Coffee anyone? Here I am in Vancouver B.C., sporting a Christine Jonson Easy Coat I just finished, and wore for the first time on this fantasticly breezy fall day. I started on it some time ago, the first part goes fast, but the finishing can be slower and fraught. I started it on one sewing machine and finished it on another, my old Pfaff gave up last year. The new Janome is easy to sew with. I am always excited at the beginning of the process of making something. Challenges arise and are dealt with and this is the meat of the work and it's difficulty can be tiring because it requires great focus but once my brain gets onto solving something, even when there is no progress, it grinds away until the task is completed to my satisfaction. I think this aspect of the creative process is what stymies a lot of would be creatives. The work! And the uncertainty of the outcome.
The thing I love the most about sewing is how made things can be altered and remade, how fabric can be re-positioned, re-sewn, spliced, extended, shortened. There is so much potential in every garment and you never quite know how you'll feel about it until it is done. Making takes faith. I bought the graphic fabric for this coat cheaply at Fabricland in Abbotsford, B.C. I am not sure if it is apparel fabric but there you go, that's how I used it. I was drawn to the scale of the pattern. The fabric is very slick and hangs well but it's prone to unravelling so I will have to do some work on its interior to make it look tidy, the interfacing I used on the collar was too thick and so I have a lot of bulk around my shoulders to cut out, and as you can see in the picture the right lapel easily folds open so I need to secure it at the pocket level. I could easily line the coat but that would make it a heavier garment and I think the single layer works well for those mid temperature days in Spring and Fall.
All in all it feels like a good garment and I enjoyed wearing it with my black jeans custom made in India at Makeyourownjeans.com and black linen shirt from the Gap a few seasons ago. My necklace is self made with stones that were a gift from South Africa. Shoes by Asics. I'm quite pleased with this general look for almost any season. I have written about it here Why I'm a Sewcialist. Both my husband and my father made comments on the coat which always feels good. Dad even gave me the feel the fabric treatment.
From our recent trip to Bend, Or. We stayed at McMenamins Grand Lodge on the way home. This Liverpool Tunic by Amy Butler in one of her midwest modern designs from 2011 has worn well. A patterned shirt that never disappoints. I have a dress in the same fabric which I have worn often. I should learn to smile in pictures more, I really was having a very nice time there, enjoying my tea and writing my morning pages. Pants are me-made, shoes are very dusty.
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