Sewing Report 4: Green Coat

Today is much the same as the previous 3 entries about this green coat, which is getting slower to make, as the buttonholes and lining are coming up next. This is usually the stage where I set the project aside until the next year, as the weather begins to change and the urgency for a warm coat lessens. However I've been trying to keep up with everything from church to housework to foot care for Mr. S. *

I was not at all happy with the hat. The directions were too complicated and it could have been done more simply with fewer steps.

The pattern from 2005 seemed to picture this hat as coming down over the ears and being in general much bigger and fluffier than the actual finished product.

The hat was smaller than I needed, so I might attempt another version and cut it larger. As it is, it is so small, it is only going to work if a headband is attached inside so that it will stay put on my hair. 

View F looked adequate but even the largest size was too small. I must have a big head. Well that figures. Who would blog in today's politically correct climate, without a big enough head.

Below you can see I have the buttonholes marked, which are going to be stitched after the lining is inserted. They are slanted in an unusual way because of the design of the coat, and there are only 3 buttons required on the outside, that show.

  I have added more buttons so that the coat can be completely closed.

There are buttons beneath the lapels to secure the coat on the inside.

Here is the coat pattern again:

The green coat calls for a green teacup. I was surprized my collection did not yield one single green cup, so I am using this one that has no matching saucer with an orphan saucer which is the same green as the coat.

From the print at the bottom of the cup, it seems this was a Royal ALbert series of 6 called 

Traditional British Songs.

I have never seen the whole set. I found the cup at Goodwill many years ago.  I found a picture of the set, here.  There is a different flower on each one.

The saucer doesn't go with the cup but the green works well with this green-coat post.

I have a kelly green print umbrella I will pose with when I get the coat completed.

I see why models get paid such exorbitant sums:  Here I am bracing myself against the wind and desperately sheltering beneath the umbrella, trying to model the perfect pose by a pasture, while Mr. S., the great fashion photographer (who always takes only ONE photo and that has to suffice) sits all snug and dry in the car.

 * Here is the foot report for Mr. S.

 I don't like to post anything unpleasant so I'm trying not to be too graphic here. Yesterday when applying a new pack and wrapping the foot, I noticed the swelling had gone down and there was an old  cut between two toes leading directly to the place where the surgeon removed that piece of wood.

 Now the mystery is solved , at least for me. It was the entry for the piece of wood that no one could find because it was covered over  by many layers of skin growth. The last mystery to be solved is when it happened and where.

  Some of the wound care personnel say it often happens inside of a shoe or boot, where the flake of wood sits, and as the victim puts his shoe on, the wood is pushed into the skin. So be sure and empty your shoes and boots before wearing them. I think we used to do that when we were on the homestead but abandoned the habit. Your footwear sits on the floor and all kind of things can settle in your shoes. You probably each have a story for that one!  Check shoes before wearing them!  One time I bought a pair of shoes and couldn't figure out why they were so tight. I later discovered there was a wad of tissue from the manufacturer inside the shoe, designed to keep its shape in packing. Sometimes children cannot get their shoes on because the packing tissue is still in them, at the toes where you don't notice.

Although his left foot is still healing, Mr S. has a good right foot so he has gone out today to get his car repaired and do his usual errands and making his calls on various people.  I am busy trying to get a few things done around here so I can have time to finally finish that coat. I simply cannot sew with ease in a house that is not orderly; I don't know about you.