enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

fall projects.

Fall

pinned from tumblr & sadly no original source / pinned & original source.

Today is official the first day of fall. I've got big dreams for fall including two projects I would love to tackle.

no. 1 : I want to make that photo of a brick wall into a quilt. Exactly like that. This means buying pretty cream, tan, peach, gray and black fabric and carefully cutting rectangles. And then carefully lining them up. Patience is not a virtue I possess, so this should be interesting.

no. 2. : I would love to knit something other than a scarf. Which means I have a lot to learn. Does anyone know of a really good knitting tutorial or online workshop I can take? I am hoping to make a sweater just like the one above and will be purchasing the pattern as soon as I know I'll be able to make sense of it.

Oh, Fall, I'm happy you're here.

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37 responses to “fall projects.”

  1. Natalie (QSOgirl) Avatar
    Natalie (QSOgirl)

    ooh what a gorgeous quilt that will be! you’ll definitely be spending some quality time with a rotary cutter, though! Can’t wait to see how it turns out…

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  2. goodwolve Avatar
    goodwolve

    Yep, rotary cutter. And you sew them in strips – a quilt like that might not actually take that long. And could be really meditative.

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  3. emmytie Avatar
    emmytie

    http://www.knittinghelp.com/
    http://www.knitpicks.com/tutorials/How_to_Knit_a_Sweater-Lesson_7__D263.html
    http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall03/FEATtheresa.html
    http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/FEATtheresa.html
    http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring04/mattress.html
    http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Books/Fearless-Knitting-Workbook.html?SessionThemeID=7
    There are FANTASTIC resources for knitting on the internet. Probably one of the best things to do is to pick a pattern and then knit through it. Look up stuff that confuses you. Plenty of knitters out there have written up fantastic how-tos for different techniques on blogs and websites like knitty. Danforth actually seems like a pretty easy pattern.
    I also linked to a book. Interweave has a great collection of books and videos for purchase if you want to go that route.
    Good luck.

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  4. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    fantastic! thank you so much!!

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  5. karen Avatar
    karen

    exactly what the other commenter said, you sew in strips in different combos. really easy and quick.

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  6. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    Great projects. I have my first quilting project in the works. I’m glad I’m not alone in attacking a new quilting project. Good luck!

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  7. kristen Avatar
    kristen

    LOVE! That will be such a pretty quilt & sweater.
    And I’m sooo excited it’s fall!

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  8. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    I could be wrong, but the stitch used in the Danforth Pullover looks like mistake rib knitted in the round, which is very, very easy to do. If you can knit and purl, you can do mistake rib. I think that the links emmytie posted are all great places to start, especially the knitty links, and this should be a fairly easy first pattern to make the jump from scarves. I would also suggest finding a local yarn store and getting chummy with the staff. They are bound to be more helpful if you buy the yarn from them, but knitters are a notoriously friendly bunch and they would probably be happy to help you with questions as they arise.
    Best of luck!

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  9. Melissa Rusk Avatar
    Melissa Rusk

    Ravelry.com is also a great place for knitting patterns and help. They have groups where you can ask questions and pages where you can see others who have knit what you are knitting and ask them questions as well.

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  10. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    I learned from this book. Stitch ‘n bitch: the knitter’s handbook [Book] by Debbie Stoller in Books
    Good luck! It’s a fun take with you anywhere project.

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  11. logan Avatar
    logan

    I second stitch ‘n bitch. Great book for learning.
    I think if you can knit and purl, then you’d probably be able to follow the pattern. Good luck!

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  12. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    I learned through a combination of Knitting for Dummies, Stitch ‘n Bitch, and going to a local knitting group to ask what I was doing wrong. This was before so much was available on youtube and vimeo. Depends on how you learn best but there are so many good free videos. Key thing to know before you watch videos though is that there are two styles of knitting: English and Continental. A class or two at a knitting store isn’t a bad idea. I knit for 5 years before taking a private lesson at a store to see how I could knit faster and I wish I did that earlier. For your first project, I’d recommend buying the yarn called for in the pattern. Later you can substitute. Knitting helped me a lot when my husband got a job where he traveled all the time. It’s good meditation and good for getting through anxious times! Have fun!

