Vogue 2886 aka couch coat?

I have been wanting to make a coat/jacket with tapestry fabric for a while.  During the holidays, I saw some fabric at Joann's at 50% off and purchased it. My sister was with me and thought wow... that is really pretty fabric!  I cut it out immediately, and then it sat.  The more I looked at it on my table, the more I thought... really??

But, I hate UFO's so I started working on it.  I got the outside put together w/o the sleeves... and looked at it again and thought... really??   I put the sleeves on...still... really?  At that point I decided I had put too much money and time into it and I needed to finish it.  -- The welt pockets alone were a bear to work with in thick tapestry fabric (what was I thinking... these are my first welt pockets and I probably used the worst fabric).   I got some nice silk  fabric to line it;  I dug through my vintage button stash and found some buttons and finished the jacket.  I was in the mood for some hand sewing, so I put the lining in by hand while watching "My Week with Marilyn". 

I tried it on, and showed my husband who said:  It looks like you're wearing a couch.   I sighed and said, yea, you're probably right.  I showed it to my 10 year old niece and she said she liked it!  (um....).  I emailed a photo of it to my mom, who didn't really say anything  (um..... ) 

Here it is

what do you think?  I still kinda think... with a pair of jeans and a tee?  I like it....  but should I?

Here's the details

THIS is what I am meant to do

I love, love, LOVE teaching, encouraging, enabling  (whatever you want to call it) teens and kids to sew! 
This past weekend me and my fellow enablers volunteered to teach a Teen Sewing Camp at the Glendale Quilt Guild's Quilt Show.  This is a big local Show - although I do believe people fly in from all over to go to this.  We had 17 students.  We prepared kits from donated fabrics and supplies.  These kits were provided to the teens/kids for free.  The Guild charged $20 per person to cover the cost of the venue.  What a deal! 

Their choices were: tote bag (with optional pocket and/or applique); drawstring beach bag; zippered pouch (they love this one.. and there was no zipper fear!); pillowcase (great beginner project); and 9 patch pillow (in keeping with the quilt show theme). The class was from 10-4 with an hour (or so) for lunch.  During lunch, I encouraged the kids to check out the Show, look at the quilts, and visit the vendors, both to give them inspiration and me and my fellow enablers a break!.  My feet were sore at the end of the day, but oh how good I felt to share my love of sewing. 

We were invited back for next year!  

Still No Sew

I just can't seem to sit my butt down and sew.  I'm not feeling inspired.  Maybe it's the fact that I have so many clothes (mostly all made), and no room for any of it, that I just don't want any more clutter. I need to wear what I got.

Sunday, it was a beautiful day and I went for a hike. I have the Verdugo Hills 0.5 miles from my house.  They are actually about .01 miles from my house - just across the street - but there's a cemented in wash (was a river when I was a kid) that blocks my direct access.  I need to walk around a few blocks and cross over a bridge to get the the fire road.  When I am 0.5 miles up that fire road I feel like I'm 100 miles away.  I am so thankful for the people that preserved these hills and fought for years against building homes on it.  At one time they wanted to build 500+ homes... all concrete "mansions". 
This was my view on Sunday.

This is Crescenta Valley, where I live.  I am surrounded by mountains. This view is from the Verdugos, looking north towards Mt. Lukens and the San Gabriels.  The upper desert (Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville) is on the other side of those mountains.   The valley below makes a crescent.  The 210 freeway cuts through the middle going east and west (dang freeways).  Before the freeway, we would drive about 20 miles south to catch another freeway. (the "Golden State 5 fwy). We lived way out in the middle of nowhere.  You could see a bazillion stars at night, deer and other wildlife in your yard was common.  La Crescenta is now in the middle of it somewhere... only 15 miles from downtown LA, and a quick ride on the freeway.   But in these mountains, I am 100 miles away in the middle of nowhere.

