vintage coat

I finally got this coat finished last night- it took a lot longer than I planned. The outer blue fabric is a piece I found at the Salvos last winter, held together with some rusty pins, looking and smelling like it had seen better days. Its amazing how a little napisan can bring old fabric back to life!
I opened it out and it looked like just the right amount for a little coat, took it home and measured it...and would you believe it- it was exactly the amount I needed right down to the last centimeter! 115cmX140cm exactly! This was the second time this has happened to me. A month earlier I was at the Salvos hunting for fabric to make myself a coat, I found a piece I really liked (and the choice was very limited), took it home to measure and it was the exact measurement as well! Divine intervention? Absolutely. God really does know the desires of our heart, as small and insignificant as they may be. I had never made a coat before and didn't want to experiment on expensive suiting fabric. I think I paid about $12 for the two pieces- bargain!
The pattern is not an original vintage, its Ottobre "girls wool coat" 5/2006. And a quick word about matching up those checks- remind me never to do it again! I am sure it doubled the time spent meticulously pinning, cutting and matching checks.
Grace chose pink for the lining, which surprisingly turned out a pretty match. Somewhere I went wrong and the lining was too short, so I added a line of the pocket fabric to the hem, still too short, so I added a little lace and it was perfect. Very feminine. I also stitched the height on a little tag for future reference.
I will enter this in the Crafty Mamas May competition and see how it goes.