Sharon Sews

In my continued quest to update my professional work wardrobe I purchased this McCall's Non-Stop Wardrobe pattern (number 5532 ). I was drawn to the jacket - the princess seaming, the shawl collar, the bishop sleeves, and the skinny self-fabric belt with bow trim. This style is a bit out of the norm for me as I typically wear suit jackets unbuttoned with a tee or blouse underneath. However, the director of the department where I now work wears a lot of skirt suits like this and she always looks classy, polished and professional. I figured if it works for her it might work for me, so I gave it a try. The chosen fabric was a black and white mini- houndstooth tropical weight wool originally purchased for the vintage swing jacket from Simplicity 4047 . While the mini-houndstooth was really too small for that vintage look it worked great for this suit top. (I'm not sewing the matching belt until after I cut out the skirt as I want to make sure I have enough fabric.) The best pa

Thank you to everyone who sent me a kind note checking that all was well. That meant a lot to me. Alas, I wasn't missing due to a fantastic warm-weather vacation, which would have been really wonderful considering we've been in the midst of below zero temperatures at the moment. I was missing because: 1) I started my new job on Jan. 2 (Yea! and I'm lovin' it!) New job means the brain has been getting quite the workout as new people, places and processes get tossed my way. I don't know about you but I find learning a lot all at once can be quite tiring. Combine that with... 2) I caught a cold on Jan. 4. You know the kind. It sneaks up on you. You sneeze once or twice over the course of the day and wonder if you're allergic to something. Then you develop a slight headache but pass that off to the bright office lights and eye strain due to computer usage. Then your throat gets a bit itchy but you reason it could be the dry air that arrives every year with the b