Cherry Cola Coat: aka My Minoru

So, I made this jacket AGES ago.  And I kept promising to post about it.  Whoops.  Well, better late than never.

Things I love:

I love how easy this coat was to sew up! It really went rather quickly, and the instructions were so easy to follow. Tasia did it again!

I love the fabric that I used :) I was a little worried about the fabric at first.  I have always loved the print.  I bought the fabric online, and I know what cotton canvas feels like, but I was still a little nervous when it came in the mail I kept thinking "oh man, is this going to make a good jacket?  Is the fabric going to be right?"  But after it all came together, it was so great!  I love how vibrant the colors are, and the pink pops of cherries make me smile!

I changed a few things.  I added pockets, although I should have made them on my muslin as well, because I didn't get the height of the pockets just right.  I used the pocket pattern from the Peony and just stuck it right in the side seams.

I also couldn't quite find the right zipper length that I wanted, so to compensate, I didn't put the zipper all the way to the top of the collar.  Instead, I added these FABULOUS buttons that came from my grandma's button stash that I inherited!

Aren't they freakin' amazing?!?!

Things I would change next time:

I wouldn't line the whole thing with shiny, slippery fabric.  I would line only the sleeves with slippery fabric.  I don't really love opening up the zipper and seeing the high gloss fabric peeping out at me.  I think I would prefer a matte fabric.

I would sew in the waist elastic during the muslin phase.  I didn't do this, I just drew on the line, and it looked great, and in the final project it is so close, but I would have dropped the elastic down about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

I would decrease the size of the hood.  It is too tall on me!  Haha, when I actually pull the hood out to wear, it is so tall that the front flops down over my eyes.  I would also definitely not recommend using a slipper fabric to line the hood.  Bad plan.  It slips on my hair, so the hood has real trouble staying up.  So either my hood is falling off my head or over my eyes.  Ugh.

But, all those changes aside, I love this jacket!  I wear it all the time!  It is so cheery, and I get compliments on it all the time :)

Below are a few photos from our Engagement Session.  Almost my entire outfit can be credited to Sewaholic patterns *grins*  Minoru Jacket and Renfrew top.  Two of my favorites combined!  All photos were taken by Brandon Witzel.  He took both our engagement and wedding photos!  He did such an amazing job :)  If you live in the Portland, Oregon or LA, California area, look him up!

Confessions of a newly-married, newly-moved, new-careered, sewaholic

Alright lovelies.

Time for some bold-faced honesty...

Have you heard that little truth about getting married, wanting to snuggle down in your new nest with your new love-bird, and eat yummy things; spending all your time oogling googly eyes at each other... and getting chubby.  Yeah.  It's wonderful.  And it sucks.  So, I haven't gotten fat, but I've definitely padded some areas a little more than I would like and it kills my drive to sew.  Why would I want to spend so much time and energy, lovingly fitting, professionally finishing, and meticulously sewing a form fitting dress for a body that I'm not proud of.  Super lame.

So, I've been avoiding sewing.  And I've missed it so much!!  A few things have fired my obsession for sewing again.  One, I discovered Bloglovin' in lieu of Google Reader shutting down.  This lovely blog following format allowed me to totally indulge forced me to catch up on blogs that I hadn't read in a while.  This made me so uber jealous that I wasn't sewing beautiful things for myself that I immediately went to my pattern stash and fabric stash and said, "to hell with this feeling chubby business!"  And made a skirt.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new skirt.  I have a second version on my cutting table at the moment. 

I was wearing the skirt, and my sister-in-law took some photos, and I thought to myself... not too bad :)  But I would love to look better.  I suppose that sewing awesome clothes for myself is a decent incentive for getting in shape.  So again, I'm on the war path.  I'm warring against my adipose cells.  Healthy food, gym time, lots of water.  We'll see how it goes.  Good thoughts, prayers, and encouraging words accepted.

As for this blog.  I love blogging.  It makes me feel as though I can connect with sewing friends in a way that I'm not able to do in my face-to-face, everyday life.  I also a little bit of an 'excitable follower'.  I suppose what I mean by this is, I read this fantastic blogs like Sewaholic, Lladybird, and Oonaballoona, and I want to blog as well and as prolifically as they do!  I get swept up in the awesomeness of posting, and comments, and wanting to be a well-known name in the sew blogging community.  But I can't do that.  A) I'm not that great of a writer.  B) I don't really have a whole lot of time to do it.  C) I have an awesome husband to spend time with...

