Blogger’s Quilt Festival: Facets of Friendship

49 Replies

It’s hard to believe it’s already time for another Blogger’s Quilt Festival! It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was writing up a my post for the Spring Festival!

Facets of Friendship, 2008

Last year, my best friend, Jewells, of Julia Makes Stuff, had a big birthday. It was one of those lovely, once-in-a-decade numbers that seem ever so daunting when we’re staring them in the face.

She and I have been friends since college. In some ways, we’re polar opposites, but in all the ways that count, we’re not. The older we get, the more in common we seem to have. Jewells has been there for me through some crazy times in my life. She knew me before I started dating my husband of 15 years, before I had kids or a college degree. She stood up for me at my wedding and has been more like a sister to me than anything. The only thing I would change about our relationship is the geographic distance between us.

Jen & Jewells in 2007

To celebrate the big birthday and all the years we’ve been friends, I designed a quilt for her called Facets of Friendship. In it, I used only scrap fabrics from other projects I’d done. I wanted her to have a little piece of (almost!) everything I’ve made over the last decade and a half, just like she’d been woven in and out of my life over that time.

The quilt is inspired by a quilt top I found in a thrift store. It was completely hand pieced and unfinished, with a couple of blocks coming apart at the seams when I found it. I made my own version of the Four Pointed Star/Arkansas Snowflake pattern (paper pieced, of course!) in order to fill in those couple of damaged blocks. Those couple of blocks spawned the idea that to make an entire quilt for Jewells with that same paper pieced pattern.

The Thrift Store quilt that inspired Facets of Friendship

Over the course of several months, I shared lots of teaser photos, trying to not give more of a clue than I could. I wanted her to know I was working on something big for her, because, in my opinion, anticipation is one of the best parts of life!

Pile of Fabric
collecting the scraps (teaser #1)

all the quarters pieced (close up)

all the quarters pieced…close up! (this was teaser #2)

I also took photos of the process, so I could share them with her once the quilt was finished and in her hands.

arranging the quarters into blocks…with Marie’s help

The back pieced…with the paper still on

chain piecing the neutral border

the top pieced

My favorite way to gift a quilt – in a coordinating pillow case.

Jewells’ birthday is coming up next week on October 16. Her gift this year is not quite so exciting as last year, but she is still my best friend, so I guess that’s okay!

If you’re reading this, I’d love for you to take a minute to tell my best friend Happy Birthday over on her blog!

freezer paper stencil: Torchwood Me

1 Reply

Fandom is not just a noun, it’s a verb. To be a part of fandom is to participate, geek out and show your love by wearing your fandom literally on your sleeve, or in this case, on your chest.

Oh Torchwood, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

22 hexagons worth, that’s apparently how much!

The amazing calypsobard shared her Torchwood stencil with me, which I photoshopped up to make it more user friendly. This one is easy to cut out, but, in calypsobard’s words is “a bit hinky,” so I’ve added directions to the stencil itself that will hopefully make it more user friendly.

You’ll need:

Torchwood stencil, printed on the matte side of freezer paper
X-acto Knife or other stencil cutting tool
cutting board or other safe cutting surface
fabric paint, I recommend Lumiere by Jacquard, available online and at craft stores
sponge brush
iron
cardboard or newspaper for inside the shirt

Pre-wash t-shirt without fabric softener.

Carefully cut pieces out with an exact-o knife. Start with the hexagons first, keeping them in order. Then cut and discard the gray area. (Or, if you’re my teenage daughter, pinch it from the trash and put it in the clear pocket of your binder.)

Set a dry iron to medium.

Place cardboard or newspaper inside t-shirt to help prevent bleed through.

Place stencil on t-shirt, aligning the hexagons until they are even. Carefully press in place with the iron.

Use the foam brush to gently paint on the fabric paint, being careful to not push it under the edges of the stencil.

Allow a few minutes to dry, then carefully remove the outside of the stencil.

If the stencil is still wet, use a straight pin to remove the hexagons. Otherwise, just gently peel away each one, setting them aside as you go.

Finish drying according to manufacturer’s directions.

Final product.

Freezer paper stenciling is my favorite stenciling technique and can be used for any of my stencils and for most stenciling on fabric.

More Free Stencils on the Craft Page!

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

Photobucket

Sewhooked Shop | FB | SHFB | Flickr | Twitter

vlog: TTMT – Hattitude

Leaky’s New Crafter of the Month – Droxy!

Loopy Shells Blankie

12 Replies

Printable Pattern

add to your ravelry queue:

The original version of this pattern was given to me by a friend as a hand written pattern. I lost that pattern for years, but continued to make the blanket, and when I finally found the pattern again, I realized I’d modified it significantly from the original version as I’d tried to work from memory. Oops!

Another name for this blanket could be “stash eater” because it loves yarn! It’s a very simple pattern that makes a squishy, thick and snuggly blanket.

The one pictured will be donated to The Linus Connection.

The blanket works up to be approximately 36″ wide. It looks great with wide or thin stripes, in variegated yarn or solid!

You’ll need:

Worsted Weight Yarn (I used “I Love This Yarn” and a few other random greens I had on hand) – approximately 30 oz.
J Hook

Shell = (sc in next sc, ch 3, dc) in same st

Ch 130

Row 1: dc in 4th ch from hook, skip next 2 ch, (sc in next ch, ch 3, dc) in same st. [sk next 2 ch ( )] to end of base ch, sc in last ch.

Row 2: ch 3, dc in same st, sk ch 3, (shell) in each sc across, sc in last ch 3 sp.

Repeat Row 2 for desired length.

For edging, continue pattern around by working (shell) in ch 3 spaces along sides and back of foundation row. Finish off.

