Sharon Sews

As I try and list all of my sewing accomplishments from 2006, I realized I did much more sewing than I originally thought I had. One item that I began last November and finished just over a month later was this lined jacket from a reissued 1950 design - Vintage Vogue pattern number 2934 . It is actually a simple pattern to sew. With so many other commitments that required my time during the last few months of 2006 this jacket took much longer than it should have. The pattern is rated "average" and the description reads "lined jacket, slightly below waist, has straight front and flared back, funnel neckline and three-quarter dolman sleeves with deep cuffs. " The black wool, the canvas hair interfacing, the lilac satin lining and the black frog closures were all from my stash so I was able to try this pattern out before investing in a great fabric for my final version. I didn't want to invest in an expensive fabric only to find that the style was completely unsu

I love getting stuff in the mail - especially magazines - don't you? My husband thinks its goofy but by now he realizes that it is part of my "unwind after work" routine and just lets me flip through the stuff for a few minutes. I had visited Barnes and Noble on my lunch break today looking for a great new sewing book, or magazine, or something to do with textiles that would inspire me. You see I have this gift card that is just burning a hole in my pocket book but I don't want to waste it on just any book. It has to be the right one . One that I want to bring home and add to my large library of sewing and craft books. Anyway, they had nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing. Oh, they had plenty of books in stock, just not any that sparked an interest in me. That's why I was so excited to see the new Vogue Patterns in the mailbox when I got home from work. The new patterns were not yet on the Vogue pattern website so I haven't linked any of the pattern numbers.

Yes, I know. You've already SEEN this photograph. Its in my " Happy New Year " post. I wanted to share it with you again because I now know where I found out about the idea! It was on Carolyn's blog - Diary of a Sewing Fanatic . (Man, I love that blog name. How can you not want to read about her sewing odyssey with that as a title?) Anyway, she tried to post a comment on my blog, but for some reason was unable to so. Is anyone else having trouble? Well now that's kind of a silly question isn't it since you wouldn't be able to leave me a comment to tell me that you're having trouble leaving comments. Okay, I digress. Back to the topic. She sent me a message to let me know that I read about the idea on her blog. ( Click here to read the entry on her blog.) However, she was quick to point out that another sewer/artist at Artisan's Square (fxzdoc) suggested the idea to her. Thank you for reminding me where I saw this idea. I love the bead behind th

See? I don't only sew UFOs! But I have to admit that I was tempted to put this aside when I couldn't find buttons that I wanted to use. But knowing me I would have been digging it out in December 2007 and listing it as yet another UFO. Instead, I added buttons that work. I plan on covering buttons and changing them out, but for now I can count this as done! The collar on this one is great. I love how the tiny pleats cause it to stand up and frame the face. I used a home dec brocade remnant and that is why my version's collar has more body that the one photographed on the pattern cover. I did a quick FBA to the jacket front using a method from Sandra Betzina's Fast Fit book. Basically it is just slicing the pattern, sliding it down, and taping it back together. I completed the jacket today and used the buttonhole feature in my new Pfaff 2056. The buttonholes are beautiful and so easy! The only problem is that I sewed the first one on the wrong side of the jacket fron