So.... I am promising myself a few things.  I promise to try and post on here enough to keep in touch with people, and share my makes.  I also promise to spend more time actually enjoying sewing things, exercising, and spending my time with my hubs and my friends than I do trying to turn this little area in to a well-traveled, interweb, metropolis.

So there it is.

I'll try and be back soon :)  I'll show you what I'm trying to make.  I've missed you all.

xoxo
Montana

A lot of silly things have to happen when you switch emails after getting married.....

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Embroidery

So, do you guys embroider? I seem to love all things crafty, but embroidery was always something I snubbed my nose at. I'm not sure why. Maybe I considered it to old fashioned, maybe I had only seen embroidery in designs that I didn't feel were appealing.

My grandmother had lots of embroidered pillows on get couch, and I think I never liked them when I was little because they weren't comfortable for me to curl up with.

Well, I have a lazy day sewing project. (You know, a project that I can pick up and sew on for five minutes every couple of days and its easy to get out and put away.) It's a quilt that I am slowly making squares and just enjoying the process rather than racing trying to get a project done so I have something fun to wear.

I have made a few quilts before and since I am taking my time, I thought it would be nice to try some new things and expand my skills a little.

As I was perusing Lauren from Lladybird's blog I started seeing some embroidery that I loved. I got to thinking that it might be fun to as some embroidery on some of my quilt squares, plus it would be a good excuse to buy some new craft supplies learn something new.

So I started making a sampler. And I'm having so much fun! I never thought I would enjoy embroidery so much! (But then again, I never thought I would enjoy catch-stitching facings or hems, or inserting hand picked zippers either...)

So what about you? Do you enjoy embroidery? Do you have any crafts that you didn't think you liked and then found you secretly enjoy them?

Practice Heart that I embroidered.

No I didn't die.

Ok... you all deserve a large explanation.

Well, I got enaged.

And Then I got married.

And Then I moved.

Yay Salt Lake City, UT

So what have I sewn lately, you ask?

NOTHING!!

... And it's killing me!  But, I have moved into an apartment, and my husband and I set up an office space, which he calls my sewing room (love him).  I'm still settling in, trying to get used to a new job, figuring out the flow of our new life here together, but I'm really hoping to get to sewing again soon.  I probably don't have a single person that even checks this ol' blog of mine anymore, but if I do still have friends out there, I haven't died.  Promise.  Cross your fingers that I can get some things sewn up soon!

Miss you all!

xo

Trending and Tops

Hey friends,

Does your life go in trends?  I have totally lost my blogging mojo, but I will say that in it's brief absence I've gotten some good work done!  Lets start from the beginning.  Prior to going on my spring break vacation, I spent not much time sewing and much time getting ready a few posts to go up while I was gone, and then between work for a week, vacation for 10 days, and then work for another week, by the time I was finally home for a stretch I was craving (and I mean serious cravings... like black tie mouse cake when at olive garden cravings) sewing time!  I hadn't actually gotten to sew anything in weeks!!  So I've spent the subsequent two weeks working some more, and sewing!  Glorious, glorious sewing!

So what does this mean for you, my friends?  It means that I am attempting to re-start the blogging trend, and it also means that I have several fun new pieces to photograph and blog about for you!

The first piece that I have managed to get photographed that I want to show you, I lovingly refer to as my "anthro shirt".  I don't know how any of you feel about it, but anthropologie is one of those stores that when I walk into it, I get a rush of wanting to spend way too much money.  So when I get the chance to sew something that I think has the same feel, well, I get a little giddy!

My Anthro Top :)

Pretending like I have wings like the birds...

Sans Sweater

My Man's favorite photo

And without the belt

This is a pendrell blouse pattern with a modified neck shape, shortened waist, and some ease taken out.

The Luscious Feel of Fabric

Hello there friends!

I am working on a Pendrell blouse with some fabric that I bought at fabric depot in Portland, OR last time I was home visiting my parents.  The other afternoon while I was running the fabric through Elphaba (who was doing a marvelous job of seaming), I got to thinking about how luscious the fabric felt in my hands.  It was soft, with just enough thickness in it to tell me it wasn't quilting cotton, just enough stretch to tell me that it was going to feel marvelous on my body, and just enough texture to make my fingers hum with excitment!  Do you ever let yourself completely drown in the tactile experience of exploring your fabric?  Does just the feel of a certain fabric make you dream up particular garments or projects or memories?

