Uptown coat

I am so excited that I finished this coat in one month.  I chose the materials, washed, dried, ironed, and cut them to fit the pattern.  I embroidered this cute owl pattern that I found on badbird's blog.  The pattern is the Uptown Coat by Favorite Things.  I completed 90% of this coat at Crafty Planet in a class that met for four hours over two Saturdays. There were two other girls in the class and we had a blast working together.  May have made some new friends.  As I prepared to sew this I read some other blogs by folks who had finished it.  I really liked this one by Additional Jesus, man that gal can sew!

On to the coat:  It is a fine-wale brown corduroy with a blue satin lining.  I love the big, square, blue buttons.  I top-stitched the corduroy with a turquoise cotton thread and top-stitched the lining with a coffee cotton thread. The coat is lined with a thick cotton batting that makes it even warmer if not a little bulky. 

I purchased all of the materials and the pattern at Crafty Planet except for the lining.  Any materials purchased for a class receive a 15% discount, that was approximate to the cost of the class.  I knew how to perform all of the tasks to make the coat, but it sure did help to have Lisa there interpreting the pattern for me.  Also, she had a model available so I could see how the steps would all come together. 
I had to cut and piece together  11 pieces for  each part of the coat: shell, batting, and lining.  It was overwhelming to look at.

Mike was super helpful along the way, he reads manuals so well. He was a great editor, revising my button hole placements until they were uniform.  I couldn't have done it without him.  Remi, as usual, was a constant companion when I worked on it at home.  He sits at my feet under the machine/ironing board and sighs to remind me that he is there.   I am such a lucky gal, and now I have a pretty warm coat to remind me 6 months of the year!