Finally...something in the 'FINISHED' column!!

Both the Loud Jacket and the Simplicity Tank top made it into the finished column this weekend.  I literally sewed that jacket about 10 - 20 minutes at a time; sometimes less.  One night all I did was set the machine up for buttonholes.  Another night I managed to sew on two buttons.  It was like that pretty much start to finish.

And, since I'm currently on a choir hiatus, it didn't matter that I finished it the evening of the last day that the choir wore lime green and purple.

I wore it to work today, anyway, with the green challis tank, even though I don't think the lengths worked together very well. 


I decided to put side seam pockets in it because I HAVE to have a place to stash a kleenex, my office keys, my cell phone and possibly a communion set.  This was not the most comfortable place to put these pockets; they're really too high to be useful for parking my hands, as you can see.  But so long as I can carry what I need to carry when I need to carry it, that'll work for me.

After I had the front partly assembled, it occurred to me that it would've been easy to put a patch pocket on the inside between the side seam and the side front seam for carrying stuff.  Maybe next time....

Or, maybe I'll lengthen the jacket a bit and put welt pockets in the side front.  That would be the most natural hand-parking spot.

I really do like this pattern, (OOP McCall's 5191)  though.  So long as I use a fabric with some Lycra in it, it doesn't seem to mind the middle age creep as much as some of my other jacket patterns.

(ETA:  Just didn't have the oomph to take another picture and upload it last night, but I'm pretty stinkin' proud of the pattern matching, even if I am probably never going to wear it buttoned up.... :-)...back to original text  )

I should've had my Sweet Baboo take a photo of the top by itself, but, well, it was late and he was on antihistamines and I just didn't have the heart to ask him to do a lengthy photo session.  The shoulders of the top are just about right, now (I just whacked off about an inch and a quarter off shoulder seam at the arrmhole and tapered it down to the existing cutting line on either side).  There's still some wonkiness at the bottom of the armhole, though.  It looks like I need to scoop the lower front curve just a bit and perhaps even rotate a very small dart out of it.   And I think it would be more flattering with a shirt tail hem instead of straight across.  So I have at least one more iteration to go before it  achieves Wardrobe Workhorse status.  But it's close.

Then, as I was poking through my spreadsheet for the year I found a piece of Home Dec fabric listed in the 'fabric purchased' column...and I didn't even remember what it was.  Found it with the new purchases and decided that, shoot, it only takes a few minutes to turn it into a table cloth...just trim the corners and run it through the serger...so I did.  Boom.  Another 2.5 yards into the 'OUT' column.

And then I put it on the table and suddenly remembered that I don't need 2.5 yards of length...I really only need a fuzz under 2.25 yards, but I've learned to buy 2.5, in case the ends are cut crooked.  This had been cut pretty straight and I didn't loose any length to square it up.  So I had to whack off the extra and then reserge.  So it took a little longer...

 But, before all this hit the 'out' column, I had a teeny bit more creep into the 'In' list.  What can you do if an on line vendor posts a 'Crazy Priced Fabric'  that is pretty much exactly what you've been looking for to use for a specific pattern?   You buy it, of course, and  it has to have a traveling buddy...           

So the 'IN' box now has some rayon/lycra jersey stripe that will be dead on perfect for my new Sewing Workshop cardigan pattern...and it was such a good deal that I have enough for a maxi dress or a couple of tops as well...

The gray is a wool shadow stripe that has a nice springy hand; there's enough there for a serious jacket, or maybe a not-so-serious jacket and a pair of pants.  We'll see.

 So, yeah, the discrepancy between 'In' and 'Out' still got bigger...Think I'm going to work on some of the UFO's next...least till I get a chance to spend a day cutting...