I donated this one to Linus in April of 2005

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

Photobucket

Shop | FB | SHFB

Flickr | Twitter

Candy Corn Hat

6 Replies

As seen on Talk To Me Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Printable Pattern

Add to your ravelry queue

also on cut out + keep

As I walked around my local craft store last week, I noticed little Halloween displays all over the store. Almost all of them had candy corn.

I spent the rest of that trip repeating to myself, “You do not need candy corn! You do not need candy corn!”

I guess you can see why I jokingly refer to candy corn as Halloween Crack!

Mellowcreme pumpkins?

One bag of those + me = sugar coma. Danger, danger, danger!

I created an homage to those last year with my Mellowcreme Pumpkin Earrings.

To continue the homage to my favorite Halloween candies, how about a candy corn hat? It’s easier on your teeth, works up in a jiffy and isn’t particularly hard on your yarn stash, either!

It sure as heck is easier than taking candy from a crafter baby!

You’ll need:

small amounts of worsted yarn in bright orange, white and bright yellow (Red Heart used in example)
J hook

Round 1: With white, ch 4, 11 dc in fourth ch from hook. Join with sl st at top of beg ch 3. (12 dc)

Round 2: sl st to the sp between the next two dc , ch 3, dc in same sp (cluster). (2 dc) in between each dc around. (12 clusters)

Round 3: sl st to the sp between the next cluster , ch 3, 2 dc in same sp. (3 dc) in between each cluster around. Finish off white. (12 clusters)

Round 4: With orange, join with sl st between any cluster. ch 3, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, (4 dc, ch1) in between each cluster around. (12 clusters)

Round 5 – 10: sl st to ch 1 space, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, (4 dc, ch1) in between each cluster around. (12 clusters), finish off orange at end of round 10.

Round 11: join yellow in any stitch, ch 1, hdc in same st and each st around, including ch 1 sps.

Round 12: ch 1, hdc in same st and each st around.

Round 13: ch 1, hdc in same st , (2 hdc in next st, 1 hdc in next st), repeat ( ) around. Finish off.

Easy as candy!

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

Photobucket

vlog: TTMT – Candy Corn On My Mind

1 Reply

In this week’s TTMT:

If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

vlog: TTMT Too Much For One Week

2 Replies

In which I show the crafties I’ve finished up the last week, along with my starknuts challenge prize!

http://www.sewhooked.org
http://blog.sewhooked.org

Vertical Ribbons Crochet Pattern
The Linus Connection
twilight_crafts black and red swap
Lots of reasons to be in the black/red swap
starknuts Harry Potter knitting and crochet community
All About Paper Piecing
Christmas Cottage Swap on AAPP on Tina’s Blog

If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

paper piecing: Quilt For Your Inner Genius

4 Replies

5″ Pi pattern only on etsy

Living in a house full of incredibly smart people, it was only a matter of time until their interests started bleeding into my crafting. There have been cross-overs before with all sorts of fandom paraphanelia, from Star Trek to X-Men.

Now, it’s math.

I mean really, who doesn’t need a paper pieced Pi?

Alright, alright, it was my 11 year old son’s idea! Happy now?

And for the curious…

From Wikipedia:

Pi or π is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle‘s circumference to its diameter in Euclidean space; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle’s area to the square of its radius. The symbol π was first proposed by the Welsh mathematician William Jones in 1706. It is approximately equal to 3.14159 in the usual decimal notation…

If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

Give Paper Piecing A Chance

3 Replies

Wingless Wyrm available in the sewhooked shop

Hello, my name is Jennifer, and I am a paper piecer.

And a paper pieced designer.

And I teach paper piecing online and in real life.

And I talk about it on my blog, vlog, and to anyone that will listen.

And I run several paper piecing communities and belong to several others.

Okay, how about a paper piecing addict?

It’s true, it’s true, I love paper piecing. LOVE. Capital, bold and highlighted, burn-your-eyeballs-out-huge-flashing font love!

What is it about paper piecing? I can’t speak for others, but I can speak for me.

Paper piecing is, as you may or may not know, a quilting technique that produces a perfect mirror image in fabric of whatever pattern you may be attempting.

When I say perfect, I mean perfect. Whatever you see on the pattern is what your fabric will be when it’s done.

I love the intricacies of paper piecing, the way I can choose to make my design appear any way I want, how I can tweak this line or that to make the appearance of the finished pieced express whatever it is I want to express.

Mostly, I just love the control I have over the art I’m creating. Traditional patterns are great, but I loved to be tested, pushed and challenged. I love to be different and to bring all my friends, old, new and not-yet-met along for the quilty ride.

For years, I worked on Harry Potter Paper Piecing as a fan of J.K. Rowling’s work. I cut my teeth on those patterns. They have been a gift to me as much as they have been my gift back to the fandom that has given me so very much. These days, I feel a bit like the Mother of HP Paper Piecing, beaming with pride every time I get an email saying “I’m learing to paper piece just to make your patterns!” or there is a new designer that starts creating their own patterns after trying mine. There’s no way to express how amazing that feels!

Since 2007, I’ve been working on a book of original, never-before-published designs. The manuscript is in rough draft stage and every block and sample piece is completed. I’m insanely proud of the work as being not only fun and whimsical, but original and interesting, too. I was briefly contracted for my book, and then the recession hit and ripped my contract right from under my feet. Since then, I’ve been sending my proposal to an increasingly longer list of publishers, with one negative after another.

It has, in a word, been frustrating. Paper piecing is what I do. I love other crafts, but it owns me. I make it, teach it and share it. It’s the one craft that I could not live without.

Will I give up? Heck no! I’m exploring other options as I continue to plow through the list of publishers until I find one that fits and sees my work as new and exciting instead of “not mainstream.”

How to Paper Piece