enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

getting started on the quilt.

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I had to make a choice this week about which fall project to tackle first.

And the quilt won. Mostly because I am going to be traveling for a lot of October and figured the sweater would be a good adventure for while I am up with my parents in Sacramento. I am hoping to find a knitting/yarn store near them to ask for help and get started. I really appreciated all your advice last week on knitting – I'm excited.

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And I am also really excited about this quilt.

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I picked up fabric, a rotary cutter, cutting mat and ruler a few days ago. Cutting the fabric was easy. I made blocks that were 5×11 inches (if I did it again, I might go smaller). Sewing the blocks into strips was also easy. Getting the strips to all line up correctly? Not so easy.

But of course, I knew that would be the case. I have some practice with carefully lining up fabric from when I made our chevron headboard, but that was on a smaller scale and I was dealing with pre-printed fabric. Not Sewn-by-Impatient-Elise fabric.

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I bet you can guess where this is going…

And you're right. I'm rolling with it. Imperfect match-ups and everything.

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When I sewed the first two columns together I realized they were a bit off. And I took an hour break to decide if I was going to rip it all up and start over or if I was going to press on. Because OH MAN, I wanted them to be perfect. But DUDE, I not want to start over.

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So I compromised with myself and I focused harder on the other strips. I am working on keeping my seam allowances the same. I am ironing every seam. I am pinning as much as I can. And it's improving. It's not perfect and it's not going to be. (And I know the puckering and wrinkles shown above are probably making quilters out there cringe. I'm sorry!) But I love the subtle fabric colors. I really love the style. I think it's going to be rad with our headboard and I know it will set the tone for our next bedroom.

And my other quilt, from last January? I'm still a fan. It's going to stay in the rotation for sure. Maybe for summer? We'll see.

Anyway – lots to do. I am about 50% done with the top. Then I need to get the layers and actually quilt it all together. I have a plan for how I am going to do that and it's different than the hand-stitching from last time. It might be too ambitious, but I think it will work out anyway.

Hopefully I'll have more to share next week.

Inothernews

Tomorrow is the last day to shop the print & poster sale.

I still have seats available in the Blog 2.0 workshop which starts Monday. More details here.

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34 responses to “getting started on the quilt.”

  1. Kaytie Yost Avatar
    Kaytie Yost

    the quilt is looking awesome! you’ve accomplished so much already, you should be really proud. i always think the key to sewing is practice and patience, the perfectly lined up corners and such will come with time. have you ever checked out denyse schmidt’s quilts? http://www.dsquilts.com/quilts.asp?PageID=24 i really enjoy her modern take to quilting and LOVE some of the asymmetrical ones/strips (because it’s not so perfect)! 🙂

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  2. Abby B Avatar
    Abby B

    It’s exciting to watch you do another quilt because I’ve got my eye on putting one together too but I think I’m going to start with a small lap/baby quilt because the thought of a full sized quilt is quite intimidating!

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  3. Megan Avatar
    Megan

    It looks so good elise!! i love both the quilts you’ve made! Your first one has inspired me to make my own too!! I just need to come up with a good color scheme, you always seem to find the perfect colors!
    Thanks for sharing,
    Megan

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  4. Amy --- Just A Titch Avatar
    Amy — Just A Titch

    There’s a great yarn store in Sacramento at 10th and R called Rumplestiltzkin. Great selection, and the ladies are super friendly. There’s also a store called Knitique in Elk Grove where I’m taking a knitting class in a few weeks that I’ve heard good things about.
    I’m excited to see your quilts!

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  5. Nat Avatar
    Nat

    Lining up the fabric correctly is one of the reasons I think I’ve never taken up the hobby. My mom can get everything to look perfect and I have no idea how she does it!
    Re batting for your quilt – I recommend Warm & Natural. It’s very high quality, easy to quilt through, and it’s all my mom uses.

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  6. Kate Avatar
    Kate

    Here’s a tip – iron – the pressing will make the pieces similar.

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  7. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    thanks for the batting tip!

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  8. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    AWESOME. I will check those out.

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  9. cinback Avatar
    cinback

    So, I did it…I just signed up for your Blogging class. I wanted to last time you offered it and didn’t. I wasn’t going to this time because I am too busy…and then when I saw your note at the bottom of this post, I don’t know what came over me, but I just did it! I know I won’t regret it. I just have to readjust my life to get the most out of it. Looking forward to the journey.

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  10. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    hooray! welcome. 🙂

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  11. Amanda S. Avatar
    Amanda S.

    I love the colors and can’t wait to see how it turns out! I also love other other quilt – great colors!!

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  12. donna Avatar
    donna

    patience, and quilting go hand in hand! the other good tips for sewing the strips together, is as you have discovered accurate cutting and seams, but you can put a pin in the actual seam of one strip and put the pin into the seam of the one you match up. do that at each seam and then you stretch and smoosh the fabric in between. works every time! the ticket is accurate pinning in the seam where the two fabrics are joined, the you get two seams perfectly lined up. it looks great. loved your inspiration!

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  13. Nicole Hurley Avatar
    Nicole Hurley

    I so wish I could figure out how to quilt. I have a baby coming in December and would love to make a quilt for the new little one. I am doing lots of knitting however! I’m excited to see how your sweater turns out! I’m working on scarves for Christmas presents right now. They are great teacher gifts.

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  14. Lisa R Avatar
    Lisa R

    When pressing the seams, my mom likes to press the seam allowances to both sides so one side isn’t super bulky.
    I went to Rumplestiltzkin years and years ago and wasn’t impressed. Hopefully the staff has become friendly since I went, as Amy really likes it.
    There’s another yarn store (my personal favorite) in Citrus Heights (on San Juan Ave) called Babbetta’s Yar & Gifts. Giant selection, lounge/living room area where you can sit and knit if you’re there for a while, AND a cafe.

