N) or in stores in January.

Price Range: In the $15 range.

Int’l Shipping Available?: If you would prefer not to order from an online retailer AND your local stores aren’t carrying the books and won’t order them…please e-mail.

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TARDIS Treat Bag

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Being the Doctor Who obsessed family that we have become, I suppose it’s no surprise that one of my kids is going as The Doctor for Halloween. My eldest has their Ten costume all ready to go, courtesy of a day of thrifting. Because I can’t not be involved in costume making, I asked if there was anything I could do.

“Mum, can you can you make a TARDIS bag for my treats?”

You better believe I can!

Despite it’s awesomeness, the TARDIS Treat Bag is super simple.

You need:

9″ x 12″ acrylic felt sheets – 5 dark blue, 1 white and 1 glitter black
scissors
thread (I used navy blue)
ruler (rotary, if you’ve got one)
rotary cutter (optional)
sewing machine (optional)

You can definitely do this project without a rotary cutter and ruler and even without a sewing machine, so those items are optional. If you do hand stitch, make sure you make tight, even stitches and use heavy-duty knots so you don’t lose your candy!

Cutting Instructions:

from 1 sheet of blue felt (the other 4 sheets of felt stay 9″ x 12″), cut:

9″ x 9″ square -bag bottom

from 1 sheet of white felt, cut:

8 – 2 1/2″ x 3″ – Windows
1 – 1/2 x 2″ – Notice
(optional) 4″ x 5″ – cell phone pocket

Using your ruler, arrange the window pieces on the 9″ x 12″ sheets of felt so that they are 1 1/2″ in from the sides and 2″ down from the top. For the TARDIS front, center the notice under the left window, leaving about 1/2″ in between.

Arrange window pieces on remaining three 9″ x 12″ blue felt.

Stitch windows in place, 1/4″ in from outside of white felt. The TARDIS windows have six panes. My windows are estimated, but you can measure and divide your stitching if you choose. Repeat for the two sides that are NOT the front of the TARDIS.

For the Notice on the front, sew some random stitching onto the 1 1/2″ x 2″ piece of felt (as shown). This gives the illusion of writing from a distance. Stitch on each of the four sides with a short zig-zag stitch in each corner (forgot to take a close up…look about three photos down and you can see what I mean!).

OPTIONAL – After stitching all the windows on, choose a blue side that is NOT the TARDIS front. Align the 4″ x 5″ piece of felt under the window stitching. Straight stitch on the two long sides and across the bottom, making sure to backstitch at the start and stop. This is your cell phone pocket.

For handles – Fold in half lengthwise and zig-zag down the open side.

Your TARDIS is now ready for assembly!

Find the front (windows with notice) and back (cell phone pocket – or without if you didn’t make one) and bag bottom. With the insides facing/right side out, place the bottom of the front piece along one side of the 9″ x 9″ bottom piece. Stitch across, leaving 1/4″ at the beginning and end of the seam unstitched (see below).

Seam allowance will be on the outside of the bag.

1/4″ unstitched on the end of the seam (both ends).

Repeat stitching for the back side, making sure the bottom of that side meets the bottom of the bag.

Sew the remaining two pieces on opposite sides, continuing to leave 1/4″ open at each end of the seam.

Find the front and the piece immediately to the left. Bring the two long sides (wrong side) together, right side out.

Stitch from corner to corner.

Repeat for the remaining three corners.

You now have a TARDIS with no handles. That’s the last bit and then you’re done!

The handles attach to the front (windows + notice) and back of the bag. Use a ruler to line up the handles 2 1/2″ in from each side of the bag, with about 2/3″ inside. Pin in place.

Starting at a corner seam, stitch all the way across the top of the bag, backstitching when you get to the handles. For added strength, continue stitching all the way around the bag, flattening out the seam allowance with your fingers before you stitch across it.

Handles…and you can see the cell phone pocket, too!

Snip above and below the top stitching to make the little notches (optional).

The TARDIS Treat Bag is easy to fold, just fold in the bottom and it will fold in on itself.

And… DONE!

Front detail.

FREE Doctor Who Quilt Patterns!

Happy crafting!

♥ Jennifer O

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Recipe: Stenciled Brownies for My Sweetheart!

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Brownies for My Sweetheart

I really don’t need a reason to tell my husband how much he means to me. Even so, any excuse to make his day a little brighter is one I’ll take. He loves brownies and homemade ones are extremely easy to make and much yummier (in my opinion!) than the store bought variety. Baking brownies make the whole house smell like chocolate, which is an added bonus.

This year I thought I’d combine two of my favorite things, baking and stenciling, and make a Valentine’s treat fit for the sweetest of the sweet, my own True Love.

I think the original brownie recipe is my Mom’s but it’s in my handwriting in my recipe collection, and I’ve been making them this way as long as I can remember, so I’m not entirely sure. Mom, let me know if it’s yours and I’ll give you credit!

Stenciled Chocolate Brownies

1/2 cup butter, room temp or slightly melted in the microwave (~40 seconds) *note – for a moister, chewier brownie, you can use shortening instead*
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
6 TBS baking cocoa
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp vanilla
wax, parchment or clean wax paper, trimmed to fit inside a 9″x13″ baking pan
powdered sugar

You can make this recipe with or without a mixer.

Preheat oven to 350°F. With non-stick baking spray, coat the bottom only of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan.

Cream together butter and sugar, adding eggs one at a time.

Sift together flour, baking powder and cocoa. Add to sugar mixture, stirring well.

Mix in nuts and vanilla. Stir by hand.

Spread into prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. If you like chewier brownies, stay closer to 20 minutes. Allow to cool at least fifteen minutes before stenciling.

Stencil:

Fold prepared wax paper in random lines vertically along the length of the paper.

Cut hearts out of the paper along the lines. The amount and size of your hearts is completely up to you.

Completed stencil.

Place stencil on top of brownies. Trim if necessary to make sure it fits snugly as possible.

Sift on powdered sugar.

Carefully remove stencil onto another sheet of wax paper and admire your Sweetheart Brownies!

If you’re handy with an Exact-O Knife and have the time, you can get much more creative with the stencil. Share your fandom love, write birthday wishes, admissions of undying love or maybe even a marriage proposal! This same technique will also work on an unfrosted cake.

A simpler version, made with store bought brownie mix.
These were for a school party. They were cooled completely, cut and then stenciled.