Go-To Cape and Winter Boots

This week, the challenge over at Project Sewn is "If the Shoe Fits". The idea is to pick your favorite pair of shoes and sew an outfit to go with. I live in Minnesota. And right now we have tons of snow! So for this challenge, I chose my winter boots because they definitely keep my feet warm and dry, which is perfect if you have to walk around outside in this weather!

Do you wanna build a snowman??

 

In case you're wondering, yes, I did build a snowman, by myself, wearing my Lady Skater dress, leggings and boots. I put my cape on afterwards though.

 

I thought my Go-To cape would be perfect with my winter boots. It is a fully lined cape made using purple plaid wool and plain purple flannel for the lining. I was actully getting hot standing in the sun while I took pictures. It is 40 degrees today - a heat wave compared to the weather we've been having here!

 

The cape has an oversized hood, which is one of my favorite parts! I also made the peekaboo lining - you can see the lining "peeking out" on the hood. The pattern calls for four 3/4" buttons, but I thought that size was too small, so I used four 1 1/8" buttons. They worked perfectly!

 

 

Andrea, of Go-To Patterns, designed this cape to hit at the hip level. However, I wanted a longer cape, so I cut out the long length, which is for people taller than 5'9" (I'm 5'7").

 I was having fun with the photo shoot! You can see the plaid in this picture too. It's harder than you think setting up a tripod in the snow and running back and forth after every picture. The snow is pretty deep too! There must be over a foot accumulated in the back yard - the snow almost came to the top of my boots.

Here's the back. I have always been afraid of sewing with plaid, but I did it! And the back seam matches up!!

I received the plaid wool from a friend and have had it for a few years. I knew I was keeping it for a reason! It is so warm and pretty thick. I bought the flannel at Jo-Ann Fabrics when it was on sale, and I was able to use a gift card, so I only ended up spending $15 for 4 yards of flannel. That's a deal!

Oh, you know, just contemplating life. :)

 

Finally, here's a better picture of my boots, since the snow covered them in almost all my other pictures. They were the whole inspiration for my outfit. As you can see, they're pretty wet in this picture, but they kept my feet dry!

Would you wear a cape?

~Elizabeth

Snow and Sewing

 

The weather in Minnesota has been interesting. It was starting to feel like spring - the sun was shining, the snow was melting and it was so warm outside! Then on Sunday night it started snowing and it kept snowing through Monday. I was so happy because all but one of my classes were cancelled, including my 8am class and my midterm was postponed!

 

I thought the snow looked so pretty on the trees and in the bluffs, so I took some pictures on my way to school.

 

 

Because of my "snow day" I took some time to start on my Covert Robin project. It's a secret, so I can't tell you what I'm making yet, but I took pictures so you can guess all you want. :-)

 

 

It was so nice to sew again! I haven't touched my sewing machine since before the semester started! There are only two days standing between me and spring break, and I plan to do as much sewing as possible!

 

Since I haven't had much time to sew, I went fabric shopping instead. :) I bought some knit from the Fabric Fairy because they were having a sale and I have been eyeing some of the fabric for a long time. I'll show you what I bought and what I plan to make with it soon!

 

What have you been sewing lately?

~Elizabeth

I'm still here!

Hello everyone! It's been awhile, but I'm still here! These past few weeks have been very busy and exciting. So far, I am surviving the nursing program. It is hard, but it is also doable. It isn't nearly as hard as they made it sound at orientation and it is a lot easier now compared to the first week of classes. Everyone was so overwhelmed during the first week, but now we know more of what to expect. 

These are all my books for first semester. Now, you can see why I haven't been doing any sewing! These books have taken over my life! Just kidding, not quite. It's impossible to read all of them, but they are good resources to have, especially since some of them cover the same information. We have e-books too, which is a huge relief for my back!

Hopefully, I will be able to do a little sewing this semester. I have heard from other students and the professors that it is important to take time for yourself. I'm also participating in a Valentine's Day mug swap hosted by Sew Caroline and Rags to Stitches. I bought my partner's goodies today, and I'll be blogging about it on Valentine's Day!

I hope you're all staying warm! We're supposed to get 6-9 inches of snow tomorrow! It would be so great to have a day off of school. What's the weather like where you are?

~Elizabeth