Garden of Galadriel

Here is the nearly finished first sewing project. I only need to add buttons and buttonholes--everything else is completely done. I'm really happy with the design of it, and I will definitely use the pattern again, though I may modify the sleeves and collar, and possibly make it more fitted around the waist. There are some slight flaws to the attachment of the lining which you totally cannot see from the outside, but I will have to work on it next time. I couldn't work out how to attach the sleeves and the sleeve lining smoothly, so unfortunately there is a raw edge on the inside there. And I need to figure out how to do the hem attached to the lining as well. Still, all in all I'm very pleased, especially since I not only sewed it myself, but designed and drafted the pattern myself. Oh, and it's being modeled not by the Venus de Milo but by my aforementioned duct tape dressmaker's form. I found some very helpful pattern-making resources online for making the sleeves and collar, and for help in utilizing the blind hem stitch option on my sewing machine, including:

http://vintagesewing.info/1940s/42-mpd/mpd-02.html#measurements
http://www.burdastyle.com/howtos/show/218
http://www.freesewingpattern.net/freesewingpattern01.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdKe9crSHac

I have a few other projects in mind for some bits of material I have hanging about the place. I have about two or so yards of some red satiny material and about a yard of some gray woolly stuff (it may have once been a blanket). I might put them together to make a gray jacket with red lining, or I might do them separately as a red dress and a gray skirt. I also want to make a trip to the fabric store and pick up any bargains I can find. My only prerequisite is that the material be made of a natural fiber such as cotton or linen. I looked through a few shops while in London but most of the material looked like it ought to be a curtain or possibly a pair of disco pants.

I am an avid follower of several blogs, and am always interested in other people's pictures, so I will try and break out my camera more often and post more photos. As one blogger put it, what fun is a blog without pictures?