enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Category: sewing projects

  • and the dress version.

    The second time through this pattern went much quicker. And bonus points for no tears this time. I love this fabric but wasn't thinking far enough ahead when I picked it out. The backside is very white and looked too unfinished at the top where it opens. So I added an extra strip (called a…

  • a handmade shirt.

    So, as mentioned, Quilt Watch 2011 is over. But my sewing machine was super bored with that plan. And since we are out of fabric home decor projects, I moved to the next thing : clothing. I bought this Wiksten top/dress pattern last fall and it sat on my shelf because I was too nervous…

  • our new quilt.

    I finished up the binding this morning (and now this blog and my life will go back to normal as Quilt Watch 2011 is officially over). Thank you for your suggestions and sweet comments along the way. I wanted to share the inspiration for this quilt. It's a picture from one of my favorite books,…

  • home stretch.

    Blind-stitching the binding around the edge might be the most tedious part of this whole thing. Almost. Done.

  • what i’ve learned about hand quilting so far.

    I am definitely a fan of the quilting hoop. There is a grove to it, and I think once you're in the grove it's cake. I have no idea now to use a thimble.

  • sewing hangover.

    The top of my quilt is done. I worked on that thing from 8:30AM to 3:30PM yesterday. Whew. My back and neck are sore and my sewing machine is going to spend the rest of the week mad at me for making it overheat. But I love how it turned out. And after some thought…

  • making progress.

  • playing with pattern.

    Oh man, I have been all over the place with a plan for our new duvet cover/quilt. I found an image in Handmade Living of a mismatched fabric duvet cover and I haven't stopped thinking about it. So that is what we're going with. Finally, last week I took the plunge and bought fabric from…

  • hanging felt garland.

    My holiday decorating ideas have changed a lot since my original sketches. Funny how that works. Yesterday, I used left over felt from my banner to make simple circle strands. Just turn on your sewing machine and stitch circles one after another to form a chain. I have seen these all over blogland and oh,…

  • pop-up shop felt banner.

    One thing that I had to make for Saturday's pop-up shop was a sign with my shop name on it. I thought about ordering something. I thought about printing something. But the short time line and my small printer didn't really allow for either. So I decided to make a small flag banner with a…