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  13. nancy Avatar
    nancy

    cute sweater! ive found that youtube videos help since you can actually see what the people are doing, not just read a description or look at a 2d picture. helped confusing things click for me.
    but also, going to a independent yarn shop ive always found that people working are excited and nice and love to help you on your way.
    cant wait to see the finished product!

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  14. linda Avatar
    linda

    What pretty colors for a quilt – very cool project! Can’t believe fall is here… eek!

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  15. Denise Avatar
    Denise

    Look up Eleanor Burns quilt in a day series.
    She makes quilting like really fun and fast. A few tools and you’ll be a quilt making fool.
    Denise

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  16. Erica Avatar
    Erica

    I taught myself to knit online by choosing a pattern and then just diving in and when I came to something I didnt know I googled it and my searches almost always lead me to videos by the knit witch on youtube…for specific techniques her videos can’t be beat!..and for what its worth, if you can knit and purl you can pretty much do anything…cables, socks, sweaters, fancier stitches, they’re all just variations on knit and purl. Good luck! 🙂

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  17. Margie Brudzinski Avatar
    Margie Brudzinski

    I suggest you come to Minnesota and visit your Grandmother. She is a great knitter. I know she’d love the visit.

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  18. Margie Brudzinski Avatar
    Margie Brudzinski

    Elyse… by the way I love your blog. I keep up with your happenings and enjoy all of your projects. You are such a busy person. I think about you and Paul being away from each other while he’s deployed and I pray for you and his safe return.

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  19. kelly kautz Avatar
    kelly kautz

    I’m kind of in the same boat, with regards to knitting. I’ve found http://mochimochiland.com/ extremely helpful. (My nephews loved the little alligators from her first book. She has a second book out now that I haven’t tried.)
    Ravelry is also a good place to search for projects by difficulty level.

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  20. kelly kautz Avatar
    kelly kautz

    One more thing — toys are awesome projects for novice knitters because you don’t have to worry about sizing. I definitely wouldn’t recommend a sweater right off the bat!

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  21. Jennifer D Avatar
    Jennifer D

    I agree that as long as you’ve knit something before, and you can knit and purl, etc… just work your way through the pattern, look up what confuses you, and ask questions online and at a local yarn shop (LYS). My favorite place to watch videos for specific cast-ons, bind-offs, increases, decreases, etc… is http://www.knittinghelp.com/ . Like someone else mentioned, you just need to know if you knit English or Continental, so you know which videos to watch. If you don’t already have a Ravelry account, sign up. 🙂 And my two tips: Read the whole pattern before you begin, just like a recipe. And, don’t skip the gauge swatch. Really. Don’t. Skip. The. Gauge. Swatch.
    Good luck!

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  22. Kate Avatar
    Kate

    I would recommend taking a “top down” sweater class at a local yarn store. It’s the easiest construction and it will build your confidence. After taking one class I felt like I could knit anything. Videos and tutorials are great…but in the beginning it’s nice to have a warm, patient body to explain, re-explain and help you fix things.

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  23. Kristin @ Country Fried Egg Roll Avatar
    Kristin @ Country Fried Egg Roll

    I LOVE ravelry! Getting cold around here = “knitting season” in Northern China. Makes me happy!

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  24. mary Avatar
    mary

    GREAT advice!! I teach beginning knitting and I send my students to knittinghelp.com (no matter how confident they are around my table, they forget EVERYthing as soon as they get home 🙂 and I hope you have a good local yarn shop – if we sell the yarn, we’ll give help to ensure a successful project. good luck!!