The fabric that has me gushing about texture

When I pre-washed it, I debated whether or not to use fabric softener in the wash.  I ended up using the fabric softener, but it did get me to wondering if my online sewing cronies had any thoughts.  Softener?  No softener?  What do you do with yours?  I love using it to help my fabric become even softer right from the get-go, but I am curious to whether or not it is a bad idea, especially with a very first wash.

So what are your thoughts?  Recommendations?  Horror stories?  Please, do share.

xo

Sunday Style Set: Greener Grasses

Hello Friends!

The Grass is Always Greener by miss-mt featuring leather shoes

I don't know about you, but I can definitely relate with the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence".  I can be gloriously happy with the spring sunshine, cool breezes, and flowers popping up everywhere, and inevitably one day, I will catch myself thinking "gosh, I can't wait until fall!  The boots, the scarves, the sweaters!"  It's not that I'm wishing for cold weather... oh no!, I just love wearing boots and scarves.  So here is my, glad-it's-spring-but-wish-it-was-fall inspirational board.

What is your favorite season to dress for?

xo

Yellow Chalk, White Fabric: A little of what not to do, and how to fix it!

Hey Friends!

So, I had a dilemma.  I was using this pristine white fabric for a project that I am still working on, but when I was first tracing the pattern onto the fabric I couldn't see the white chalk, so I chose to use yellow chalk.  The fabric has a wonderful, intricate pattern on it, (white on white of course) and I tried to be really careful to mark only the "wrong side".  I was trying to squeeze a Pendrell blouse out of only one yard of fabric, and because I had to get tricksy with the cutting and folding and laying out of my pieces, I ended up marking the "right side" on two of my pieces.  (It probably didn't help that I was marking and cutting at two in the morning...) 

Anywho, I was stuck trying to figure out how to get yellow chalk out of my beautiful white fabric.  I had some scraps left over, so I decided to try a few different things, and luckily, I took pictures so I could share with you. 

So with much pride, and very little humbleness, I introduce... my first tutorial!

Working on a Pendrell Blouse

If you look closely, you can see the white pattern on the fabric.

My yellow Tailor's chalk.

Step One: Yellow chalk on white fabric.

Step Two:  I tried to use a toothbrush on the fabric, to try and brush out the chalk.
I saw this tip on the internet.  No such luck. 

Step Three: I even tried (on a different scrap) dipping the entire thing in non-diluted bleach.  Again, no dice.

Step Four:  I got my fabric wet and scrubbed on the chalk mark with the toothbrush.  Small progress.

Step Five:  I added a little Dawn Pure.  I happened to have this, because it is what I use for dishes, and in hind-sight, the pure (with no added coloring) is probably the best choice anyways.  Scrubbing with the toothbrush, Dawn, and a little moisture showed definite progress in getting the chalk out!

Step Six:  After seeing that I was able to get the yellow out (at least I thought so), I decided to see if ironing the scrap would a) not ruin the texture, and b) make sure that the stain was out and that it didn't set any color into the scrap.  I couldn't see the fabric well enough to tell if the stain was out while the fabric was wet.

Success!!!  The iron dried the scrap, there didn't appear to be
even a trace of the yellow, and the fabric texture was the same as when I began.

Suggestions that I would give...  Well, first I would obviously recommend that you not mark your white fabric, on the "right side" at two in the morning!  But, if you are as silly as I am, I would suggest trying a scrap first!  

When researching on the internet, prior to my little experiment, I found several fixes for several different types of chalk.  I am using the tailor's chalk triangles, and I don't think they are wax... I'm not really sure.  But either way, the other suggestions I found online didn't work (other than dry cleaning... I didn't try that one).  But this method seemed to work well!

Hope this helps at least someone out!  I know I learned something and had fun in the progress!

xo

Serging the Day Away!

Hello friends!

This week, I have felt like I've done hours of prep work and no sewing!  Does it ever feel that way to you?  The frustrating part is that I have so much more prep work to do!  I still have to cut my pattern for the truffle dress for Sew Colette, and I'm on a Pendrell blouse kick right now, and I'm trying to make a couple more, but add some fun design details so they aren't all the same!  Gah!  So much.  

But speaking of prep work... I recently started doing something that the pro's have probably been doing for a long time and I'm just late to the party.  I used to pre-wash my fabric straight from the store, just throw it in with the correct wash cycle and off we go!  It was very frustrating though, to pull out my pre-washed fabric and have so many strings and tangles from the cut edge.  Only very recently did I think... "huh!  why don't i serge (or zig-zag) the edge and then wash it."  Genius.  I felt pretty proud of myself.  I'm sure this is in many sewing books and it seems so common sense after doing it, but I thought I would share.  Just maybe I'm not the only newbie out there who hasn't quite thought of this simple idea yet!