Motion Picture Costume Exhibit at FIDM

Today the ASG Los Angeles Teen group and I went to check out the Motion Picture Costume Exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM).  You cannot take photos otherwise I would have more pictures to show you.  This year's exhibit seemed a bit short on motion picture costumes. However, there was 1 dress that caught my eye! This dress is from the movie W.E. directed and produced by Madonna and an acadmy nominee for best costume

this was made in blue and white stripped cotton.  look at the seams, they were all matched perfectly.  I was mesmerized by the way the stripes went and how well they matched and how there were so many seams in the front and back just showing off the stripes and the design and details of the dress.  I found these pictures online.

I want to copy this dress;  make it about knee length for summer!   The sleeve was lined in organza to give it the poof and there was no hem stitching.  I suspect the entire dress was underline in organza. 
The exhibit also featured wedding and formal wear from the British monarchy.  There were some beautiful early 20th century dresses.  The Exhibit runs through April 28th and is free.  If you are in the Los Angeles area, go check it out!

Organ Pizza

While in Arizona, we went to Organ Stop Pizza.... yea, I know it doesn't sound appealing... but it really is not pizza topped with organs, it's a huge pizza parlor with the worlds largest organ.  Organ Stop Pizza  The pizza is not bad, (the ice cream is really good), -- the organist was wonderful.  It was a lot of fun.  If you are ever in Mesa, Arizona, it is a must! 

This weekend, I plan on sewing and hope to have some projects posted early next week.   First on my  list is the Jalie Scarf top in approximately 5  to10 different sizes.  We have a workshop coming up in April (I like to be organized ahead of time) and we want to have the various sizes available for the attendees to try on so they can trace their correct size.  The scarf top is really easy, so I should be able to sew one up in less than an hour. I'm also having a garage sale on saturday.  Getting rid of some fabrics and some of other items that I discovered while cleaning closets.

I leave you with a video of the Organ Stop Pizza organist. (I hope it's not too shaky)

Arizona - and no sewing

This past weekend I flew with my sister and her two kids to Arizona to visit my parents. It was the kids first airplane ride.  We got to Arizona at 11AM saturday morning and went to Goldfield  Ghost Town at the  base of the Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction.

The Superstitions are full of legends, most notably the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine.  This is a view of the Superstitions from the Goldfield Ghost Town.  We started the our visit with a train ride around the perimeter of the ghost town.

After the train ride we walked around....  Goldfield has the usual old cars, gun fight, bordello, church, jail, saloon, and mine tour.  It was a beautiful day and great to be outside. 

My dad enjoys the old cars and you can see him here, checking them out.  He brought the dog... my dad and the dog...  they are rarely apart. 

We enjoyed our visit.  I make a point to visit my parents at least once a month.

One Down, Four to Go

The closet in my guest room is done.  I really like the work that The Container Store did and I think I'm going to like the product.  The shelves seem really sturdy.  I have 4 spare sewing machines on the shelves, and one of them is a Pfaff 130 which weighs a ton.  The installers assured me that the shelves can handle the weight.  Everything is off the floors!  I can see everything and there is nothing piled behind something else.  Those are all my jackets and sweaters.  I love to make jackets... ah I wish I knew someone my size I could share my jackets with....  they seem so lonely

This is a photo of the closet area before, after install, and done.  I just need to get closet doors... but it's so much more organized!

I left work early yesterday to meet the installers and was home when it was still light out!  About 4PM the crows started gathering... you can hear them calling and I watched them gather in a local sycamore tree.  Crows live a long time and mate for life.  But they are nest raiders... so not sure how I feel about them.

Then just before dark, the hummingbirds started filling up on the nectar I leave out for them in my 8 feeders.  Hummingbirds hibernate at night, so they need to get their fill before they sleep for the night to stay warm.  I got some good photos of the birds last night.  The guy in the lower right was staring right at me.

I have four more closets to do, but probably won't do them for a while.  Four closets, yep, that's it... I have no closet space in my house, so it's about time I get them organized and maximize their potential!