Today on TTMT, I do a little post-BFF retreat roundup, share my Talk to Me Tuesday swaps both sent and received, and announce a little giveaway for my viewers!
Hello, my friends! I’m back this week with six more finished quilts, finally wrapping up the backlog of charity quilt tops sent to me by friends. I no longer accept donations personally and encourage you to find somewhere local to you for future donations. All quilts shown will be donated through Project Linus in Albuquerque during an upcoming visit with Jewells!
I also share a couple of other odds and ends, including some Cricut crafts.
I was loooking for a link to the homemade spray starch recipe I use when quilting and realized that though I’ve mentioned it many times over the years, I’ve never given this super simple recipe its own post.
When I first started quilting, I exclusively used Best Press because that’s what my LQS told me to use. It is a wonderful product, but it’s pricey when you sew as much as I do and, for total honesty, I have allergies that are easily set off by artificial and strong scents. Best Press is no exception. When I first started quilting way back in 2003 or so, I could never get my hands on the unscented, which is much easier to find now. Real lavender doesn’t set off my allergies, and I love the way it makes my sewing room smell!
You can find variations of this recipe all over the internet. This version has been tweaked and adapted for my own personal preference, light scent, light starch. You can add more scent or none at all, as well as more starch if you want your fabric to be crispier. If you don’t have vodka on hand, you can buy a 2 oz single just for this recipe, or a small bottle of “bottom shelf” which will work just fine. I don’t recommend flavored vodka. I haven’t tried it so have no idea what it might do to your fabric.
Despite my best Googling, I can’t find a definitive reason why vodka works in this recipe, but I can tell you from my own personal experience that it really does. I make two 32 oz bottles at a time and I use the spray liberally when pressing my fabric.
Update: I asked my favorite scientist, and they that vodka is also not only a starch, but it is a disinfectant as well. It will also help the moisture evaporate while it’s being ironed. There was a lot more detail, but I am a quilter, not a scientist and cannot repeat it verbatim!
Hello, friends! I’m back this week with eight more charity quilt finishes, two of mine, and six from other TTMTers. All of these quilts are destined for Project Linus in Albuquerque, NM during an upcoming BFF visit!
The first two quilts were made by me from donated orphan blocks, Mermaid quilts were made by Kristel, baby animals by Susan P, and scrappy quilts by Sarah in Houston.
All 8 quilts were free-motion quilted by me on my Grace Q’Nique 15R. My little Singer 301 got a workout doing binding, so much so that I’ve had to order a part for the bobbin case!
I’ll be completely honest with you and let you know that I’ve never really been a sports fan. My youngest kid was a marching band guy and I went to a LOT of games, enough to learn that what I did while there was watch the musicians and the crowd!
That said, a lot of people I care about LOVE sports, so for those of you who fall into that category, I have a round-up of some of my football-inspired patterns from over the years!
Whoever you are rooting for, I hope it’s a good game!
The following patterns are designed by me, Jennifer Ofenstein, and are free for your personal use. Links go to Google Docs that you can save or print. ♥
Go, Team! is 10″ paper pieced (10 1/2″ with seam allowance), and can be made in whatever team colors that best suit your purpose. My version was made in school colors for my eldest child. 🙂
Some of my favorite things to play with over the years have been hearts, love, and general happiness!
With Valentine’s Day coming up, it seemed like a good time to share some old favorites. I’d love to see what you can do with these in modern fabrics. If you make any of these, please do share!
All patterns were designed by me and are free for your personal & non-profit use.
Fun Fact! Scrappy Heart 2 resulted from a Photoshop design tutorial I shared on YouTube 14 years ago! If you’re interested, you can find Part 1 and Part 2 on my YouTube channel. I currently design in EQ8, but the principals are the same.
This week I’m delighted to share my finished Christmas quilt based on Running Doe Quilts’ May Flowers. I dubbed mine “Snow Flowers” and it is mine, all mine!
I also share another fabric Christmas tree, a Danish Woven Heart, and a new festive tee for me! Have a lovely rest of your week. ♥
As a thank you to my wonderful Ko-Fi supporters, I wanted to share some extra free content in December.
Today’s share is one of my most popular paper pieced sets ever, Holly Jolly.
I originally designed this set for a book I was contracted to create way back in 2008. Sadly, that book was canceled and, despite many tries, I was never able to sell it to another publisher. That was the impetus to my turning Sewhooked into a pattern company. I published my patterns independently both online and in print for sale through quilt stores until 2019.
Bonus Santa was added a few years before I stopped selling pattern because he was just too cute not to share!
This pattern and many more have been retired an unavailable since 2019. Now, this sweet little set is yours to make for free!
Holly Jolly includes:
Lil’ St. Nick, Lil’ Mrs. Claus, Wonky Lil’ Christmas Tree, Santa’s Helper, Wee Lil’ Penguin, and bonus pattern, Santa with his Bag.
Thank you for stopping by. I’m really enjoying the opportunity to share free patterns again. If you make this or any of my other patterns, let me know: drop me an email or tag me on Instagram @sewhookedjen.
I hope to see you for my next Talk to Me Tuesday vlog! If you haven’t joined me for TTMT, be sure to stop by to say hello to yours truly and catch up on what I’ve been working on. Want to join the TTMT community? Find out how here!
♥ Jennifer O.
Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥
This week, I share a fun fabric Christmas tree that I made for my husband’s white elephant exchange at work and the beginning of a new Christmas quilt. Thank you to my awesome Ko-Fi supporters, and everyone who comments, subscribes, and likes! You’ve given me an awesome YouTube year! ♥
Sewhooked 