Just Coa[s]ting Along

I learned my lesson from the teal basketweave wool blend that I bought sight unseen and feel unfelt and ordered some swatches. So now the coat has gone from teal to tangerine. I purchased the gorgeous wool/cashmere blend coating in Bright Orange from Ann at Gorgeous Fabrics. And the creamy yellow diamond silk jacquard for the lining from Denver Fabrics.

I'm calling it a "burnt orange" since this is Longhorn country out here — University of Texas (Austin) Longhorns that is. I'm not an alum, but plenty of family and friends are. Burnt orange and white were my high school colors and the Longhorn was our mascot, so I think I have sufficient connection to co-opt the theme for my coat. Besides, when you wear this color in Texas, everyone assumes that affiliation anyway.

I also ordered some backup periwinkle wool/nylon flannel coating and an ivory silk jacquard from the same places, in case I really flub on the coat.

As for materials & supplies ...

• pattern (and back up patterns) - check!


• fashion fabric (and backup fabric) - check!


• lining fabric (2 options) - check!


• heavyweight muslin - check!


• underlining - still pondering (truthfully, waiting to see what others come up with)


• beeswax - check!


• hand sewing needles (betweens) - check!


• assorted hams & pressing tools (from stash) - check!


• matching thread - check!


• silk thread - check!


• gravity feed iron - check! (oh...wait...that wasn't on Marji's list)

This weekend, I'll be tracing off the pattern and figuring out any necessary tweaks to the flat pattern. I might also get the muslin cut out and sewn up, but I'm not sure yet. It is graduation and wedding season around here and I have 4 commitments this weekend alone!

Blanket? Or Coat?

I took an informal poll of LilBro, DBF, and myself:

• blanket - 3


• coat - 0

Congratulations! It's a blanket! I bought this fabric from fabric.com for Vogue V2935, a short jacket by Sandra Betzina, that I intend to make during The Great Coat Sew-Along based on the online description that it was a wool blend coating and the pictured fabric "swatch" (see my earlier post here). Fabric.com described it as a "heavyweight coating" with a "wonderful texture" that would give your "coats and jackets extra appeal." Further, and this is where I really should have paid extra attention, "it's also appropriate for throws, pillows, and blankets!"

To fabric.com's credit, it is a wonderfully luscious fabric. Lively color, great drape & very soft and warm -- I'm actually contemplating straightening & binding or fringing the edges to make a couple of throws, rather than returning the yardage. It is just not what I imagined from looking at the online swatch. The texture of the basketweave is a bit ... umm ... more pronounced than I bargained for. I really don't want to use my backup options from stash, so it is back to the fabric drawing board. This time, I've ordered swatches!

What gives? Life's UFOs...

Well, I didn't get much done on the sewing front this past week. I spent most of the week dealing with the ethics committee and end-of-life decision questions at the hospital at which I work. Its not the patients, but their families, that really have divergent views that we (the hospital administration & attorneys) are called upon to help referee. Surprisingly, our patients are quite prepared for this stage in life on paper, but tend to fail to adequately communicate their wants to their family members and friends.

*** BEGIN PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***

Okay, let me put on my hospital lawyer hat for a moment and remind you all out there in blogland how important it is to plan for health care decisions before a crisis occurs! You don't have to be suffering from a terminal condition to make your wishes known and document them in writing. In fact, it is better if you make those decisions long before, God willing, they are ever needed. And once you make those decisions, please, please, please have candid discussions (plural) with your family and friends about it -- make sure they understand YOUR wishes despite their own thoughts/biases about what is best for you. If you don't have an advance directive/living will, check out Caring Connections for your state-specific advance planning documents, or speak to your personal lawyer of choice.

***END PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***

So back to sewing ... I did manage to retrieve my dress form from my parents' garage. Its a size 10; I am not. I hope with a lot of padding, some muslin, and a fitting shell, that I can get "Iyagogo" to resemble my shape and be a boon to my attempts at fitting myself. My name, "Nneka," means "Mother is great/superior" in Igbo; "Iya" means "Mother" in Yoruba (one of the other main Nigerian languages); and a girl who takes after, is named after, or reincarnates (if you believe in reincarnation) her grandmother is often called Iyagogo. I haven't decided yet what method to use to pad Iyagogo out, but I'm contemplating either: (1) a duct or paper tape double a la Threads that I can put over the dress form with some kind of stuffing between the form and my double; or (2) creating a tight princess seamed shell based on my measurements and pad that out like Kay Y and Agnes on PatternReview.com did. Oh, I see that I commented on Agnes' review back in '06, so I better get cracking on this one!

I also found this ECI dress at a Dillard's clearance sale a few weeks ago for $15, marked down from $125!

I LUV the fabric. Its 100% rayon jersey cutout embroidery. It is buttah-soft & very drapey. The neck is done in beautiful silk organza and its lined in nylon. It is *supposed* to be a dress, but it is waaaay too short for decency's sake IMHO, so I'll wear it with jeans. But, as I said, I'm in love with the fabric, so I think I need to find something similar for my stash. Have any of you seen it out there in fabric land? Preferably online?

Well, that's it for now. The classic white shirt is still on my list, but I think I need some instant gratification projects this week.