Category Archives: Holidays

31 Days of Halloween – Easy Crochet Jack-O-Lantern Finger Puppet

31 Days of Halloween on sewhooked.com

Welcome to October 4, Day 4 of 31 Days of Halloween right here on Sewhooked!

Today, we’re dialing the craft clock WAY back!

As you all know by now, I spend a good deal of my time designing quilt patterns, sewing and making quilts.

In another life, when I had small kids to attend to, I designed and shared many crochet projects. You can find many of those for free right here.

Jack-O-Lantern finger puppets

One of my fast favorites is this Jack-0-Lantern finger puppet/pencil topper, originally created for my daughter’s kindergarten class. I’ve made many of them since then, usually for gifts or swaps. Sometimes, just for fun!

That daughter, by the way, is 20 years old.  😉
Jack-O-Lantern Finger Puppets, October 2000

You can make a whole pile of these assembly-line style in an afternoon in no time flat!

In addition to pencil toppers, you can pop one on a lollipop, add a French hook for earrings or crochet a chain to create a necklace for a small person in your life…or for yourself!

Crochet Pumpkin Finger Puppets

  • Small amount worsted weight yarn: Orange, black, green
  • H hook
  • tapestry/yarn needle

Pumpkin Body:

With orange, make 2 (for fridgie magnet, make 1):

Ch 4, dc in 4th ch from hook 11 times. Join with sl st in top of ch 3. Leave a tail about 8″ long for stitching later.

Jack-o-lantern face (black shows up best)

Using black yarn with yarn needle, make Jack-O-Lantern face on one circle. Finish off.

Joining the the halves:

Using tail, and a yarn needle, join two circles by whip-stitching through both sc. Leave an opening at the bottom large enough to put your finger or a pencil inside the pumpkin. Finish off.

Stem (green or brown):

With pumpkin facing you, sl st in sc one st to the right of center. using face as a reference. Sc in next st, sl st in next. Turn. (Do not ch 1) Sl st in next two st. Ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook. Sl st in next 3 ch, sl st again in base sc. Finish off.

If making a fridgie magnet, only make one circle before adding the stem and then glue a magnet to the back.

For earrings, add a French hook with a jump ring through the stem.

For an easy child-friendly necklace, instead of a stem, with green or brown, sl st in sc one st to the right of center of your circle (use face as a reference), sc in next st, ch until you have a chain the proper length for the necklace you want, sl st in st, Finish off.

Are you making projects from 31 Days of Halloween? Share your photos with my flickr group! There will be a fun surprise after Halloween for one lucky winner!

See you tomorrow for more Halloween goodness!

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31 Days of Halloween – Trick-or-Treat Sue

31 Days of Halloween on sewhooked.com Welcome to October 3, Day 3 of 31 Days of Halloween right here on Sewhooked! Thanks for joining me for another fun day of Halloween goodness! Trick or Treat Sue

Trick-or-Treat Sue

a free 10″ pattern to paper piece!

Today, I share another favorite, Trick-or-Treat Sue! Originally designed for a Halloween blog hop, Sue has stuck around as the official Sewhooked Trick-or-Treater!

She makes up at 10″ (10 1/2″ unfinished), but you can have her in any size you like by using my handy dandy Enlarging and Reducing Tutorial!)

Are you making projects from 31 Days of Halloween? Share your photos with my flickr group! There will be a fun surprise after Halloween for one lucky winner! See you tomorrow for more spooky scary goodness! p.s. If you make this or any Sewhooked craft or pattern, I would love to see it in the Sewhooked Facebook Group!
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smartphone quilt along

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31 Days of Halloween – Monster Madness!

31 Days of Halloween on sewhooked.com

Welcome to October 2, Day 2 of 31 Days of Halloween right here on Sewhooked!

Each Friday in October, I’ll be featuring some of my Halloween-inspired patterns that are available for sale in my Craftsy shop.

Not to worry, free goodies return tomorrow and will be around until next Friday’s Craftsy feature!

Monster Madness!

Today, I am revisiting a set of old favorites, Monster Madness!

These five classy guys are part of Sunbonnet Sue’s Magical Friends, my Sunbonnet Sue inspired magical (and monster!) series.

How much do I love Sunbonnet Sue? I have an entire page of patterns dedicated to her!

In the Monster Madness set you get 5″ color patterns with sewing order of the following patterns for just $6:

Want just one? Each pattern is also available individually for $2.95 by clicking the links above!

Are you making projects from 31 Days of Halloween? Share your photos with my flickr group! There will be a fun surprise after Halloween for one lucky winner!

See you tomorrow for more spooky scary goodness!

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smartphone quilt along

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31 Days of Halloween – Welcome & Easy Cauldron Cakes

31 Days of Halloween on sewhooked.com

Welcome, welcome to 31 Days of Halloween right here on Sewhooked!

Happy Halloween from Velma and Scooby!

