PETER SINGS -- New Year's Wishes from MPB!

Friends, I've decided to skip the usual end-of-year reviews and leave you instead with a simple holiday song, sung in a simple holiday house coat.

She Hated It.

I wish I had good news to share about my mother's reaction to the psychedelic robe I made her this weekend.

Plate Pocket-Palooza!

After hemming the psychedelic terrycloth robe, the only thing left to do was add pockets.

A (Psychedelic) Robe for Mom

A few weeks ago my mother came over for lunch and said she needed a bathrobe, so we looked online and ordered one from Macy's (their Charter Club label).  Yesterday she told me it had arrived and was dreadful, so I told her to bring it down with her the next time she came over, and I'd return it for her.

On the third day of Christmas....

Seasons greetings from the parking lot of the abandoned Pizzeria Uno in North Wales, Pennsylvania!

Tweed Coat Selfies + New Hat!

Readers, is it still called a selfie if you balance your camera on a flat surface and switch it to auto mode, or do you have to be holding it in your hand and standing in front of a bathroom mirror?

Goldilocks and the Three Linings

Friends, you may recall that a few days before Coatmas, I was in the process of putting the finishing touches on my donegal tweed peacoat. 

My Tweed Coat Revealed -- MERRY COATMAS!

Readers, it's hard to believe, but Coatmas is finally here!

You can see my completed tweed peacoat over at the Mood Sewing Network today!  (And I do hope you're not offended by some obvious urban lumberjack styling.)

The Urban Lumberjack Look -- YEA or NAY?

Friends, I know that for many of you -- particularly you Pacific Northwesterners -- the urban lumberjack look isn't really a look at all; it's just the normal way men dress.

Buttonhole Breakthrough + New Lining Fabric!

I wish I could take credit for this lovely buttonhole, but I cannot.

Five Days to Coatmas!

Readers, you know I'm not big on the holidays, but this coming Thursday, December 19, I will be celebrating Coatmas.  And I do hope you'll join me.

Bust My (Coat) Buttons!

I'm usually a plastic button kind of guy, but for my tweed peacoat I've opted for horn.

One Victory, One Defeat

Good news and not-so-good news today, friends.  Naturally, this is all in reference to my tweed peacoat -- the only thing on my mind these days.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Peacoat!

Friends, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to like tailoring!

Peacoat Progress -- a lot of pad stitching (and a little fusing too)

Today I worked primarily on the undercollar and undercollar stand (two separate pieces) of my peacoat.

A Swingin' Sewing Machine for a Groovy Guy

Friends, you are to be forgiven for thinking that this portable, circa-1969 sewing machine looks an awful lot like an Elna Lotus -- on acid.

Wool Tweed Peacoat UPDATE!

What can I say?  Wool tweed is both wonderful to work with and challenging.

Dip-Dye Fashion -- YEA or NAY?

Readers, I'm open-minded.  I like all kinds of looks and, even if I wouldn't wear them, enjoy all sorts of contemporary trends.

Things I Don't Get, Vol 12 -- The $2,025 Vintage Sundress Pattern

Yes, you read that correctly: two thousand and twenty-five dollars.  For a sundress pattern on eBay.  Yesterday.

And that doesn't even include shipping!

Pea Coat, Version 2.0?

Am I ready to make another coat?

Gifts For Cathy + "Who Wears It Best?"

Friends, I don't formally celebrate any of those gift-giving holidays this time of year, but there's something about the season that makes one want to buy stuff.  Am I right?