Dorota doing what she does best

Hope your week is going well!  Are you stuck doing prep work right now?  Or are you sewing away, happily creating your next masterpiece?  

xo

Sunday Style Set: Perssimon & Pistachio

perssimon & pistachio by miss-mt featuring floral rings

Emma Pillsbury Inspiration

Ok friends,

Truth time.... who watches Glee?  Miss Emma Pillsbury has the cutest freaking clothes!  I know, there is even a blog devoted to What would Emma Pillsbury Wear.  Proof enough that she is adorable.  Well, late the other night, while catching up on some Glee goodness, I stumbled upon this little number.

Source

I couldn't find a good picture of the entire dress, but if you haven't seen it you'll have to take my word for it.  I'm pretty sure that you could use the peony pattern as a base, change the neckline, add a peter pan collar.  Throw in a box pleat like from the sorbetto, add some ruffles, some pearls, make a full skirt and add a belt from the same fabric.  A-dor-able!  I'm seeing this in my future.

Sunday Style: Outdoor Style

Outdoor style by miss-mt featuring the north face hats

Hello Friends!

I am getting ready to go on a vacation!  I'm so excited, the boyfriend and I are going to go galavant around california; some theme parks, some beaches, a little yosemite action.  So in preparation for getting some outdoor time, I thought I'd make this style set for you.  I have a few posts planned so that my blog won't be completely dead while I'm gone.

Hope you all are having a lovely weekend!

xo

Because I Truly Feel It is Important

Hey friends.

I am going to break from my usual sewing hype to post something that I feel is important.  Some may be critics and say this is not appropriate to share on my 'sewing' blog, but I figure, this is my personal blog that I chose to focus mainly on sewing; and today I am choosing to share something that I feel is important.

This video was put out by Invisible Children, an incorporation that I have been following and supporting for quite a few years now.  They started as a couple of kids that went to Uganda, saw the child soldiers and decided they could do something to stop it.  This idea is huge, and everyone can help.    This year, 2012, they are really trying to push a huge change.  I know that I have some readers in the US, and I also know i have some readers in the UK.  This applies to everyone, so please, if you feel impressed, watch the video and just see what you think.  If you are not interested in watching, that is fine. I hope I won't lose some friends through posting this, but I feel it is definitely worth that risk.

The video is about 25 minutes long, but worth the watch.  Thank-you all for understanding and I hope that this video moves you to at least think about the world around you and how you can make a difference, no matter how small.


KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.


*Update 3.7.12*
I want to state, that by posting this video, I'm not asking or suggesting that you donate money to this cause, that is a very personal decision.  I feel they are bringing the story of Ugandan children to light when a lot of people were unaware of what was going on.  But I also feel that they are taking a very simplistic view.  I'm reading more and more about it, from sources other than Invisible Children; I just felt that this was a good starting place if anyone was interested.

My Closet: Plum Peacoat

Hello friends!

So, remember back a ways, when I was telling you about some of my favorite pieces from my own wardrobe, a la Colette Sewing Handbook?  I told you about my Hunting Skirt and my Bikes & Top Hats Sorbetto.  Well, next up, my favorite Plum Peacoat from Macy's.  

I first saw this coat in the Macy's window while strolling down Main St. one early fall afternoon two years ago.  I drooled.  And then I drooled some more.  Then I took my roommate to see the coat in the window.  Then I showed the boyfriend.  Then I gushed about it some more to my roommate.  Then my roommate dragged me into the store, made me try it on, and then made me buy it.  True story.

As I mentioned in my last post, the boyfriend (he's so great!) he generously helped me take some photos around town while we were on a nice little saturday afternoon walking date.  So, while I show you pictures of the coat, I thought I'd show you a few fun pictures from around my adorable little town.  You don't mind, do you?

Plum awesome!

Ok, how fantastic are those buttons?!

A 'bikes & top hats' underneath for good measure!

The boyfriend (who oh so wonderfully took these photos for me!)

So hard to get a non-blurry photo when no one is behind the camera!

My favorite part of this coat is the second hem!  I love how the coat ends, and then 'surprise!' there is another bottom waiting to peek out! (Oh, and I'm standing in front of one of the winery tasting rooms)

Our great little candy shop, Brights!

More candy

Gigantic lolli!

The local record store

So there you have it!  My favorite peacoat, and a few little glimpses of my home :)