Scooby & Velma, Halloween 2014

Halloween, as you may have guessed, is my ALL TIME FAVORITE HOLIDAY.

There are costumes!

There’s candy!

There’s The Great Pumpkin!

Also scary movies. Which I <3.

For 31 Days of Halloween, I will be sharing something fun for each day of October.

Since I am a quilt pattern designer and a huge Harry Potter fan, you can expect that some of my days will be a little more, well, themed, than others. There will be some new content mixed in with fun revisits to some of my favorite free projects.

Fridays will be dedicated to sharing fun Halloween-themed patterns for sale in my Craftsy store (because a girl does have to make a living) and Tuesdays will remain, as always, for my video show & tell Talk to Me Tuesday.

Every other day of the month will include something FREE AND FUN!

Without further ado, let’s get started! Easy Cauldron Cakes Originally created for my daughter’s Harry Potter birthday party way back in 2003, Easy Cauldron Cakes go together in no time and would be perfect for a fast Halloween party treat!

  • Bake the cupcakes of your choice in silver (or black!) cupcake wrappers.
  • Add a dollop of your favorite frosting for potion (I used a cookie dough scoop!) in the color of your choice.
  • Top with Halloween or other decorations (optional).
  • Black licorice whips or Twizzlers make a great handle.
  • Optional: sprinkle Pop Rocks on top before serving!
  • Enjoy!

See you tomorrow with more Halloween goodness!

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Warm Holiday Wishes

Christmas Card from the Os

A very merry Christmas and warm holiday wishes to all of my lovely readers!

Thank you for visiting as I shared crafts and goodies from my family’s Christmas.

I have just a few photos to share today and I hope they bring you a smile!

Marie is enjoying my Christmas quilt.

This is Marie, enjoying our Christmas quilt.

Merlin in my lap.

This is Merlin, sitting in my lap while I enjoy our Christmas quilt! I love the way the light caught his white whiskers. 🙂

Best Christmas stamps ever.  One from @mkissa and one from my mom & dad! First Harry Potter stamp received!  Even though I sent a slew of these myself,  I am still very excited!

I’ve received several Christmas cards from friends and family adorned with the wonderful Harry Potter stamps offered by USPS. I ordered mine online some weeks before Christmas and put them on every single card we sent out!
Have I squeed a little with every card received with one of these wonderful stamps? Why yes I have!

Time is ticking away… Paper Piecing Vintage is just $6 through Dec. 31, 2013. You get 12 patterns in two sizes (that’s 24 patterns!) for just one payment. On Jan. 1, the price goes up to $12, so don’t miss your chance to register at half price!

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

Still looking for the perfect gift? The Craftsy class sale has been extended one more day! Save up to 50% on classes through 12/25. Up to 50% Off Classes Today Only!

There will be no Talk to Me Tuesday today and I’ll be taking a small break from online life so I can spend time enjoying my family over the holidays.

I hope that you, too, will be spending quality time with people you love, whether they be family or friend, and you’re together or chatting online.

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Made By Tiny Fingers

Ornaments Made by Kids

Some of my favorite, and most abundant ornaments are those made by kids.  We have ornaments made by my kids, by kids I watched after school (something I did almost the entire time my kids were in elementary), some made by children of our friends and even a few made by my sister when she was a kid.

Ornaments Made by Kids

This felt star was part of a fundraising event my daughter’s Girl Scout troop took part in many years ago. Volunteer moms made the stars (myself included!) and the girls stitched the buttons on.

Ornaments Made by Kids

This pipe cleaner snowflake was the craft project from my daughter’s first grade class’ winter party. Remember that comment a few posts ago about my having been a room mom for many years? This was a project I came up with. The kids followed directions beautifully!

Ornaments Made by Kids

I have several stuffed Christmas balls on my tree that were made by my sister when she was around 12 or so. They’re all hand stitched and stuffed with a different fabric on each side.

Ornaments Made by Kids

This little guy is a mouse made by my daughter when she was probably 4 or 5 years old. He’s felt and marker with a couple of popsicle sticks  glued to the back for support.

Ornaments Made by Kids

I saved this one for last. My son had an absolutely wonderful kinder teacher, Mrs. K. She had a variety of these wall hanging designs based on what holiday the children celebrated. She helped the little ones make this very special gift for their parents. The wreath is made of his wee 5 year old hand prints. The holly berries are thumbprints.

We learned just last year that Mrs. K had passed away when we received a Christmas card from her daughter with a very sweet note in it.  Prior to that, we had sent, and received, a card from this most exceptional of ladies every year.


The shortbread recipe! This is from Farm Journal's Best-Ever Cookies, 1980. I've never had a bad recipe from this book and highly recommend it...If you can get your hands on it!

Have a yummy recipe! This is my favorite Shortbread recipe and is from Farm Journal’s Best-Ever Cookies, 1980. I’ve never had a bad recipe from this book and highly recommend it.

