A Froggy Cloak and Perfect Sewing Space!

Well, my cloak is finally done! I'm happy with it, but honestly I'm more excited about the presents my mom and dad brought over this Saturday. I have achieved organization!

The dryer we have been renting from our apartment complex people recently developed a very ominous rumble-grinding noise as it spins. It also has a history of violence toward clothing. It will try and eat anything with a string, and/or burn whatever it can't devour. It's sort of a game of roulette with that thing and this was the last straw for me. My mom recently retrieved all of her stored possessions from Florida, so I figured I'd ask if she still had any laundry machines. Of course she did! I was also excited because my dad had found some weird plastic cube-things in a dumpster and when I visited for Christmas, he said I could use them. A trip to deliver laundry machines meant those could come too, and I definitely had a plan for them.

TAH DAH!!!!

And a bonus!

Isn't that just the prettiest sight ever? Everything has a home, now, and it is NOT on the flat surface of my sewing desk. I was really hating my cloak while working on it because of all the stuff that had nowhere to be but in my way while I'm trying to maneuver this gigantic blob of fabric in every conceivable angle underneath that sewing needle. Whatever wasn't wedged beneath that ever-shrinking arm space of the sewing machine was instead wedged up against a stack of sewing supplies- neatly arranged though they were. You can see the stack behind Mia in my Aimee-Day picture showing off Mia in my green jumper dress (because dressing Mia up is flat-out fun!). Now, the only thing on the desk top is my Brother, and it's cover with two greenish canisters on top of it and Thing 2 reclining against one of them. The machine cover will likely find another place to live, too.

The plastic cubes, it turns out, are sold for display purposes as pedestals to "add height and dimension to your displays". They aren't meant to be turned sideways like cubby-holes, but with the opening downwards. They stack rather nicely in any direction, though. With these now providing valuable storage space, I can definitely see the appeal in those modular walls with pull-out totes. That's basically what I've built here- complete with a pull-out drawer just like those! All my patterns are in that green fold-able tote, too. I love it. I may have to order more! Or maybe build some.

Ok, now on to the cloak.

For a reminder- this is McCall's pattern M6446, which is supposed to look like:

 

 

And here is mine:

Please forgive the bathroom mirror pictures- I'm lazy..

The lighting is horrible, and I was surprised to get better pictures without any flash at all. You can tell that the hall light is a yellow old-fashioned bulb, while I have a nice bright daylight bulb in the desk lamp turned up toward the ceiling. 

It looks very wrinkly, but I honestly don't notice that as much in real life. The fleece makes the inside feel very cuddly, although now that I've attached it to the Babyville Boutique exterior fabric, it doesn't floof around me as much as when it could wander freely under there. A couple of the bound buttonholes had to be re-done because somehow the sizing got off. They are a little bit taller than just the slit I was aiming for. You can also see that I've turned the pocket welts upside down. It seemed silly to have pockets which would catch rain or snow or anything else following gravity.

I still need to add the loops for my hands to go through in order to hold the cloak out from me while riding the bike to protect my legs from rain or snow that might be falling. Also, imagine a strip of reflective tape around the hem, at least. I couldn't find the black trim with a reflective stripe in the middle at Hancock's, so I'll have to order some. That is the reason I went ahead and used black buttons and contrast stitching- with that trim being black anyway, why not?

My husband says it looks silly. I think the idea of a cloak at all is silly to him, not just this one. The arm slits throw him off, he says it should either be a cloak with sleeves, or a cape without any sleeves or openings. I'm just excited to wear this thing and see how it does out in the cold. Just trying it on for my parents during their visit, I got hot in it, so we'll see tomorrow morning. The weather-guessers predict a low of 21F. That sound perfect for experimenting- not too cold in case things go badly, but cold enough to give a good test. The high should be 61- so it will also warm up drastically- likely I won't need the cloak for anything but the first ride in before dawn.

Wish me luck!

I love comments, so if you have a thought, please feel free to share it with me.