Starting a New Jacket - Finally

After spending my summer working on Free Lace Scarves, I am finally getting back to working on jackets.  What with cleaning and organizing our new studio space to get ready for Lowell Open Studios and preparing for the Merrimack Valley Artisans show later this month, it has been a very busy time.  Until a couple of days ago, I couldn't see my way clear to starting a major new project.


I did manage to finish a jacket I'd started last spring so I'd have something brand new for Lowell Open Studios.  Mostly though I've been cleaning and organizing.  The little time I set aside for creative work, I've just been making Art Cards with little bits of embroidered piecework.  Fun but not quite the same level of satisfaction as a jacket.


Here's the jacket I finished.  I call it Calm Waters.  This was my first wool jacket and the first time I added a button closure to my one of my Japanese-style jackets.

The button doesn't show up very well in my photo.  It's a beautiful handmade glass button from Penny Faich.  The background is dark with a bit of iridescent turquoise to match the colors in the jacket.  Penny and I have frequently been vendors at the same quilt shows.  When I see her I always buy at least a few of her buttons knowing they will add a wonderful finishing touch to some future project.  The jacket is fully lined with that lovely watered silk that I've used for the collar and cuffs.  The creative piecing is enhanced with couched threads to draw together the colors.


This week I started itching to start something new.  I spent a good part of two days pulling out fabrics from bins and making piles all over our new work space.  I hadn't done any fabric organization since we expanded so it was a major project.  I made many, many piles by color, texture, and weight trying to see what would call to me and what I had enough of for a project.  I finally decided on a gorgeous embroidered silk.  I tried to stay away from it because one of the predominant colors was jade again and I felt I should do something different.  But I've been wanting to work with this fabric ever since it came to me, so I decided to just go with it.


Here's what my initial idea is:

Even though the colors are similar, you can see that this one will be very different.  I'm excited to be back at it again.