Tag Archives: paper piecing

Paper Piecing Vintage: March

Hello, March!

I’ve continued to be thrilled with each and every Paper Piecing Vintage block photo that you all have shared. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey!

Today, we have the third installment in our Block of the Month: Ice Cream Bowl.

Ice Cream Bowl is a classic pineapple quilt block. The “bowl” comes from the color placement and the optical illusion that it creates.

Not only are pineapple blocks one of my all-time favorite quilt blocks, a smaller version of this block is my go-to pattern for teaching beginners!

As with all the blocks from PPV, Ice Cream Bowl is entirely paper pieced and both 6″ and 12″ patterns are included.

As a bonus this month, there is a simplified 6″ pattern included for those of you not wanting to piece quite so many pineapple leaves! Want to make it 12″? Just print, cut in fourths, copy at 200% then glue or tape together!

Ice Cream Bowl, by Jennifer Ofenstein (sewhooked.com)

Already registered? Download your updated BOM file now!

Here are a few helpful hints:

Pre-cut strips for the “leaves.” 1″ works great for the 12″ pineapple and the bonus 6″ block. 3/4″ is plenty for the 6″ version.
Once you get a few rounds out from the center, you can prepare all four “leaves” at once (shown above). Instead of stitching one line at a time, stitch one, pull thread a little out from your machine, turn the pattern, then stitch the next until you’ve finished all four!
If making the 6″ block, make your life much easier by trimming seam allowances to 1/8″. That will reduce bulk and make it easier to work with.
Enjoy!

Haven’t signed up for Paper Piecing Vintage yet? Registration for the entire year is just $12. That’s 12 patterns in two sizes (plus the occasional bonus, like this month!), entirely paper pieced for one awesome price! All patterns for the year so far are included when you download.

Sign up for Paper Piecing Vintage now!

Be sure to stop back by the first of each month for the latest Paper Piecing Vintage block. Join the Paper Piecing Vintage Facebook Group for exclusive content and to sew with friends! Share your Paper Piecing Vintage photos with the Sewhooked flickr group for a chance to win fun prizes all year long!

Need some help with paper piecing? Check out my full-length workshop, shared free right here on Sewhooked!

Learn to Paper Piece Sweet Skating Sue, just $3!

Paper Piecing Art: Beginner and Beyond

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Way back in 2011, I was invited to be an instructor for STITCHED, a subscription-based online classroom community that offered workshops by experts in different craft-related areas. The entire shebang was conceived of and hosted an extraordinary artist, Alma Stoller.

My own workshop Paper Piecing Art: Beginner and Beyond, was geared to take students step-by-step through the paper piecing process.

I shared every tip and technique that I myself use when paper piecing. Now, over a year after the completion of the STITCHED 2012 Workshops, I offer my own class here, free for you.

If you’re already a paper piecer, you might pick up a trick or two; if you’re new to paper piecing or have tried before and it didn’t quite click, I hope this helps you on your paper piecing journey!

Jennifer’s Tools:

Paper Piecing Art uses Waiting for Rain, a pattern designed by myself especially for the workshop.

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You can find Waiting for Rain in my Craftsy shop for just $4.

Looking for a text-based tutorial? I have that here! Questions? Comments? I’m always happy to chat in comments!

Remember to stop back by tomorrow for the Paper Piecing Vintage February update! Have an extraordinarily happy Friday!

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Sign up for Paper Piecing Vintage now!

Have you Joined the Paper Piecing Vintage Facebook Group?

Busy Bee!

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It’s been crazy cakes around my house this week!

My high schooler is back to school, doing what 16 year olds do and my college freshman hit the road and is now back in the dorm, ready for her second semester as a college woman. How did my kids get so grown up? This is a mystery I will never solve!

Paper Piecing Vintage has been amazing so far, with lots of beautiful blocks and fantastic participation in the facebook group.

The crazy mistake I found during this week’s Talk To Me Tuesday has now been rectified. Whew! Now I just need backing fabric to finish up this little quilt of orphan blocks for The Linus Connection.

As You Wish, the Princess Bride quilt and stitch along that I’m organizing on behalf of Fandom In Stitches, starts next Wednesday and has been keeping me busy every minute in between!

Quilting is my job and my hobby, what can I say?!