Stop back by every day between now and Christmas as I share crafts and ornaments that are special to me and my family.

Do you have special quilted items just for Christmas? Tell me in comments, I’d love to hear!

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A Quilted Christmas

Christmas Quilt

The holidays would not be the same without quilts. There are quilted items all over my house, but we have the special Christmas ones out just once a year.

Tree Skirt Quilt

My hubby and I have been using this Christmas tree skirt, made by my mom, since 1994. It’s adorned every tree, each year we’ve been married.

Quilted Christmas Tree

This Christmas tree wall hanging was also made by my mom and given to us the same year as the tree skirt. Here it is hanging in or downstairs.

Homes For The HolidaysThis is the one and only Christmas quilt I’ve made that is larger than a wall hanging! We put it away during the year and bring it out at Christmas. This is our third year to enjoy snuggling under the quilt I dubbed “Homes for the Holidays.”

Marie tells Santa what she wants for Christmas.

 

This awesome stuffed Santa being snuggled by Marie was made by my mom for the first Christmas my hubby and I spent together.

His place of honor is the rocking chair. He proudly sits there every year, often with a kitty in his lap. He looks pretty good for a 19 year old Santa!

Guess who just came down my street?! #santa

 

Speaking of Santa, he took a ride down my street earlier this week!

Stop back by every day between now and Christmas as I share crafts and ornaments that are special to me and my family.

Do you have special quilted items just for Christmas? Tell me in comments, I’d love to hear!

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Have Yourself A Fandom Little Christmas

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

So, I got a little carried away with this post.

Someday, I will have one tree dedicated to fandom (let’s face it, mostly Harry Potter!) themed Christmas ornaments. The ones pictured here are just some of my favorites.

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

A small disclaimer: I did not make most of these. They were gifts from fandom friends, all of whom are very talented!

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

There are FOUR snitches!

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

Handmade Fandom Themed Christmas Ornament

As you can see, I’ve been extraordinarily gifted by my very talented friends over the years. I love pulling out these extra special handmade ornaments each year and taking a moment to reflect on how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life!

Stop back by every day between now and Christmas as I share crafts and ornaments that are special to me and my family.

I’d love to hear about your special decorations, too!

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A Very Special Gift

Christmas Ornament, made 1984ish

Once upon a time, I was a Girl Scout.

It was, oh, 1984 or 1985 when the troop I belonged to made these gift ornaments.

This particular one was made by me for my parent’s Christmas tree.

So yeah, this little guy is close to 30 years old.

Many years later, when I had my own family, my mom let me take ornaments that were special to me for our tree and it became part of my family’s collection.

This little gift has always been extra special, not just because I made it when I was a child, but because I remember very clearly understanding what the poem meant.

Giving a handmade, heartfelt gift was a very potent and powerful thing because it was something I could do, a gift I could give without spending money or being able to drive or having a job or any of those other “grown up” things. This has remained so for me during my entire life.

The love inside that tiny parcel is absolutely and completely real.

Want to make your own very special gift ornament? Wrap up a tiny parcel and include this poem:

This is a very special gift
That you can never see.
The reason it’s so special is
It’s just for you from me.

Whenever you are lonely,
Or even feeling blue,
You only have to hold this gift
And know I think of you.

You never can unwrap it.
Please leave the ribbon tied.
Just hold the box close to your heart.
It’s filled with love inside.
~Author Unknown

Stop back by every day between now and Christmas as I share crafts and ornaments that are special to me and my family.

Do you have special ornaments or decorations that bring back memories for you? I’d love to see: feel free to leave photo and blog links in comments!

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Two Little Reindeer

Christmas 2000
Once upon a time, I had two little reindeer.

This is a photo I’ve had on my fridge for about 13 years. The little reindeer are teenagers now, but still just as close as they look in this photo.

The reindeer antlers were made with my daughter’s class. I will take credit for this one because I was the room mom at the time and several moms mentioned how much they liked crafts that incorporated their kiddos handprints.

The antlers were made by tracing and cutting how the kids handprints from craft foam. These were decorated and put on a band (also craft foam) that we’d made ahead of time. It had about a 3″ piece of elastic in the back so it would fit any of the kids.

Reindeer Antler Craft, 2000Thirteen years later, and these guys are a little worse for wear. Each year, we put them on a shelf as part of our Christmas decorations and remember when we had our own little reindeer!

If I were to make these again, I think I would make the band out of fabric or felt and the antlers out of stiffened felt or possibly even make antlers that could be stuffed.

Made as a class activity with the effort of several helpful moms, hindsight and lots of years of room-momming experience now behind me, I’d say this is a craft best saved for home or small groups!

Pre-registration for Paper Piecing Vintage is half-price during December!

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

 

Decorating!

Stop back by every day between now and Christmas as I share crafts and ornaments that are special to my family.

Do you have special ornaments or decorations that bring back memories for you? I’d love to see: feel free to leave photo and blog links in comments!

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