December Projects!

   Wow, I have not blogged in a while! Life was catching up to me for a while there, but I'm back ahead of it. Last month I dedicated a lot of my free time to practicing my banjo and doing a self portrait project (which I did not finish), and not a lot of time making things. This month I want to change that up though.

   I have recently started to learn to knit. I am really new to this and haven't even made anything yet! I bought a 'learn to knit kit' from Barnes and Nobles on impulse, and I decided this will be a great new hobby! My sweetheart got me One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit or Crochet on Black Friday, since Hasting's had a "five used books for twenty dollars" sale.

   I also ordered some books off Amazon. None have arrived yet but there was a 30% off books sale that I just couldn't pass up! I am awaiting The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book, Knits for Nerds (totally looking forward to the Firefly themed projects here!), Getting Started Knitting Socks, and Woodland Knits!

   This month I decided a couple of my goals to be to begin and finish (at least) one crochet, knitting, and sewing project each. I need to get back to making things! I feel at my best when I've accomplished making something beautiful. :)

   Here's the three projects I've got planned. I may decide on something else later, but for now I look forward to these:

   The Larissa moto jacket pattern from Burdastyle.com, which I want to make in denim! :D

   These cunning Jayne Cobb style socks from Knits for Nerds!

   And this triangle fringe scarf from Crochet Boutique!


   Well, that's all I have to share for now! I just wanted to peek in and say, "I'm still here!!" and share this month's upcoming projects with ya'll. Which one is your favourite?

   Have a craft day. ;P

My First Jacket!

     I finally, finally finished my very first jacket! I posted previously (kinda) about it before it was finished. :) It's certainly far from perfect but it's the largest project I've tackled so far and I'm happy with how it turned out. There may be things I go back and make better later, however.

     The pattern was McCall's 6531, and for it I picked out some very soft brown fabric for the lining (this wasn't part of the pattern, I just worked it in myself) and an army green kind of canvasy fabric. I am not yet very good at identifying different fabric types, so if you can tell me what these are specifically, I'd appreciate it!

    So, the first thing I did was make a muslin of my jacket. I didn't want to waste any of my fabric and I wanted a perfect fit! Making the muslin also let me know which of the pattern pieces I needed to cut extra of in order to make my lining.

   I stitched together my lining and was just super happy with how well it fit and how good of a job I had done so far! :D Yay me!

      I had a helper, of course. ;)

     After I sewed together the same pieces in the sturdier outer fabric, I was a little less excited. Once again, I picked a little poorly with my pattern. The armpits are kind of saggy? But that's okay. Purpose number one was personalized warmth, and it's achieved that and some. However, next time, I think I will look more closely for non-fitted sleeves/armpits.

    So, now I have a new jacket that may have some flaws I wish I had not made and a few errors in judgement as well, but I still love it. :) It's my first jacket and I'm sure it will keep me plenty warm!

    Mind the strong that I missed, haha. It apparently also doubles as a cat bed.

   Hope you guys enjoyed my blog! If you have any tips or pointed on sewing a better jacket, or sewing in general, I'd love to hear it. I am still fairly new to sewing. ;P

My Jo Ann's Adventure (and photos!)

   So, yesterday I got the fabulous idea to bus to Jo Ann's, which is fairly nearby where I live so not really a big deal in and of itself, at 7:30 in the evening with no jacket. Up here, 7:30 is already dark and cold this time of year. But since it had been such a pleasant and warm (well, not cold) day I figured it would be no deal.

   Of course, the bus was fifteen minutes late! Haha. But I got to Jo Ann's, struggled through the list of things to buy for my jacket pattern (McCall's 6531). Before this, all the patterns I've done have been fairly straight forward, not requiring much other than fabric and thread. My most adventurous up to this point has been jeans, with the zipper, jeans buttons, and interfacing. They were still fairly simple, but picking out things for this jacket was a bit of a challenge for me. What exactly constitutes a "large" snap, for example? They are not packaged in sizes of small/medium/large and for someone who has never bought or sewn snaps before, it would be nice to give an actual size or range of sizes! Hope mine are large enough!