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  15. Mademoiselle Marie Avatar
    Mademoiselle Marie

    Your quilt looks awesome already – I love the pattern! And I think the colors are perfect for your home 🙂
    I just made a quilt with my mom consisting of hundreds of squares. Getting the corners to match up is really hard in the beginning – I recommend patience, lots of pinning and ‘feeling’; if you iron the seams to two different sides you can move the fabric until you feel that both seems touch each other –> perfect corner 🙂
    I found a video that explains it. Maybe it helps?
    http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Match-Seams-on-Square-Quilt-Block-Patches-64331734
    Though I’d always iron the seams, makes the job waaay easier!
    Good luck and don’t give up

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  16. Skye Avatar
    Skye

    I love how enthusiastically you jump into each new project- like quilting even though you’re nowhere near an expert- and then it turns out great! I’m jealous… I’ve been wanting to make a quilt out of some old sentimental t-shirts, but I’m so worried I’ll mess up and ruin them.

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  17. Carrie Rosalind Avatar
    Carrie Rosalind

    Yay! It’s looking so awesome. Can’t wait to see the finished result!!

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  18. Cecilia Madden Avatar
    Cecilia Madden

    I love modern, updated looking quilts. This is going to come out awesome!
    I’m in love with quilts in general- my childhood bed spread was a quilt that my grandma made. It was hexagonal patterned. Love!
    (Now I must go call my mom to see if she still has that quilt!)

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  19. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    Looks great! I think the puckers and imperfections give them character and I totally embrace them. Quilting is how I plan on passing time during deployments too.

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  20. jenn Avatar
    jenn

    If you’re looking for any guidance, I would stay away from Rumplestiltzkin…the staff if NOT friendly at all, nor are they very helpful… I highly recommend Babbetta’s as well as Knitique. If you are willing to trek into SF you simply MUST go to Imagiknit (18th & Sanchez) they are SUPER friendly, helpful and have the best selection of yarn. Good luck! So happy to have another knitter in the world!!!

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  21. Jessi Avatar
    Jessi

    I hear ya! I’m the worst at matching squares up. And I’m so bad about keeping seam allowances the same! If I ever were to sew with my mom, she’d make me tear out all the seams and start over again. She’s kinda crazy like that.. but then again, her quilts aways look amazing.
    Love this idea by the way. Can’t wait to see the finished product!

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  22. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    thank you! good to know… 🙂

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  23. desiree Avatar
    desiree

    good luck, I can’t wait to see it finished!

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  24. Starting From Scratch Avatar
    Starting From Scratch

    Wow, I am so impressed! It almost makes me want to try making one even though I have no sewing experience.

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  25. holly | bijou lovely Avatar
    holly | bijou lovely

    The quilt looks great so far! A few tips for you if you want your seams to match up..
    Did you know there’s something called a 1/4″ foot for your machine? It has a little barrier right at the 1/4″ mark so you just push your fabric up against that barrier. It makes sewing accurate seams so easy!
    Also, I really recommend pressing your seams open rather than to one side. This way you can easily see where your seams are when pinning your rows together to get them to match up!
    Lastly, make sure to match up and pin your seams together before sewing your rows. If there is a little bit of slack on one of the two blocks you can sort of stretch the other fabric a bit to get them to match up at the seams.
    Hope this helps! The quilt already looks fantastic though, can’t wait to see it finished 🙂

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  26. sarah faith Avatar
    sarah faith

    loving the colors so much! can’t wait to see the final product!

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  27. Emily Avatar
    Emily

    Elise, can I just say that you are SUCH an inspiration! I want to quilt but I’ve never started because I’m terrified of messing up. I love your whole “it doesn’t have to be perfect” attitude!

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  28. cassidy Avatar
    cassidy

    It looks lovely so far

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  29. Lorna Avatar
    Lorna

    I’m sure that for every experienced quilter who may have cringed at any puckering (and hooray that they actually offered advice in the comments because it really helps) there are at least 8 people now thinking that quilting may actually be achievable. Thank you for making this feel like I could do it too and providing a resource to do it in the form of your posts and the comments provided.

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  30. moxiemandie Avatar
    moxiemandie

    Love it. I feel like a bit of a stalker- I just bought my own fabric today & have been ironing and cutting out strips. I’m sortof flying by the seat of my pants with this thing & don’t exactly have a concrete plan. But it’s ok. It’s my first, right? 😉

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  31. Lauren Marks Avatar
    Lauren Marks

    I second (or third) the recommendations for Babetta’s! AWESOME place! Also, the Knit Shoppe in Elk Grove is pretty good as well, a lot smaller, but nice.

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  32. kristen Avatar
    kristen

    Oh my gosh, you’re quilt is gonna look awesome! I love the subtle colors!
    I have to say – I’ve never really been interested in quilting before, but this is making me want to learn 🙂

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  33. Erica Avatar
    Erica

    How much you manage to get done in a short amount of time blows my mind and makes me incredibly jealous! 🙂
    I can’t wait to see the finished top, its going to be beautiful!

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  34. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    Love those colors. I’m betting the finished quilt will be amazing! And that attitude? You want it to be perfect, but don’t want to start over? Yeah, that’s how I feel about my knitting projects. 😉 Don’t get discouraged. I started with the Irish Hiking Scarf http://helloyarn.com/irishhikingcarf.htm
    in part because I knew I’d be devastated to mess up a huge project like a sweater. People thought I was nuts to start with cables, but it wasn’t so bad. (Except the time I realized (after about 8 inches) that I was twisting my stitches and that’s why it was so darn difficult.)
    Good luck!

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