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  25. Nat Avatar
    Nat

    Get yourself a rotary cutter, ofla cutting mat and an omnigrid ruler from the fabric store if you are going to make that quilt. It will make your life MUCH easier. You should research strip piecing (something sort of like this – http://www.sewaquilt.com/strip-piecing.html) and you’ll make everything much easier.

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  26. Jenn Avatar
    Jenn

    one of my best friends knits and I showed her that sweater you pinned… it is so awesome. we spent a while today oogling over pretty yarn from purlSOHO. I agree with all the comments about a rotary cutter for the quilt. if there is a JoAnn’s nearby they always seem to have those on sale, and the cutting mats too. completely unrelated to this post, but I saw your pinwheel painting on How about Orange: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2011/09/make-your-own-wall-art.html

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  27. susan ku Avatar
    susan ku

    I love the quilt project! I would recommend a rotary cutter (like a pizza wheel for fabric), a quilting ruler and self-healing mat to cut on! That way you can line it up & cut it out quickly and evenly…just like that (rotary cutter along the ruler)… I am designing a coat made from leftover upholstery samples… I cut them all to the same width…sewed them into strips and now I am sewing the strips together in order to make my “fabric” from which to cut my pieces for my coat… They are all burgundies & natural tones which make me think of fall…

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  28. Kaytie Yost Avatar
    Kaytie Yost

    that sweater is going to be amazing! please say you’ll post your knitting journey on here so we can all follow along (and maybe try to make ourselves!). saw your pinwheel painting on howaboutorange.blogspot.com today, awesome!!

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  29. Deb @ PaperTurtle Avatar
    Deb @ PaperTurtle

    Hi Elise ~ I was going to suggest a rotary cutter and strip-quilting techinique but I see you’ve already heard that suggestion. It’s a great way to piece a quilt – I made a log-cabin quilt top in a day using a strip-quilting method. It’s a great idea to create a quilt based on that photo! Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

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  30. Dayna Avatar
    Dayna

    I am using knittinghelp.com to work my way through my first pair of socks and it is fantastic!
    My other recommendation would be to go to your local yarn store and make friends with the staff. I can go to Ramwool here in Winnipeg and get help when I have questions or have made mistakes. They also offer great group classes or one-on-one classes – its not online, but sometimes it is nice to have a real, live human teaching you!

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  31. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    http://www.craftsy.com/class/gift/17
    is the BEST online knitting course!! I learned so much.

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  32. Lisa R Avatar
    Lisa R

    Pam Allen is a great designer. Good choice for your sweater pattern. 🙂
    If you aren’t already, sign up for ravelry.com. It’s Knitting/Crochet Heaven.

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  33. Jennifer D Avatar
    Jennifer D

    LOVE PurlSoho! I try to visit there every
    time I’m in NYC!

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  34. fiona lynne Avatar
    fiona lynne

    I love that quilt! I’ve been wanting to make a quilt for a while but so many of the designs look a bit twee and country for my taste. That one is so modern and I love the colours! May have to copy your idea and make my own 🙂

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  35. Caitlin Avatar
    Caitlin

    My grandmother knit me a sweater almost exactly like that for Christmas last year. I picked it out of a Vogue Knitting catalogue, and I would have told her to stop had I known how many times she had to wipe her tears and start over in the process. I absolutely love it, though, and hope yours turns out as well as hers did!

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  36. Maggie Avatar
    Maggie

    Elise, as a seasoned knitter, I definitely recommend NOT buying the yarn called for and buying it instead at a Local Yarn Store (LYS). Quince and Co (while fabulous – I’ve ordered a lot from them), isn’t carried in any LYS(except Maine, where they originated a little over a year ago). An LYS will easily be able to suggest a few alternatives and will then be more likely to provide pattern support. DON’T buy yarns from Joann’s and the like 🙂 If you join Ravelry and go to the “yarns” tab, there is a space on the left-hand side to put in your zipcode and find a good or two LYS in your area.

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  37. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    yes, I will for sure not be buying the yarn at a big box store. I will check with a local store to see what they recommend. thank you!! 🙂

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