Tag Archives: crochet

sew awesome: The Princess

Being blessed with friends the way I am, I guess it’s no surprise that I have royalty on my side!  This sewhooked Sew Awesome award is looong overdue and well deserved.

When I put the call out for for help with blankets for Linus, The Princess, aka Amber of Amber’s Originals, not only made and donated blankets to The Linus Connection, my favorite charity, she designed this brand new pattern just for Linus!

And then she posted it for everyone to share…for free.

made by hp5freak

The Texas Brick Blanket, from Amber’s Originals

I’ve been working on my very own version of this awesome blanket.  The technique is different than anything I’ve ever crocheted and I just love the way it’s turning out!

Texas Bricks in progress

My version, in progress.

Amber, you ROCK, thank you for sharing!  See more of Amber’s original, creative and downright cool work here.

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.

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charity: March Linus Mayhem

Today found me at yet another meeting for The Linus Connection.  I’ve mentioned in the past that our numbers were low and that the continued shortage was weighing on myself and the other volunteers.

Thanks to our very diligent volunteers and some serious recruiting, our numbers are back up again and we’ve even been able to set aside blankets for the camps we donate to each summer!

I’d like to say a huge heartfelt thanks to all of my online friends that have donated to my favorite charity and encourage every crafty person out there to make something for a charity in your location.  There are loads of organizations out there just like The Linus Connection that could use your crafty skills!  Whether you knit a cap, crochet a scarf or make a quilt, whether you do it once a year or once a week, use your crafty skills for good and help change your world.  Volunteering for a good cause pays in love and friendship.  It’s one of the best non-paying jobs you’ll ever have!

These blankets and quilts were donated through Go Get Granny & Log Cabins For Linus (aka, my online friends!).  Thanks a million times to each of you for your time, your talent and your general all-around awesomeness!



Quilt made by Shae, quilted by Marge.



Granny-ghan donated by caitirin



Quilt made with blocks donated by clumsy_chord, pieced by me (to be quilted).



Afghan made from blocks donated by Janina, joined and bordered by me.



Afghan made from blocks donated by craftylilthing in Starknuts colors.  Joined by me.


Afghan made with blocks donated by auntypsycho, joined by me.



Afghan made by Mary (Mary also donated loads more granny squares, which are being joined by my friend Linda!)



Afghan made by Mary



Afghan made by Mary



Afghan made by Mary


Fleece blanket with crochet edges, made by Jennifer Tanner.

See more great blankets from Show & Tell at today’s meeting!

I will continue to accept donations until the end of March, so just a couple more weeks now!  If you still have something you’d like to share with Linus, please contact me for my mailing address.

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.

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charity: You’ve Gotta Have Friends

If you’ve missed it on my last few TTMT videos, Log Cabins for Linus and Go Get Granny has been wildly successful!

This past Saturday, the first donations from around the world went out to kids all over the Austin area (read the Linus Blog here).

Many of the the wonderful online crafters that have been participating have sent individual quilt and crochet blocks, but I’ve also received completed quilt tops and entire afghans, fabric yardage and yarn!

made by dragonsinger954
Made by Mary.  Mary also sent oodles of granny squares which are currently being turned into afghans.  She also participating in the Starknuts Community blanket.

made by mkissa

made by Marissa from my Oh Wavy Baby pattern!  Marissa also made a Spiderman quilt, which you can see below.

made by hp5freak
Made (and designed!) by Amber of Amber’s Originals, one of three teen-sized afghans she donated!

made by hp5freak
Mmmm, Olives made by Amber of Amber’s Originals

Chinse Coin quilt made by hardhatcat
Donated by Cat, from Australia!

The following are photos taken by my good friend Linda during Show & Tell at Linus this past Saturday. That’s me holding up the blankets!

Made by Amber, donated to Linus

Another beautiful afghan by Amber of Amber’s Originals.

