Like a virgin...matching plaids for the very first time

I procured the fabric for my Albion last weekend and am so excited to get started.  I sewed my muslin in a size small and managed to work out the fitting changes (looks like I might be learning something after all) including bringing the waist in and narrowing the shoulders.  Everything was coming up roses until I layed the fabric out to start cutting and I realized, "Oh, shit, plaid".  What the hell was I thinking? I knew I had seen tutorials for matching plaids before but payed little attention, storing them away for the future so off to the interwebs I went. Here are some of the most helpful tutorials/tips I found:

- Matching plaids like a boss with Lladybird gave me a good starting point.

- Grainline Studios has a number of tips and tricks that go a bit more in depth as well as some awesome info on sewing a wool coat.

- And if you want to get extra geeky head over to Sewaholic for this step-by-step tutorial.

The matching itself isn't that hard but, as ususual, its the little things that get you.  Figuring out how the plaid lines will look, cutting the yoke on the bias, making sure the sleeves match, attempting to visualize how the hell the 3 hood pieces are going to come together and hoping it all works out because I realllllly don't want to start over again is making my brain bleed.  I have to keep reminding myself that its an awesome mind puzzle and that I am learning something new.  But, you guys, seriously WHAT was I thinking?

Anyway, off I go to cut more pieces!  Here's a peek of the wool coating I got...