Pinterest Parade #3

Lately, I've been preoccupied by coats. It's getting cold, and that tends to happen this time of year. I always have trouble finding coats that fit too, believe it or not. I really want a coat that covers my butt, but I can never seem to find something that fits in the shoulders but doesn't strain over my hips. I've been considering sewing up my own, but it's a little late for this year, and I don't really have the skills to do so yet. So I'm just oggling the coats and thinking that maybe I'll be good enough to stitch one up next year. Here's my Pinterest inspiration:

Ruffles down the front, and A-line from the waist.

Bustle-type ruffles on the back. I could do some inverted pleats on the back instead, to add some volume to the bottom of the coat.

Simple lines, but I love the scarf feel of the collar, with one side pulling through the other. I could also eat this color up, it's so delicious.

This coat is the exact shape I want. Everything about it is just lovely, except the color. White coats plus black dogs = always looking slightly dirty. Plus, I'm a clutzy, messy kind of person, and I can never keep white clean. Now, this jacket in gray with white buttons, that would be lovely.

This is the pattern I'm considering using for my jacket next year (Vogue 8346). It's kind of perfect, right? Just a little shorter, and another color. I might sew ruffles along the bottom too, maybe with an extra layer of ruffles on the back, just above the first layer. I could do a removable faux collar too, for extra warmth on super cold days. I'm excited just thinking about it!

On My Project List

So, my project list just seems to keep growing and growing. Here's what I have on it right now:

Hem A's Renaissance cloak
Finish pink pinstriped Ginger
Sew red wool dress
Shorten vintage seafoam green dress and remove lace
Re-hem circle skirt (the hem is all out of wack, since I apparently didn't hang it long enough before hemming..whoops!) and add pleats
Make pillows for the bland loveseat
Embroider wedding album cover
Bind 2012 calendar for A (annual Christmas gift)
Knit scarf for my sister (told her I'd do this last year)
Knit scarf for my mom (she was admiring the one I made myself)
Cover keyboard base for A (essentially a piece of 1x4 that she'll use to raise the keyboard up to the level of the wristpad)

How many projects do you have in the works, or are you planning on finishing by the new year? How many do you think you'll actually finish? I'm not really sure about myself. Not really sure at all...

Sales and Thrift Stores

Over the weekend, I did a little shopping. It's getting to be an addiction, and I think I really need to stop until I've sewn up the fabric I already have. It's just that I go to the store meaning to just get some muslin for pillow forms and cording for piping, and I find fabric that's so gorgeous and on sale, I can't resist. :)

I bought three yards of this patterned rayon. The drape is just amazing. I wanted two yards each of the dusty rose and the blue and white dot fabrics to make sheer blouses, but got just over a yard and a half of each. I bought them even though there's not enough for a long-sleeved blouse, and I might see if the other JoAnn's has more of them. If it doesn't, I'll just make short-sleeved blouses instead. Anyway, all three fabrics fit perfectly into my Fall Palette, but they're not exactly fall weather fabrics. Ah, well. I don't regret them at all!

I also stopped at one of our local thrift shops. I was anything but disappointed at the selection of their craft section. I'm excited to try out this Built by Wendy Simplicity pattern. I might use one of the fabrics I just bougt to make it up. I also found a tracing wheel, embroidery needles, lots of cool/pretty buttons, snaps, and tiny eyelets. I got it all for $3, which amazes me, because I never win anything and I never find anything for a steal. :)



I'm still working on my Ginger. Why I decided to use a pinstripe fabric I will never know. All those tiny stripes to match up! Also, I've discovered that it's slightly stretchy in one direction, which I'm hoping won't be a problem. :(

Much Love Mondays - Hair

Welcome to Much Love Mondays! Every Monday, I'll be sharing something I love about my body, and then I'll be handing out compliments like candy at a parade (can you tell I like parades?). It sounds kind of odd, I know, but if you bear with me through this long post, I'll explain.

One morning last week, an idea suddenly popped into my head fully formed. That happens sometimes; I'll walk around experiencing life, reading, watching, taking it all in, and an idea just sits forming in the back of my mind, and when it's ready, it pops up and introduces itself.

This one was born from things I've read on Sal's blog, Already Pretty, and on a blog/website called Olivine's Charm School, which I found through A Beautiful Mess. Wow, that was a whole lot of links for one little sentence. I've read so many things about how very few women can honestly say that they love everything about their bodies, and even the most "ideal" women have something they would change about their bodies if they could. There is so much body hatred/loathing/shame out there, and the inspiring women whose blogs I mentioned above are trying to break through that and help other women love the bodies they're in.