  So, I was at Jo Ann's until about 8:30. They close at nine so I leave and look up my bus time. 9:20! Ugh! I should have brought a coat! I wait in Barnes and Nobles until nine and spend the rest of the time curling up in my shirt and regretting that I didn't charge my phone. Waiting twenty minutes for this bus in the cold without a jacket and with a dead phone is hell! But I got home just fine and immediately hopped into my kitty pajamas and crocheted and little bit before bed. :)

   This morning I woke up in the mood to take photos! I am definitely not ready to take photos of myself, so I decided to take photos of the goodies I got on my adventure last night. :)

   Kind of a mundane subject to take photos of, but hey. I'm not exactly thrilled that I spent $80 on all these so I might as well get some fun out of them! I am also very excited to get started on my jacket!

Fall/Winter Pattern List!

   I'm addicted to all the blogs plugged into my feedly, and when I read this article by Cirque Du Bebe on Project Sewn I decided I also wanted to share the patterns I was excited to sew this Fall (and Winter, since they are both just too damn cold).

   However, I have a pinterest board FULL of patterns for the coming seasons. So I picked my favourite five. :)

Larissa #6032

   I love this jacket! A cute moto jacket is something I've been wanting for a couple months now, but I'd rather attempt sewing one myself than tailoring a pre bought one to my size. Something about store bought clothes not fitting me makes tailoring things to fit really peeve me.

   I absolutely love leather, but I'm really digging the look shown. Mustard yellow is actually my favourite colour and I think I would probably stick to either a mustardy wool or a medium grey colour wool. :D

Jamie Jeans

   A couple blog posts ago I shared how much I like sewing jeans. They give me a bit of pain but I like the struggle a little, haha. :) Skinny jeans aren't really my thing, one or two good pair of skinny jeans that I can wear tucked into my Doc Martins are good enough for me.

   However, this pair really stood out to me, they are beautifully designed. The unique front pockets and the simple but great back pockets really seal the deal for me, but I like the lovely front seams as well. With me making them, I think I'd go a little extra and also make the hem of the pants with the back side of the denim showing such as the front pockets.

McCall 6531

   I actually already ordered this jacket pattern and it should be here on the 8th. I can't wait, I'm pretty new to sewing and this will be the first jacket I've sewn! I do like a challenge, so I will really enjoy this I'm sure. I have a hard time shopping for flattering clothes for my petite frame, and the worst things have always been jeans and jackets. So I'm really looked forward to this!

   I know the pattern is unlined but I'm gonna challenge myself further and try and get it nice and toasty by lining it with sherpa material. I'm unsure what I'll go with the background, but I'm leaning towards a green to go with the army-ish look, a black, or a navy colour. I really love the version made on mpbymaude! What do you think I should go? I'm totally open to suggestion!

McCall  6517

   I'm still getting used to the weather cycles of the Inland NW since moving up from Texas two years ago, and I don't know how much longer to be expecting rain. I know, I really should know by now, my third real Winter is coming up, but I am horrible at keeping track of these things.

   Regardless, I am so looking forward to this awesome pattern. I love plastic clothing, I know it's kind of weird but I love PVC and latex (which I also make clothing from, a whole different beast from sewing!). I don't even know where to start but I know I will have to make more than one! Maybe a shiny black and a see through like pictured but with a funkier colour accent! I have a see through and yellow bubble umbrella, maybe start with something to match. ;)

Vogue 8902

   The only dress on this list! You wouldn't guess how much I love flared out dresses from this list! Don't worry, my pinterest has plenty more! I actually do not have any long sleeved dresses. Not a single one. The first couple years here I held on to my Texas clothing too long and didn't invest much on cold weather clothing, surviving the Winters in ugly Walmart thermals under pants and way too childish hoodies. I'm really trying to get a better looking Winter wardrobe, but I'm a creature of comfort. Being warm and cozy will have to come first! I think I can meet in the middle this Winter, though, since I picked back up sewing.

   I already have fabric picked out for this dress. I haven't ordered the pattern yet but I have ordered the fabric (because I am slowly ordering all the things I design for my Spoonflower shop.) I will be using this fabric for the bodice and skirt and a plain black knit for the sides and sleeves. I'm really looking forward to this dress!

My fabric for the dress!

   Well, that's my top list for clothing to sew this Fall and Winter! What do you think? Is there anything you are really looking forward to sewing for the upcoming cold?