Time for a New Coat

I have been reading Peter's and David's blogs about the coats they made.  I think they are truly exquisite.

I am going to make a coat for myself.  However, not as complex as the coats they made.  Since my winter coat has been taking care of me for 29 years, and I think there are 29 years more left in it,  I thought I would try to make a similar coat.  Yes, you read correctly.  My trusty winter coat has been my companion since high school.

My Winter Coat 

I found Vogue 8842.  It is actually for more of a rain coat.  It can be made with or without a hood.

Vogue 8842

I am going to make the version without the hood, substitute welt pockets for the boxy pockets, cuffs, use a wool/polyester-blend outer, and a polyester lining.

I know, quite a departure for me, not following the pattern exactly.  However,  I read two reviews of this coat, both were favorable.  The one did some tweaking, a lot more than I want to do and ended up with a beautiful coat.  See cameraman-jacket . Since I have my old friend as inspiration and a model, I think I will be able to do it.

I ordered some closeout fabric and lining from fabric.com at a great price.  When I go to Joann's this week, I'll see if I can find the 30" separating zipper necessary.

Lining and Fabric

That is it for now.

Thanks for stopping.  

Pillows for my Nephews

To continue from my last post, I am making pillows for my nephews from a bed sheet. These will be Christmas gifts. Since the nephews are two and five, I don't think I have to worry about them reading my blog to find out what their Christmas present from me is.

This turned out to be a fun project.  I surfed the net for free embroidery designs I thought my nephews would like.  Then I embroidered them on a square of fabric with my Janome MC200E machine.

 
 I also used my Singer 6268 to embroider some simpler designs on squares.   I had to plug in the memory cartridge on top of the machine and place a plastic layover on the buttons to show the designs.  Then attach the embroidery unit to it.  Took me back to the eighties, it reminded me of using a Commodore 64 or Vic 20. (I still have both in my closet)

The front turned out to be a miniature quilt.  I sewed the nine squares together, then I sewed on the batting.  I used 1/2" batting for a firmer feel.  This gave me great regard for the Quilters out there.  Maneuvering this little "quilt" while sewing was a lot of material to handle.  I can't imagine sewing a full size quilt.

For the second pillow, I attached a walking-foot to my Brother XL2600I. This made the fabric and batting feed smoother.

One thing that really helped on this project was a cutting wheel and mat.  My niece gave me all her sewing supplies since she decided she is not going to sew anymore.  Nice gift!  It included the cutting supplies and a Singer sewing machine.

The back has an opening to insert the pillow, this way the pillow can easily be removed for washing the case. This is where my Singer decided to show its writing skill after I plugged in a different memory cartridge.

I think the pillows are cute.  I hope my nephews enjoy them.

My next project should show how my sewing skills are progressing.  I am waiting on the fabric I ordered. Yes, I actually ordered fabric instead of using whatever I found at the thrift-store.

Thanks for stopping.