Once more shame and new beginnings...Day 1

Once more dear readers I must come to you hat in hand, full of shame and regret that I have not posted in an eon.  Please forgive me.  I find the holiday season particularly difficult for blogging because it is hard to blog about what I am crafting as they are gifts for others.  Alas, this is the truth but it reads as an excuse and so, having made my apologies I will soldier on.

I am starting a new project in an attempt to slice through my stock of fabric and the patterns I've purchased.  I've created a few things in the last month or so that I will be posting about later, but today I want to talk all things Anise.  Last year when I entered the contest for Colette's Laurel, I won a gift certificate for their pattern shop.  One of the patterns I was most eager to possess was the Anise jacket. Double breasted with a Peter Pan collar, it just oozes outerwear perfection.

I am eager for a mid weight jacket as the springs and falls here in Virginia vacillate between bitter cold and warm beautiful briskness.  I have chosen a dark cornflower blue and navy herringbone cotton flannel for my main jacket fabric.  I have paired it with a bright and vibrant blue, brown, and white silky floral for the lining.

When I purchased the pattern I also bought the sewing companion which professes that following the steps provided one could complete the jacket in eight days! This is a very exciting prospect for me, as spring is rumored to be approaching and I love a good jacket.  I believe that I could potentially complete this jacket in eight days, but I think that I would like to tack on some decorative element that could take a little longer than that.  Eight days for the actual jacket however seems and achievable goal.

Day 1: Gather your supplies

1. Purchase your fabric
2. Gather your tools
3. Preshrink your fabric

As is pictured above I have purchased my fabrics and have all the tools I need in my studio.  I am going to wash my fabric tonight and tomorrow I will move along to the steps for Day 2.

Do you have an Anise jacket hovering on your to do list? Want to join the mini sew-a-long? Do you have another idea of what we should sew for spring? Drop me a line and let me know.  I encourage you to jump in and prepare yourself for spring.