SewArt Digitizing Software (30 Day free trial) – This is not a promotional post. I’ve been playing with this software and enjoying it very much. If you have other digitizing software you like, I’d love to hear about it.
Free Pattern Day is the first of every month during 2016!
Next Free Pattern day is Thursday, September 1, 2016.
Entering to win the 201 6 monthly prize is easy, just share your photos with the Sewhooked flickr group, making sure your photos are set to share. You’ll have one chance to win for each photo you share!
Welcome to the second installment of My Favorite Things, my 2016 Block of the Month!
My Favorite Things includes 12 brand new patterns to paper piece in both 6″ and 12″, as well as a FOUR BONUS BLOCKS to mix and match your own favorites!
These patterns are MY Favorite Things, but I hope you will find some of your favorites along the way, too.
***IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT HOW THIS BOM WORKS***
The first day of each month in 2016 is FREE PATTERN DAY. At that time, you can download* the monthly BOM pattern for free from 8am CST on the 1st to 8am CST on the 2nd (i.e. 1/1/16 – 1/2/16). After that time, each pattern will be available for $2 from my Craftsy Pattern Shop. Bonus blocks will be included at no additional cost every three months.
*Please note that you will need to save or print on Free Pattern Day. The free pattern link will expire after 24 hours.
Our second block in My Favorite Things is the versatile and always useful button, presented in a colorful trio!
Pattern document includes 6″ & 12″ fully color paper pieced patterns as well as sewing order.
If you are like me, you have a tin, box or jar stuffed full of fun buttons. I regularly dip into one of my box o’ buttons for a variety of projects. One of my prized possessions is my Grannie’s button collection (above).
Every pattern for this BOM has been tested by both myself
and Amber Lowery, friend and awesomesauce pattern tester!
Want a chance to win a fun, free prize each month during 2016? It’s easy! Make today’s pattern (or any pattern designed by me) and share it with my flickr group. You’ll be entered to win for each photo you share! The January winner will be announced Friday, February 5!
My high school reunion is on Saturday. I get to see a friend I really want to see for the first time in several years, and in the context of people we went to high school with.
Me, 1987-88ish, freshman in high school. Rob Lowe and Princess Reebocks ftw!
I still have the unicorn blanket…
I am very, very excited to see my friend, but about the rest of the night, my emotions have been fluctuating between Totally Awesome and Gag Me With A Spoon. We graduated in 1991, which makes this twenty years. 20.
So, today, a tribute to the 1980s, which was the decade in which I was a teenager.
This post is dedicated to my daughter, Elena. It’s Homecoming on Friday and this is Spirit Week at her school. Today is 80s day. Now I know how my parents felt when we had 60s day…
This is Elena, wearing the jacket that I embellished my freshman year. I helped her roll up her jeans. She did the rest!
I wish I could find a photo of myself wearing this jacket, but alas, I do not have one.
The jacket from the back. Yeah, that’s how I rolled. Even back then. I love seeing my daughter in my jacket from high school!
And now, for another musical interlude.
While looking for the jacket Elena’s wearing today, I remembered a vest that I’ve kept that has my button collection from middle and high school on it. These are some of my favorites. In self-defense, I’d like to comment that I was an honors student. 😉
Did I ever mention that George Michael’s Faith tour was my first concert? And oh, Jon Bon Jovi, how I loved your hair.
Some of my stickers from high school, found when my parents moved out of our childhood home.
So, high school reunions. Did you, would you, could you go to yours?
It’s been a while since I talked about my business. I post a lot of crafts and patterns and, of course I talk about Harry Potter (no, no…really!?).
Sewhooked is not just the name of my site and business. It’s become a community of crafty people that are near and dear to me. As you probably already know, I design and sell quilt patterns. What you may not know is that I also sell hand crafted items, including custom-made buttons and hard-copies of my patterns on Etsy. All of my available patterns are ready for instant purchase and PDF download in my shop here on Sewhooked. For quilt shop owners, my patterns are also available for wholesale purchase. Email me for details.
After a year of working on Sewhooked part time, I’ve decided the time has come to try my hand at running my business full-time. Up until now, I’ve worked on Sewhooked whenever I have time, squeezing in minutes here and there between other things.
At the end of the summer, all that will change. I’m leaving my part-time job at the quilt store where I work and am going to take a session off from teaching to build my inventory and focus on my business. There have been some changes in my life recently which make me feel the time is right to work hard, to work longer and to make Sewhooked everything I want it to be.
What can you look forward to? Well, more patterns, for sure! Creating patterns is my first love, and there are lots of ideas rolling around in my brain, just waiting for their chance to make an appearance. I’m tentatively planning a Block of the Month quilt for my shop next year, which I would love to be guided by those that would like to participate. More on that once the Project of Doom has wrapped up.
There will also be new hand-crafts available through Etsy. After a brief hiatus, Custom 1.5″ Buttons are back, including optional graphic design services. Soon, I’ll be adding grab bags of fabric from my crazy-huge scrap stash, as well as limited edition cards featuring photos of some of my quilts.
What kind of quilt patterns are you looking for? What handcrafts would you be interested in seeing on Etsy (keeping in mind that I do not sell items made from my Harry Potter and other fandom patterns out of respect to the authors/creators)?
I’d love to hear from you!
Add your Sewhooked photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post!
Now that I have stopped the vlogs cutting off early, my mic seems to be going out. I didn’t realize it until I’d rambled for 8+ minutes. Crap.
I also just realized for the first time that it’s been almost 13 years since my grandfather passed away. I said 11 in the video and immediately knew it wasn’t right. Dang, it doesn’t feel like that long ago.
A HUGE Happy Birthday to my Dad… not that he reads my blog…. 😛
My dad, Pappaw to the kids, taking them fishing over Spring Break.
Sewhooked 