Crisis Averted

Assembling the jacket was accomplished easily yesterday afternoon. Making the bias binding and attaching it took a bit longer, but I sat outside on the porch and watched mama robin feed the babies while I sewed it down. And I am thrilled with how it turned out:

Truly, what saved this project from disaster was the fact that I was able to cut the correct front pieces out of the back pieces. The shape of the armscye wasn’t quite the same as the original, but the sleeve cap fit into it without issues. This is a quilted jacket, not a tailored one, so no one will know. The front jacket pieces are narrower than planned because each one was half the width of the back, but that just means they won’t overlap. I kicked around a couple of ideas for closures, including large hooks and eyes or frog closures, but it occurred to me that a zipper might be the best option. I found and ordered a teal parka zipper from Zipper Shipper on Etsy. Hopefully, it arrives before we leave, even if I have to sew the zipper in by hand on the flight down to SLC. If it doesn’t, I’ll use the large hooks and eyes as a temporary fix.

I am glad I went with the teal binding. I think it lets the piecing shine. And I am glad I used the McCall’s 8560 pattern because the length is perfect.

Now I can move on to something else. I’d like to make a couple of tops to wear at BU.

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I did more planting and weeding yesterday morning before it got hot. I still have a few things to put in the herb garden, but the big garden is well underway. The nope ropes were out in full force. The big snake was in its usual spot, along with a second one:

And a third one was a few feet away:

I was telling the husband about them and he said to me, “You are a rare woman,” and I said, “Sarah likes snakes, too,” and he said, “Sarah is also a rare woman.” LOL. The snakes in the garden have never bothered me. I take them as a sign of a healthy ecosystem and as long as they are out there, I won’t have issues with some of the common insect pests.

The husband was getting supplies ready for a new job yesterday, so the rental house work will happen this afternoon.