B5332 Butterick Fast & Easy

Pattern Description: Loose-fitting, unlined jackets A, B, C, D, slightly below waist length has collar, front variations, single or double-breasted front button closures and stitched hems. A, C: short sleeves with button and button loop closures. B, D: elbow length sleeves. D: stitched pleats in sleeves.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? It does - which I am thoroughly pleased about :o)

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Very easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
My favorite part of the pattern is the double breasted yoke - you don't have to have a proper shirt on underneath, a cami is sufficient.

Fabric Used:  It was a very loose weave with no body at all.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I added a lining because the fabric frayed so easily. Figuring out how to line the thing took more time than the jacket did.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? The fabric for the next one has already been chosen! Green linen, without a lining this time.

Conclusion: Next time I'll CLEARLY mark the pattern pieces - I sewed one of the sleeve button loops on the wrong side of the slit...duh! Even with this error, I love wearing it.

The Room is Done....Well, Mostly

The new sewing room is nearly finished! The color, Woodlawn Silver Brook, a Valspar paint from Lowe's, is absolutely fab. I was so excited about it I put all my old stuff into it and was seriously underwhelmed. Three plastic tables and assorted plastic buckets...I needed something a little more permanent so off to Ikea I went...twice. The dark brown-black Expedit squares and tables/legs contrast wonderfully with the walls. When I chose the legs for the table I decided on this trestle type:

Turns out they're not as steady as these are:

Trip three to Ikea today to return the trestles and purchase 4 more legs only to find out they don't have black in stock. Someone had just purchased the last box of them...that's one hundred legs! What does one do with a hundred table legs?? The fellas that told me the leg story said they'd have more in tomorrow which actually works out as I forgot the receipt for the trestles.

The furniture issue should be solved tomorrow then it'll be on to a window treatment. Over the Turkey Day weekend I popped into Hancock to take advantage of the patterns on sale and found some graphite and white slubby material (not sure what the fiber content is) that I thought would be great made up as Vogue 7361. The more I look at it the more I want to make a fabric covered valance for the new room with it. Not sure I want to make curtains out of fabric meant for a garment tho...a little too Scarlett.

I've got my next 4 or 5 sewing projects all lined up for cutting. The sewing will have to wait until I get the room finished tho - I'm not sure where I put everything!

Painting

I'm in the middle of painting the smaller of the upstairs bedrooms for my new sewing room - only one more coat to go. The other is currently my sewing/scrapping/office space and is a tad bit larger and stuffed to the seams. Purging is definitely on the agenda before I move everything into the newly painted room.

My mom was just here visiting and she slept in the small, unfinished (boo), room on two queen-sized air mattresses stacked on top of each other. She said they were perfectly comfortable and liked them better than her mattress at home (time to get a new mattress momma!). Sooo...air mattresses it is. Just think of the fabric I can purchase with the money saved on beds!

Like I need more fabric. It really is getting out of hand in here - TONS of fabric and very little sewing (lots of planning but very little follow thru). I'll get a picture as soon as I stack it all up.

Time flies by so easily...so much has happened in the past year I've been "away". Can I put my finger on any big event? No, thankfully, all the things that take up the space in my head and days are normal, everyday things. A full life is a blessing....I am well blessed :o).

Recently, I was looking through my pattern binder and realized that I've gotten a lot of sewing done in the past year. Some projects were successful, some not so much. I've drafted a post for each project. As the details are filled in and photos are taken, they'll appear. They won't be inthe order sewn, more the order of which garment comes to hand first and gets ironed! Ironing is not my favorite pastime.

Long Time No See...

How does an entire month go by as quickly as a shooting star in the night sky? So much has happened since last we visited...my DH and I went to Key West, then a short visit to my parents, camping at Solomon's Island, MD, and a civil wedding in a DC park..busy weekends.

Some sewing happened in the past month as well...just not a lot of it. I traced off a few Burda patterns, made a blouse from a New Look pattern, made a few muslins as well. Just not many finished products...focus, focus, focus. I have completed a few re-fashions recently...

New Look 6803, view , completed - review to follow.

Burda 06-2009-122...traced off the pattern and got side-tracked cleaing my sewing room...still sidetracked.