Vogue 8885, A Hidden Gem

Where was I?  Oh, yes, telling you that I was cold as heck this winter so I wanted some new warmer but stylish layers.  Mr. Lucky is a weekend volunteer ski patroller out in Western Maryland and in the evenings there's usually a gathering at a local restaurant.  Now, "apres ski Western Maryland" is not apres ski Aspen or Gstaad.  No chichi designer duds there on the

border with Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Yet I am at the age where going too casual just makes me look older and unkempt.  I took up a sewing challenge this winter to find some cardigan patterns to add to my sewing repertoire for just such evenings.  I already love Pamela's Patterns Draped Front Cardigan and McCalls 6444 and now here's the first of two.
Vogue 8885 in red merino wool from Fabric Mart

Vogue 8885, mid-February

The pattern version I made is hidden in the lower left corner and seems to be featured as perhaps a bed jacket.  Experience has shown me to look at the line drawings and I liked what I saw, especially that cute back peplum detail

The lapels on the merino wool tended to roll and look narrower than the pattern picture but that seemed like a relatively insignificant issue to me.

I especially like the shoulder princess seams in this pattern, front and back and this cute back peplum.

I sewed the first version from this ugly peachy fleshy color but wonderfully comfortable bamboo knit from Fabric Mart.  You can see the lapel width better on this one since the raw edges don't roll like they do on the merino.  I discovered that it does make a warm and cozy but lightweight bed jacket, perfect for reading in bed on winter nights.  And here's what I was reading in early February:

If the cover doesn't get your attention then a story about a dead woman who either committed suicide or was murdered by her husband might interest you.  It made for a good discussion and was a page turner but I'm not sure I would have read it if it hadn't been our book group selection.  I also wanted to enjoy more than I did Wally Lamb's latest, 

We Are Water  His writing is still beautiful and poignant but the pace was slow and the changing perspectives, which I usually enjoy, seemed contrived.  I'd give it a 3 out of 5.  Might have been my dark winter mood but it didn't have the strength of his previous books.  

Next post, another new cardigan in the sewing queue.