Verona-The Final Frontier

Well, the coat is done and had it's maiden wearing too! Doing the lining was akin to catching a greased pig. Very slippery, accompanied by a lot of laughing and squealing in distress. Mistakes were made, corrected, or lived with. This was a first run through and my notes are copious for the next version. My skills and confidence, improved. I am very happy with my coat.

Let's start at that lining.

Curved, cruel and the source of the biggest mistake made on this coat of which I will tell you at the end. It was only when the coat was completed and ready for buttons did I even realize what I had done. I won't spoil the "Oh S**t" moment.

Here is the pattern picture for reference. Study it closely. ;)

Here it is ready for sleeves. Looks pretty good too I might add.

The corded buttonholes. I mistakenly thought of these as bound, but they are not. Either way, first time doing a button hole using perle cotton. Lord knows as a weaver I've got enough of this stuff lying around!

And finally, through the miracle of picking and choosing pics, the final finished coat.

Boy, was bagging the lining a trick. Just weird and it took me a moment with the sleeves to figure out what they wanted me to do. I would have taken pictures, but they would make no sense. When all was said and done, the lining was too long and hung down below the outer coat. I opted to let it hang free and hem lining and coat separately. A decision I liked better anyway since linings tend to stretch. I will plan for this on the next coat, allow deeper hem allowances and do a few other things a little differently around the front inside of the coat.

The buttons are placed asymmetrically since two little buttons on a winter coat is woefully lacking IMHO and by then, of course, I had discovered my mistake.

Have you? No! Well, flip back to the curved lining. It's a mindset thing, call it a lining and I do it in Ambiance, call it a front facing and I do it in the same fabric as the outer shell. I should have handled it as a front facing. Simple as that. Way too late to take it all apart. It's a mistake you only make once too. It certainly does not render the coat unwearable, in fact it's quite comfy, especially in the car where many coats bind and feel tight. I like the cut and fit although I might go down a hair (or two) in the next coat, between sizes.

Jack thinks it's just wonderful BTW. Jack thinks anytime someone picks him up and lets him smooch their nose, it's wonderful. Jack has a healthy outlook on life!

So now I'm onto other sewing, planning and plotting the spring coat, working up a warp for Hey Baby using "fique" and linen for a runner and some place mats, getting the threading done on Julia and weaving off those Celtic towels on Hannah Hollandia.

Lots of fun fibery things.

In farm news, it's all quiet. The storm has rolled in and out and a new one on the way

for the weekend. In between we have had a couple of stunning days of clear and impossibly blue skies.

Everyone is frisky. The donkeys show no outward signs of this but I know they are having frisky thoughts. Sugarfoot eyes the gate. The girls get giggly behind my back. They are snug and smug in their coats. That is all as it should be for these sun and heat loving little creatures.

Parting shot: Snow Day, The Series. Robin, blazing a bunny trail.