Spiderman quilt made and donated by Marissa

made by Marissa…do you see Spiderman?

Starknuts Community afghan, donated to linus

The Starknuts Community Blanket.  You can read more about this one here.  And no, I have no explanation for the look on my face!

Colorful Quilt top made and donated by Laci

Top donated by Laci of Orange Blossom Boutique.  This one will be quilted and go out with next month’s deliveries.

Chinse Coin quilt made by hardhatcat
Each blanket receives a stitch on label, so the child that receives it will know just where it came from. There’s also a paper label that includes the first name of the blanket maker as well as a poem about the making of the blanket.

* * *

This month’s challenge for me will be to start turning the individual blocks received into quilt tops.  I will likely quilt those myself, the sooner to have them go out to kids in need.  Shae, your quilt top is still at the quilters and I will post photos as soon as I can!

We were still short on larger blankets because so many of the facilities that we donate to request them, but the numbers were better than last month, in part thanks to my wonderful online friends and the crafting community!

I have HUGE hugs for every single one of you…someday!

I will continue to accept donations until the end of March.  If you still have something you’d like to share with Linus, please contact me for my mailing address.

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.

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Photobucket Log Cabins for Linus / Go Get Granny

Go Get Granny Update #1

Starknuts Ghan for Linus

I’ve finished the very first Go Get Granny afghan for for The Linus Connection. All the blocks for this blanket were donated by members of the Livejournal community Starknuts, who decided to have their own block drive in support of Go Get Granny!.

The ends aren’t woven in yet, but I’ll get that done tonight and then it’ll go out with other donated blankets this coming Saturday.

It includes blocks by dragonsinger954, archerpren, hpfan_poa and ladyoflosttimes. (I hope I didn’t miss anyone!). Thank you all so much!

vlog #45 – TTMT – 100 Bags

Shameless Plugs:

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.

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Photobucket Log Cabins for Linus / Go Get Granny

Charity: Go Get Granny and Log Cabins For Linus

Log Cabins for Linus / Go Get Granny

For many years now, I’ve been a volunteer for The Linus Connection*, a small local non-profit charity that makes blankets for children in need in Central Texas. I’m a blanket maker, sorter and volunteer Webmistress for linusconnection.org.  I’ve served a term on the Board, and was the newsletter editor for a time.  Suffice it to say, Linus is very important to me!

Just as many other charities are suffering due to the current economy, Linus is suffering, too. Our demand has risen, while the number of blankets has decreased. When our numbers decrease, that means children that need a little extra security in a difficult time are going without. It’s a very hard call to decide who doesn’t get the security of a handmade blanket. If I had my way, every child touched by severe illness, injury, abuse, homelessness or other crisis situations would know the comfort and love of a handmade blanket.

My blog is a place I share my ideas, patterns, recipes and tutorials with the world for no charge, but this time I’d like to ask for a little something back.  Throughout 2010, I will be collecting quilt blocks and yarn squares through my craft blog to assemble into Linus blankets.

If you are a quilter, please consider participating in Log Cabins for Linus!   Make 12″ log cabin blocks (12.5″ unfinished) in 100% quilting cotton of any log cabin pattern, any color, any style you like.

Here are some patterns to get you started:

If yarn is your forte, then Go Get Granny is for you! I’ll be accepting 12″ knit or crochet blocks made in acrylic yarns of any color or style and will join those into afghans.

When you’re ready to send your block, email me for my mailing address and I’ll send it your way. Donations to The Linus Connection are tax deductible, so if you need a receipt, please include a note with your block and I’ll make sure one gets to you.

All blocks donated will be shared here on the sewhooked blog and on Talk To Me Tuesday as completed blankets before being donated to The Linus Connection.

I encourage you to post photos of your blocks to the Go Get Granny & Log Cabins for Linus flickr group.  You can also see blankets I’ve donated since 2002.

Anything you can do is greatly appreciated.

