Quick hits and random bits

I still don't have a finished project to show you. I did finish that pattern that I tested on time, but won't be able to blog about it until release. Actually, ideally, I won't blog about it until I've made another version from the final pattern and then can show you the "before" and "after" photos, which may or may not be interesting.

In the meantime, here's what's going on with me:

• I've cut out the StyleArc Elle pants and put them aside. Actually those were cut out just before I started on that pattern test, and that's the only reason that they were put aside.
  
  

  

  StyleArc Elle pant
  

• I've cut out and set aside the HotPatterns Sakura Bomber jacket. This one was also started and put aside for pattern testing. I actually put this aside because on the morning that I was going to actually start sewing it, I felt more like cutting things out, and so I cut out the Elle pants instead.

• Neither of these are difficult patterns at all and should be relatively quick sews, but oooh....shiney! Seeing all of the coat posts from everyone, including the Leanne Marshall coat sewalong on Pattern Review kicked my butt into gear on really wanting to get going on that coat.

Simplicity Leanne Marshall coat

I did cut out my paper pattern pieces and have just gotten started on my initial round of my standard alterations (petiting, FBA, etc). The sleeve checks out to be an okay width if I were wearing it over something close-fitting, but as a coat, I think I'm going to want to widen it some. (Sometimes I need to increase sleeve width; sometimes I don't. Toddler mom arms, I guess.)  I am hoping to get a muslin at least partially sewn over the long Thanksgiving weekend that we have in the US. Early reports from the online sewing community are that the coat lacks the ease that a coat should and that the zipper instructions are a disaster, so this could be an interesting project. I'll be making the final version from a gorgeous peacock blue wool that I bought from Fashionista Fabrics a few years ago. It's been sitting around waiting for the perfect pattern and for my skills to catch up, and I think it's finally time to bring this fabric out of my stash.

• I took advantage of Crafty's Black Friday sale and signed up for the two sloper classes from Suzy Furrer (skirt and bodice sloper) for $19.95 each. I don't see myself tackling these before the first of the new year, but I do really want to give them a try. With my fitting issues, I am hoping that these will be a huge help to fitting wovens and/or maybe trying my hand at drafting something for myself.
• At the moment, I am signed up to attend the trunk show with Jen from Grainline Studios at a local fabric shop, Drygood Designs on Saturday morning. I'm really looking forward to this and have never attended a trunk show before; HOWEVER, according to weather underground, it's supposed to snow all night Friday night into Saturday morning, which would put a crimp in those plans. As I'm sure you're completely shocked to read, I drive a Prius, which doesn't exactly have all-wheel drive, and snow happens so rarely in the Seattle area that our streets won't likely be plowed, so that leaves me with no safe way to get to the trunk show. I had been hoping to try on an Archer sample, get an idea of what sort of FBA (and other alterations) I'd need and be able to skip a first muslin on that one. On the other hand, I can think of far worse ways to spend a Saturday morning than playing in the snow with my family.

 Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am hoping that my next non-pattern news post will include photos of the Leanne Marshall coat muslin. IF that muslin is a total disaster (I don't expect it to be, though), I'm going to move on and muslin the new Butterick coat pattern with cup sizes instead (Butterick B6143).