It Is Finished, my Coat that is...

The coat is finished.  It is a very simple wrap style coat with a stand-up collar. 

I learned a lot while sewing this coat.

Things such as:

• patterns are not always written so the everyday seamstress can understand them,  (AND I had help from Mom who taught me to sew and is a very talented seamstress.  She LOVES to do wedding dresses.  She made hers not quite 50 years ago and she made mine 21+ years ago.)  { Mom agreed that some of the instructions and diagrams were not very clear}  And remember, SHE. Is. A. PRO!!

• Patterns often tell you to do things (in my humble opinion) in a wonky order.

• Don't try to hem the sleeve linings whilst sitting in a big comfy chair AND watching TV.  I got my seams all twisted around. 

• Dont try to trim the excess lining without marking, marking, marking....

• It is a GOOD idea to try a pattern like this in a less expensive fabric for your (my?) first go.

• Belt loop placement should be higher than you think, AND on the right edge of the piece of fabric, It took me THREE tries to get them right.

So,for your viewing pleasure I present "THE COAT"

PS  I also made the scarf using Caron Simply Soft paints, in color Harlequin 0007

Where has all the time gone??

Christmas has come and gone...
The thank you notes have been written (but not mailed yet),

Christmas $$ has been spent

• I bought fabric for a dress coat
• D bought a put it together yourself pc kit, and by put it together, it really is put it together, vs hook up all the wires and turn the power on
• S bought her own DS and a game

The coat is finished, almost, I need to reposition the belt loops and give it the final pressing

Everything for the pc arrived today EXCEPT the external box, kinda critical 'cause where do you put all the components if not inside the box?

DS and game arrived and have been played and played and pla....you get the picture


So what is next???

Right now get a sick child and hubby feeling better without getting sick myself.

Get back on track with 'book learnin'.

etc...

Purse Organizers

I like/need a lot of pockets in my purse.  I like to know that in purse A, my cellphone is the outside left pocket and in purse B it is in the inner, right pocket.  I think you get the picture.

I have one purse that Mom gave me that was handmade in Africa (?), but it has NO pockets.  As a result, I don't use it often.  I did use it today because the colors in the bag go well with what I was wearing.    But when I needed to grab a cough drop, I had to practically empty the entire contents, TWICE!

With that in mind I have been looking at all the options to make an organizer to fit various purses. The purse I just mentioned is an exception, all my other purses have at least a couple of pockets.

(Un)Fortunately there are a lot of options on the WWW. (Clink on links below)

The Purseket  

The Joey Junior

The Chameleon Insert

     But they can be costly, ugly, not what I had in mind, etc.

So...Mom to the rescue again.  BTW My Mom is a great source of advice & information about cooking, sewing, crocheting...

Several months ago Mom showed me a purse organizer that she made.  It had 3 sections, several pocket (zippered & not).  In short it was just what I was looking for.  And the best thing about this organizer was 1. choosing your own fabrics, and 2.  you were able to configure it to suit your needs.

What is this wonderful organizer and where can I get it??

Well..it is The Encore Purse Insert

So of course I made one!  I learned  A LOT when making this. (use the weight fabric  the pattern calls for) The directions are very detailed.  I made mistakes, and had to fix seams several times.  But in the end I am very happy with my result.

Take a look

I did make 2 significant changes. 

1.  I added the white tabs at the ends, I think they will prove helpful in removing the insert from a purse.

2.  I did not like the exposed & then covered with bias tape look for the seams, so I made a seperate cover and hand sewed it to the liner.

With all that said, I would highly recommend this pattern to anyone who sews and wants to make their own organizer.