For more information about The Linus Connection, please visit our website or blog or become a fan on Facebook.

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Disclaimer: This is my effort to increase blanket numbers for my own favorite blanket making charity, The Linus Connection, located in Austin, Texas.  This effort is not in any way organized by TLC.  All blankets will be donated to The Linus Connection by me, Jennifer Ofenstein.  If you have any questions please contact me or leave a question in the comments.

*The Linus Connection is a small, local non-profit located in Central Texas and is not affiliated with Project Linus.

2010 UFO Round Up

I’ve decided 2010 will be the year I finish some long-standing UFOs.  I’ve made a list and added to the dry erase board I keep in my sewing & craft room.  Here’s a more visual version to keep me inspired!

To Be Quilted:

  • Grannie’s Autograph Quilt – This was my Grannie’s and was previously a tied quilt.  I’d like to hand quilt it, but I’ve been reluctant to start until I finish my Electric Amish project (see below).
  • Friendship Quilt by Jen's Grannie & friends

  • Lost and Found Flour Sack Quilt – A quilt top my mom found when she inherited my Grannie’s house.  It was originally much longer with holes in several of the squares.  I removed a few rows across the bottom (which is not how it was pieced, so it was a pain!) and the damaged fabrics, then replaced those with some of that fabric salvaged from the bottom.  The border is muslin, which is also what I’d like to put on the back.
  • Lost & Found Flour Sack Quilt

  • Yellow/Green Linus X-Quilts (from fabric donated by Laci L) – made from the Layer ‘Em Up book by Sharyn Craig.  Easy peasy tops made from just 2 yards of fabric, both are baby-size.  To finish by the next Linus meeting, January 16, 2009.
  • in progress quilts for Linus

  • Electric Amish (hand quilting project, about 1/3 complete) – modified Storm at Sea pattern.  This is the first large quilt top I completed that I intended to keep for myself.  I’ve been quilting on it for at least five years.  To say that hand quilting is not my strong point is an understatement!
  • Electric Amish by Jen

Tops to Finish:

  • Brown Bear (blocks are done, need more borders and to be pieced) – from a pass around with my bee.  We made the bear paws for each other.  I’ve pieced the units, which still need borders.
  • Bear Paws in progress

  • HP swap received (blocks are done, need layout, piecing) – from various online quilt block swaps 2007-2008.  Not all of these will go in the finished quilt because a few were the wrong size.  I’ll save those for something else.
  • HP block swaps all together

  • Christmas Cottage swap received (blocks are done, need layout, piecing) – blocks received from the 2009 All About Paper Piecing Christmas Cottage Swap.  I’m not in a huge hurry for these since I just got them all, but they’re officially a UFO, so they’re on the list.
  • Christmas Cottage Swap, blocks rec'd Christmas Cottage Swap, blocks rec'd Christmas Cottage Swap, blocks rec'd Christmas Cottage Swap, blocks rec'd Christmas Cottage Swap, blocks rec'd

  • Layer ‘Em Up 2 for Linus (blocks are pieced, need to be squared and top pieced) – To finish by the next Linus meeting, January 16, 2009.
  • Layer Em Up for Linus

  • Batik Beauty (finish blocks) – this will likely be my quilt retreat project for March.  I’d like to have this top done by April in order to show the NYB class I’m teaching at Honey Bee.
  • New York Beauty Block

Sewing:

Crochet

  • Twilight Crafts Black & Red Swap Received (layout and finish) – knit and crochet squares.  I might make a few more, or I might just border these and make them into a lapghan.
  • Black & Red Swap - Received

  • Turn Around Granny Square ‘ghan (more rounds? and finish) – Oh geez, these have been sitting for at least a year.  I’m uninspired as to what I need to do next.  More rounds?  Just put them together?  No idea!
  • In Progress - jeweled "Turn Around Granny"

Do you have a list of UFOs to finish in 2010?  I’d love to see!