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Fanciful Fairies (Paper Pieced BlockSet)

6 Blocks to Paper Piece, just $7 on Craftsy!

PPV Pre-Registration is live!

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Pre-registration for Paper Piecing Vintage is now live!

Today through December 31, registration is half-price, just $6!

Each pattern comes in 6″ and 12″. The 6″ patterns are full color and the 12″ patterns are grayscale to help save on ink.

That’s six bucks for 24 patterns plus layout instructions!’

The pre-registration download for Paper Piecing Vintage includes fabric amounts for both block sizes and how to get your update on January 1.

Want more information? Everything you need to know is on the listing on Craftsy!

Who’s excited? I’m excited!

Click here to grab the html for these fun badges

or copy and paste the images directly to your blog!

We have TWO winners for a free copy of the January pattern! Our winners will receive the actual January 2014 block of the month document, a preview of what’s to come. Congratulations and thanks to you both for commenting!

Our winners!

Do you Facebook? Join our spiffy new group for Paper Piecing Vintage and quilt with friends during 2014! I will be posting exclusing content to the group, including alternative color schemes!

See you later today for TTMT!

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Learn to Paper Piece Sweet Skating Sue, just $3 on Craftsy

Crafts of Halloweens Past: Quilty Goodness!

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Let’s be honest, most of you are here because of the quilts.

I’m totally okay with that.

While I do have many for sale patterns, I have many, many free ones.

Whimsical, fun, happy patterns are my favorite to create. To be frank (or Jennifer, as the case may be!), I make what I like. It’s as plain and simple as that. Making what I like makes me happy, and hopefully, you will feel that when you’re working on a pattern that I designed. If not, then I’m clearly doing it wrong!

Trick-or-Treat Sue, up at the top of this post, was created for a blog hop hosted by Soma over on Whims & Fancies last October.

She’s 10″ paper pieced and can be downloaded right here or over on Craftsy. This sweet Sue is just one of the over 50 magical Sunbonnet Sues that I’ve designed over the years. You can find all of her Magical Friends right here!

If you’re looking for even more quilty goodness for Halloween, try one of these blasts from the past, designed by me and available on the Harry Potter page over on my other site, Fandom In Stitches (click the image for the free pattern!):

There are many, MANY more where these came from!

To make reliving the Crafts of Halloween Past even more fun for you, I’m offering a challenge with a prize!

Make any of my Halloween projects or patterns posted during the course of the month and post a photo to the Sewhooked flickr group tagged “halloween.”

At the end of the month, I’ll draw a winner to receive a free copy of Quiltmaker’s Quilts from 100 Blocks, which includes my pattern Corn Maze!

Heck, I’ll even sign it, if you like!

Don’t Miss Week 3 of Name That Mustache, posted this Monday!

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Featured Pattern: Two Little Hooters

Jack Leaves The Light On

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Jack Leaves The Light On, $6 on Craftsy

How about a fun new Halloween-themed table runner pattern? This set is SUPER easy to piece and crazy versatile!

Just need the blocks? Use them for whatever you like!

Want a quick table runner? Piece the three blocks, add borders as shown in the pattern and you’re good to go!

I shared a Jack-O-Lantern block in my video yesterday and mentioned that the pattern was coming soon.

How’s this for soon?!

I originally designed this fun piece for a magazine. They passed on the pattern and it’s been collecting dust in my sewing room ever since.

Tis the season for Trick-or-Treat and what better way to decorate than a fun table runner?

Pattern includes two, full-color 8″ block patterns and instructions to create the table runner shown above.

Want a wall hanging instead? Simply piece the blocks vertically! The same instructions will apply to the wall hanging shown on the left as the original table runner. Slightly more fabric will be needed for the example on the right.

How about a longer table runner? Just add more blocks! I love a little versatility!

Don’t miss Name That Mustache every Monday in October!

See you tomorrow for another Halloween craft blast from the past! Woo, that’s some serious rhyming!

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Featured Pattern: Wizard with Snake, $2 on Craftsy

part of the Friendly Familiars Set!

Merry July…and Sue, too!

