Nancy K Sews

My husband is an inveterate garage sale shopper. Now that spring is here he has multiple opportunities. When the kids were growing up they were his partners in crime, avidly make the rounds with him. My dd the bibliophile's favorite score was at the estate sale of a college professor. Lots of books on her list. This is what he brought me home Saturday.
He paid $10 for this when the other one I have cost me $30 at Costco. I have seen them for more money. I'll put this next to my cutting table. I envision more organization and cleaner counter tops.
That's my jacket on Zelda. It would be finished by now, except that I made a mistake and had to rip the shoulders and upper sleeves out. I cut this out last fall and didn't look carefully at the pattern which was still pinned to the pieces, when I pulled it out. I had cut 1" sas on the shoulders. I sewed 3/8". I really didn't realize this until I tried to attach the collar. My bad. I even ignored the clips that I always make at the seam allowances because I do like to use different width seam allowances. I should be able to finish this today or tomorrow.
Here's another picture.
All I have left are sewing on the combined facing hem unit and topstitching for the hems.

Ann of Gorgeous Things had a post on poor pattern instructions that really hit a sore spot with a lot of readers, myself among them. I am making Hot Patterns Riviera Boulevard cardigan jacket which has some issues. Yes, the instructions are less than stellar, but the only thing that was really unclear were the pockets. I finally figured them out, but not without some ripping. The instructions have you sew one short side and the long side and then turn. Too bulky, and I am using a relatively light weight double knit, not the thick, stable knit the pattern calls for. I re cut and sewed the short edge, turned it and serged the long open side. It is hidden in the pocket layers anyway. But, the biggest issue I have is the lack of match points. We all complain at one time or other about Burda instructions, but what makes Burda easy to use are the numbers that easily tell you what goes where. That is part of the problem I had with the pockets: not enough match points. The other problem I have had so far seems to be a drafting error. There are hem facings that attach to the front facings and then are sewn to the jacket. They aren't large enough and again I had to re cut larger side front facings. They were a good 2" too short, so I really don't think this is my error. The fit of the jacket however is good and I didn't actually have to make an fba. The fit is loose, but the bust fits nicely and doesn't hike up in front which generally happens without an fba. I hope to have this finished by the end of the weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous, so I'll be working in the garden.