the pitfalls

of having an extensive fabric stash and sewing skills.

 

this coat belongs to an employee in the taproom,

a thirty something ex-east coast district attorney turned small scale montana farmer.

 

when i saw the state of his barn coat

i instantly realized i had an old, holey, woolen blanket somewhere that would match almost perfectly, in texture and color both.

i asked, tentatively, "does your mother sew?"

"no, not really,"

dang it. i'd just committed myself, didn't i? maybe,

 

then i saw the tag. filson.

still, i said i'd think about it.

it's not like there aren't enough half-finished projects lying around.

the next day, i told him to leave his coat and i'd see what i could do with it,

no promises.

 

this coat was in rough shape, riddled with fence-snagging holes.

some could be fixed my machine, some had to be done by hand.

all in all, it didn't take that long and the challenge was interesting.

now, it looks nearly new, minus the manure and hay

(some of which is now in my sewing machine. ahem.).

 

the color matches far better than it shows here, almost unnoticeable.

still, i couldn't help but use a hint of red.

Done