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Sweet Sue Tops The Tree, free on Craftsy

Recently, my 15-year-old commented on the absurdly early signs of Christmas shopping that are popping up here and there. It’s usually fantastically hot here in Texas and Christmas is a long, long way from most people’s minds. I’ve come to think of these uber-early retail nudges as Christmas leakage, which in my mind is any Christmas showing up pre-Thanksgiving!

The only exception for me is, of course, crafting! I explained to him that for crafters, Christmas in July is about giving yourself enough time to finish projects that you want to give as gifts. Some of us start long, long before July, but I think the countdown to completed projects starts about now! That, he agreed, makes much more sense than red & green twinkle lights at the mall when it’s over 100 degrees outside!

So, we have this conversation, and then I find out Craftsy is having a Christmas in July event…and that one of my free patterns, Sweet Sue Tops the Tree (seen at the top of this post), is featured…well, how fun is that!?

Sweet Sue’s new-found fame inspired me to do my own BIG Christmas in July post and share some Christmas & winter-themed patterns that I myself have designed.

Hey, well, they’re doing it, so why not me, right? 😉

Holly Jolly (Paper Pieced Pattern Set), $6.50 on Craftsy

Holly Jolly is part of Sunbonnet Sue’s Magical Friends. If you’re new around here, I’m somewhat Sue obsessed. Just recently, I’ve been updating my older Sue patterns as part of the Summer Sue Makeover.

Holly Jolly was in the update queue. No time like the present!

Here they are, updated for 2013 and ready for Christmas in July! Each of these patterns is now also available individually. This update includes not one, but two bonuses! Wee Lil’ Penguin now includes two sizes when purchased separately and there’s a new pattern not included with the set, Santa & His Bag.

Wee Lil’ Penguin, now in two sizes! $2 on Craftsy

It all started with a penguin! He was the very first pattern designed for Holly Jolly all those years ago. I always imagined that this little guy was on the ground, motioning Santa’s sleigh in for a safe landing.

Lil’ St. Nick (paper pieced), $2 on Craftsy

Here he is, St. Nick, ready to climb in his sleigh and deliver presents all over the world!

Lil’ Mrs. Claus, $2 on Craftsy

Where would Santa be without the Mrs. keeping him on his toes?

Santa’s Helper (paper pieced), $2 on Craftsy

I tried to come up with a sweet name for this little guy, but imagination failed me. In the end, he (or she, it’s hard to tell with the present blocking the view!) became Santa’s Little Helper.

Wonky Lil’ Christmas Tree, $2 on Craftsy

Where would Santa be without a Christmas tree?

Bonus Pattern: Santa & His Bag (Paper Pieced), $2 on Craftsy

Santa & His bag are a bonus pattern designed at the same time as Holly Jolly. He’s not included in the original set and is available only as an individual pattern.

Holiday House (paper pieced), free on Craftsy

I always imagined Holiday House as a supplement to Holly Jolly! I can just see Santa’s Little Helper standing next to the tree ready to deposit his gift! This wee house was designed for a Quilting Gallery event.

Sweet Skating Sue (paper pieced), free on Craftsy

Sweet Skating Sue was designed for an event over on Quilting Gallery for 2012. Not only is she a free pattern (and one I’m very fond of!), but I wrote a full, detailed paper piecing tutorial to go along with the pattern. See it here!

Topsy-Turvy Trees! (Paper Pieced), $9 on Craftsy

Topsy Turvy Trees was one of those doodles that insisted on being in fabric. It was fun digging out every bright green in my stash for this project. I love the lightning shapes between the trees. Hmm, I think I want to make another in batiks…

Tree Trimming, $8 on Craftsy

Tree Trimming is the gift that keeps on giving. I share it last for two reasons. One, it one of the earliest patterns I made available for sale and two, it has been a joy to teach. It’s an excellent beginner project for a class for both free-form and pre-cut paper piecing. I’ve seen this sweet wall hanging in every variety of fabrics you can imagine and many, many of my students have grown their very own “happy little trees!”

Happy, happy July! I hope you enjoyed this very unseasonable post. Be sure to visit Craftsy and see my pattern featured for their event!

And, because I just can’t help myself, a giveaway! Win a free signed copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Vol 7. My very own design, Lemons Into Lemonade appears page 33. You can also see the quilt I designed around this block on page 10! To win, leave a comment and let me know know if you’re currently crafting for a holiday!