The Next Big Project~~I Am SO Jazzed!

No, I didn't finish the new journal skirt. Of course not--that will take years and years. I did do this on it this week, though:

No, the next Big Project is the cool thing I told you I found last week at the antique shop. It's a slik crazy-quilt hand-embroidered smoking jacket from the 1930s:

It was marked $65, and as soon as I slipped it on, I knew we were meant for each other. But: it needs lots and lots of work. So many places have patches worn away to nothing:

So I worked on the saleswoman. Now, I do NOT haggle with artists about their work, and I don't try to get people to give me a bargain for their services. But when someone's reselling something that they didn't make, and I think they're charging maybe a little more than is necessary, then it's all fair. If I can convince them to come down on their price--like if, gee, the thing has moth holes and needs many hours of handwork to be repaired--then, yeah. If there are two of something in a store and one of them needs to be mended, I'll ask if they'll mark it down. Sometimes they won't. Sometimes they'll take off $5, which isn't worth my time. But sometimes they'll make a good deal.

She dropped the jacket down to $45. Still over my $20 self-imposed "limit," but, hey: this is one-of-a-kind. There's no way I'd make one from scratch. It has most excellent vibes. The collar is lapels are velvet. The lining is in good shape except for a few small moth holes. And getting $20 off is pretty good, in my book.

I've gone through my huge big of silk scraps and garments and yardage and picked out some pieces that aren't too blindingly bright to blend in, and now I'm going to edit a podcast and start figuring out how to handstitch new patches for this baby. Once that's done? Then I get to use my old silk floss for the stitching and then BEADS! Woohoo~~