The Week Between

To me, this is kind of the breathing space between holiday chaos. T-Man is working at home for 3 days and gets tomorrow off again. We need to go grocery shopping because the cupboards are bare! We’ve been staying as far away from the shops as we can get over the last few weeks but can’t hold out forever. Maybe if we go early enough on Friday morning we’ll avoid the crowds.

Christmas was lovely especially with all the little kids around. Nephew and Niece-in-law hosted the thundering hordes for The Feast and there were lots of willing hands to help. Especially her poor mom (voluntarily assisted by my Québécoise sis-in-law) who did a fantastic job in the kitchen. Their new house has lots of room to spread out and a plethora of toys to amuse the little ones. I’m sure it took them awhile to recuperate afterwards however!

The gift situation has mellowed a lot in the last few years. I flatter myself that I’ve had some influence in concentrating on the children and perhaps one’s immediate family rather than trying to lavish on every single relative. The kids were indulged and everyone seemed happy. Moving right along. It’s Stargazer’s fifth birthday today and I have no idea what he might want that he doesn’t already have. I have a few days’ reprieve before we see them to come up with something. At least his parents have finally started celebrating his birthday when it really is – instead of in June (half-birthday) or in conjunction with his big sister (August). He’s old enough now that he has opinions on it for himself. Happy Birthday, Stargazer!

So what have I been up to – besides holiday indulgences? I finished my jacket!

Minoru Jacket

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For:  me

Completed:  December 27, 2011

Pattern:  Sewaholic 1103 Minoru Jacket

Fabric:  100% polyester water-resistant mini-check, black, 60” wide/2.2M.
Lining:  100% cotton batik, blues, 54” wide/1.5M.
Interfacing:  medium-weight fusible, 1M.
Notions:  30” separating zipper, black; 18” zipper, black; 2”-wide elastic, 2M (had about 30” left); polyester sewing thread, black.

Comments:  For a change I only needed a couple of simple adjustments to this pattern. I used size 14 but went to a 16 at the waist. I also needed to chop 3” off the sleeve and tapered to a size 10 at the cuff. I used the elastic measurements for a 16 (waist) and 10 (cuff) to match. Otherwise it fits very well although there isn’t a lot of room for layers underneath. Being fully lined, it’s pretty warm by itself and the outer fabric cuts the wind completely.

The instructions were pretty good except for a couple of missing seam allowance numbers (note: typos!) and a few things that could use more detail. I was a little confused about what to do with the top of the zipper tape to make the transition smooth at the corners. Plus I’m pretty sure I didn’t use the right seam allowance for the slightly wonky zipper and the lower hem was more like 3” than the stated 2” before turning down the top fold. It will be interesting to see Tasia’s sewing process step-by-step during her sew-along starting in a couple of weeks.

This was really a lot of sewing! It took 2 sessions to get the pattern traced, 2 sessions to cut out the fabrics and interfacing and 4 sessions to sew it together. A session is anywhere from 3 to 5 hours and is as long as I can work without getting tired and starting to make mistakes. I went slowly and carefully on purpose and the completed jacket looks good but unfortunately not perfect at close inspection. I definitely like how it looks on me though so it was worth all the work. I haven’t been able to find anything comparable in the stores at any price. Total cost: ~$60.