Julie Wray (of Olivine's Charm School), wrote a series of posts called "In Full Bloom - A Self Care Ritual Series." One of the things she wrote about was journaling and affirmations, where she suggests that you write a love letter to yourself that you will receive at some point you choose in the future. She also suggests that every time someone says something nice to you, you should write it down in a little journal, which you can then read whenever you're feeling down. I love this idea, but I'm going to change it up a bit, post it here to get each week off right, and share the love with you all.

Let's start with hair. I cannot tell you how many times I've received compliments that are variations on the theme, "I wish I had curls like yours, but you probably can't stand them!" My hair and I have a long and volitile relationship (that's another post altogether), but I really do love it, and while I love other women in straight hair, I think that my curls look perfect with my face.

My hair is never the same two days in a row. In fact, it can't be counted on to look the same two hours in a row, and I kind of love that about it. I'm a geminii; I can't help it!

I almost always wear my hair down (it's longer now than it's ever been), but when I do decide to put it up, my hair will stay without much work, and without any extra products like hairspray. When I take out the pins at the end of the day, it still stays up by itself! I'm growing it out to at least 24 inches, so I can donate some of my beloved hair but still keep it long for myself. I know. Selfish. :)

Also, I don't wash my hair every day.

Haha. No, really. I don't. This is my day two hair. My day three and four hair is similar, but, you know, different, because it's never exactly the same.

But enough about me. What about those other ladies out there with gorgeous hair? Casey, I adore your hair, and I love how creative you are with it. After discovering one of your hairstyle tutorials, I did my hair like that at least once a week for the rest of the summer. Check this girl out!

Oona, not only are you an extremely talented (and creative!) sewist (sewer? seamstress? I'm undecided about which term to use), but you also have amazing hair. I love seeing other girls rock their curls rather than trying to tame them. :) Back when I was dissatisfied with my hair, I used to wish it were curlier than it is, and I would have killed for hair like yours (one of my cousins has hair just like this, but white blonde, and I used to be soooo jealous of her!).

I read a sewing blog once and forgot to save it to my blog reader, but the author had the most beautiful long, straight, gray hair I've ever seen (if you know who I'm talking about, please let me know!). If my mom is any indication, I won't be going gray for a very long time, but when I do, this woman will be my hair muse.

Five Things

I've seen this floating around on other people's blogs, and I thought I'd try it out. Five things you probably don't know about me:

1. I hula hoop. Yes, I'm 27, and I own 3 hoops and have my eye on acquiring at least four more. I hoop with a few other people every Thursday evening, and I love every second of it. :)

2. I spent the first half of this year denying that I was 27. I want to be 26 forever. Before I was 26, I really just wanted to be 26. I don't know. It was like a magic age.

3. I've never left the country (And no, Canada doesn't count. You didn't even need a passport to go to Canada back when I was driving my sister over there to drink!). I've had a passport since 2006, when I graduated from college, and it's my dream to use it before it expires!

4. I hate television, but for some reason, it has become perfectly acceptable in my mind to watch old episodes of pretty much anything (and by old I mean anything that played at least a day ago!) via the Internet or Netflix on my iPad. Don't ask me why. I really don't understand it myself.

5. I have never drunk a cup of coffee. Yes, you read that right. I'll leave you in what I know is a state of shock over that. :)

McCall's Patterns - Winter/Holiday 2011

The new McCall's patterns have been released. Have you seen them yet?

M6463 was my favorite at first glance. The chic neckline, the smooth line down the middle and the gathers at the hips all make for a great, modern dress.

But then I saw the back. No, not the back of the bodice. That's as adorable as expected. I don't know why, but the gathered skirt in that fabric makes the model's body look odd, and you know from the front view that she's not at all strangely shaped. Maybe it's just the hand of the fabric they chose, but either way, not my favorite any more.

I do like M6462, but without a serger, I'm a little wary of sewing with knits. It is pretty cute, though, don't you think?

I'm not a fan of the huge, baggy shirt version of M6461, but I could be interested in the bolero or the cardigan-style jacket.

I was a little surprised by my favorite. I love M6464, the Palmer/Pletsch sheath dress. I think of Palmer/Pletsch patterns as only useful as slopers, but this dress is actually really wearable. Think of the ways you could play with it! (It's a perfect canvas for fun details like the corded pintuck scallops, bias bands, and surface cording shown on the Colette blog.) It also has cap, 3/4 length, and full-length sleeve options.

And, just for fun, M6485:

Late to the Party: Sewing Productivity Project

 

I am chronically late to the party. Every party, even the parties that aren't actually parties. I just now discovered Tilly and the Buttons' Sewing Productivity Project. How have I missed that? I suppose the how of it is irrelevant, as I intend to participate even though it was clearly ages ago. :)

I'll report back in... well, November 1 seems like a good date. I'll do a Blogtoberfest recap and sewing productivity report all in one. Yay!