November Happenings!

I have loads of little things in progress right now, but nothing finished just yet so it feels like I'm doing nothing >.<

So here's just a smattering of pics of two things I've been working on.

I posted this pic in one of the random pic posts before. The stooooory is, in December 2010 I went to Japan and thought I should make myself a lovely coat to wear there. This is as far as I got, that's the liner in the pic, but the shell is at the same spot. When I went to set the sleeve I reeeeeally didn't like the shape of the sleeve head, but I didn't really have time to mess about with drafting a new one, and I wanted to add some things, aaaand I ended up getting a lovely wool coat on holiday sale anyway.

It's B5425 from Butterick btw, view C cut at A's length (also note, it's going to hit just above the knees on me and I shortened it a few inches from the A cutting length, so it runs long).

Anyway, so got that other coat, folded this up to finish later aaaand... never got around to it ;_;
I'm very much deadline driven, so I have loads of half finished "real" clothes that get pushed aside for costumes or presents that have to be made at a certain time. It's been sort of nagging at me since I moved though. Then one of the bloggers I read sometimes posted about finishing a quilt she started in 1991 and I was like whoa, I do NOT want that to happen to me! I need to go through my bins and finish what I want to finish and toss what I don't.
Then I started to read Lladybird's blog, and she has an excellent post on how she sews so much, and I realized that I *am* at my most productive when I do those things, I'd just never really thought about it before. But one of the things she doesn't do, that I clearly do (did?), is allow UFOs! (UnFinished Objects)

So that long story really is just to say, I'm going to finish this coat XD

That fabric is like ... twill weight. Which is nice, but not really coat-y. So I went to Joann to get some flannel to underline it with, and it happened to be 50% off, scooore.

More pics and rambling after the cut!

Anyway so, cut that out. I hate single layer cutting -_-

I've read in several blogs lately that things with bias cuts should be hung up for 24 to see how they'll stretch out, which I'd never heard of but makes sense. So did that and turned towards my kitchen!

For the least year I just... keep adding swatches. And mixing paints together trying to find juuuust the right shade. But since it's been a whole year now I finally just went "Okay, I like that colour and can always repaint it later, anything is better than this beige grossness!"

So I've been sanding walls bit by bit.

Also! LOOK HOW GROSS.
The previous owners were paint sloppy and caulk happy. If it's not chipping away at layers and layers of drips, it's trying to remove absolutely terribly applied caulk.

Ugh.

To take a break I started cleaning this loveliness up, from where the water softner was dropped down the stairs (doesn't appear damaged at least, but it did make a big mess).

Really not very many stairs, but going back and forth on them was a work out!

'Cause I was using that dustpan there. And that stuff they put in it... salt? It's heavy.

Anyway so, unpicked the sleeve of the coat and the shoulder seams and started pinning the flannel in.
Since I layer a lot, it's not really meant to be tailored, it's got to have the room under it. So I just cut the pattern as is, thinking I'd made no adjustments.

Looks good right?

Well I HAD made an adjustment, one I should have realized, 'cause I do this with everything!

The all important boob removing adjustment XD
Right so, still working away on that.

Primed half the kitchen though! That was exciting. Should have done this way back, and then picked the colour from there, 'cause this looks waaaaay better already.

Lastly, today's tea. I'm missing Tsukuba and thinking a trip to Japan is in order soon!