Sharon Sews

The other day I mentioned I was putting the vest aside to begin work on the coat from Vogue 1128 . My plan was to whip up a mid-weight coat that could ease the transition from autumn to early winter. I may have begun just a bit too late as we woke up today to this: Pretty huh? Sure it is, until you realize that it's only October 10 and the leaves on the trees are still green! . By late morning the snow dusting had melted, however the weather forecast was talking about three to five inches on Monday. Looks like the boots, hats and gloves as well as the winter survival kit for the car need to be pulled out of storage a lot earlier than usual this year. In the meantime, if I can find a few hours of uninterrupted time I'm pretty sure I can make good progress on the coat.

Got plans for the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 7? No? Well you do now. That is if you live near Crafty Planet. That's because Crafty Planet will be hosting a party that day to celebrate the release of 101 One Yard Wonders . More than a dozen contributors - including yours truly - will be there. Plan to stop by to ooh and aah over the project samples, enjoy some yummy refreshments and say hi! Details here .

See that? Yep, it's a big ole' bolt of fleece that I purchased. Me. The self-proclaimed fleece snob. Me. The one who bought 3 yards of fleece back in the day when it was new and hard to find but has not yet sewn it. Me. Who hates the static-feeling I get when I wear the stuff. But you see it turned cold the other day. And I saw this cute zip front lounge-wear pattern ( Simplicity 2482 ) that looked like it would be so cozy to wear on a cold winter day. And then I saw the animal print fleece and convinced myself that fleece wasn't so bad after all. What the heck. As long as I'm buying fleece I might as well buy enough fleece to make a *gasp* snuggie ! Ha! I'm still chuckling to myself about that one.

Sewing progress on the vest was moving right along. As I began sewing I realized this was going to be a quick sewing project. Until it came to a screeching halt due to my inability to locate the appropriate black lace for the armhole and collar time. It shouldn't be that hard right? What I want is the size of the white lace, but the color of the black. I doubt the lace can be dyed black if it's polyester. I've checked the lace selections at my local fabric stores and no luck. So until I can either locate narrow black lace or decide on another trim, the vest is on hold. I will say it's shaping up to be a nice addition to my fall wardrobe. Notice the great dart shaping? I choose to have the small front and back waist darts on the outside of the fabric - just a subtle way of showing the design detail. With the vest on hold I turned my attention to a different project-a lightweight coat that will be perfect for the rest of October. Vogue 1128 is the pattern of choic