I made one more quilted vest. You know, for days when other quilted vests just aren’t enough. It’s my last one for a while, though because really, how many does one need? (You can see the other ones here, here, and here).

This one has a shawl collar, which I made by extending the collar part of the pattern by double, cutting a slice down the center of the back neck, and adding a triangle of fabric calibrated to allow the collar to lay flat when folded down. See how I make my slap-dash methods seem methodical?This method is similar how they did it in the 18th c. The other 18th c. feature is swinging that shoulder seam to the back, which I guess is my signature move these days.

I used matching bias tape for the shoulder, side, and center back seams so the polka dot bias on the edges could really shine.I made it cross front like my others, but this ends in a point with a loop and a button closure. It can be worn folded down just at the neck, or all the way down to the button closure. I just eyeballed it and tried it on as I was making it to get the cut right.The vest is hand quilted with a moody red sashiko thread in a harlequin pattern. The chartreuse side is a fabric I got from Stonemountain  & Daughter Fabrics a while back, and the black batik fabric is from Rwanda. The polka dot batik bias binding, I got so long ago that I can’t remember where it’s from.For stuffing, I used a double layer of fluffy poly batting I had laying around. I have mixed feelings about this. My other vests have cotton batting and they breath much better. Hooray for stashbusting, but since it’s hand quilted this mofo is never getting better batting. Maybe I’ll start spending time in the Arctic Circle where the vest will never be too warm.To compensate, I reduce the thermostat on days when I wear it. Is this fair to the rest of the fam? Not sure, but no one has complained, so I think they haven’t noticed.

I feel like white girls can’t buzz their heads without people asking a lot of questions. So, let me help you: I am depressed. I am in pain from my autoimmune thing. My meds are only halfway fixing things, while causing skin problems, weight gain, and hair loss. I needed to get rid of the hair I had to start focusing more on skin care since my old routine no longer works. It is a little sad that I can’t do both hair and skin, but I can’t, so here we are. But also, I wanted to do it. It’s a boss hair style.

My third child buzzed my head and took most of these photos.