More before and after

Spiffy.

Before... and After

Before
Notice the two different paint colors and the really dirty chimney... lovely.

After
Ahhhh. The house is all one color. We went out on a limb with the awning color. I figure the neighbors will either love it like we do... or hate it (but guess how much I care). If you are curios, the colors are suitable brown and grandiose by Sherwin Williams. I think I'm gonna paint the furniture today... maybe an orange-y red?

It's Done.. or Is it?

I finished the construction of this jacket today... I think. I ended up making it sort of a double breasted/wrap kinda thing because the pattern was way to generous to use buttons. Since I'm not great with patterns, I didn't realize just how huge it was going to be. I suppose if I wasn't too lazy, I could open the sides of the lining and the jacket and take it in. But, that would be a heck of a lot of work, and unpicking is a sure fire way for me to screw something up. I like the new closure, though something about the second picture looks off. It just kind of looks funky in the chest area. Maybe it's too plain.. or it's just a bad picture. I don't know. If someone has a suggestion about something I need to do here, I would love to hear it.
I'm not totally in love with the collar. In fact, I'm not even going to bother putting a button on it because it looks really odd when brought together in front.
The lining, however, is a silky polyester that I am totally in love with.
Would I recommend this pattern or make it again? Nah, probably not, but I feel better about sewing a major garment like this now. I also learned how helpful having a dress form would have been. It's really hard to take on and off and pin things on yourself while looking in the mirror.