Hey, I won :-) - and 'down and dirty denim skirt' pics.

First of all, I am so excited! Jane, from 'The Small Fabric of my Life', chose my idea for her airport outfit for when she goes off on her holiday to Spain! She asked for suggestions as to what she should wear and will bring back a souvenir for the person who chose the outfit she liked best! That was me :-))))) How great is that? I'm still smiling ;-) Actually, I hadn't absorbed the bit about the winner getting a prize from her holiday, it wasn't until I read the post on her blog asking me to email her with my snail mail address that I went back and re-read it - thanks Jane, you made my day:-))

I love Jane's blue and silver striped skirt she has just bought, and I plan to make my own version this summer. I have the perfect fabric, an emerald and white stripe cotton - slightly narrower stripe than in Jane's skirt but it will still work. I also want to make myself a version of her American Apparel circle scarf, it looks so versatile and I love scarves! Watch this space.........well, blog :-)


Ok, I had my son take some photo's of me in my denim skirt today - I am putting them on here but I have to say that I don't like them! Does everyone feel they look terrible in their own photo's? I don't know how to stand, what to do with my hands, to smile or look serious...and I feel I look totally shapeless Lol!



when it came to it this was the best of a bad bunch - clearly I need to work on my photo's. I need to get a close up of me and not so much 'stuff' (it probably doesn't help that my lovely, helpful son is 6 feet tall so the angle isn't good! my story!!), but without cutting off my head or legs.............then again, maybe that could be an improvement! Ha ha ha!

Down and dirty denim!

Meh! About 2 months agoI started this Hot Patterns Metropolitan Superfly skirt in a lovely soft denim I had in my collection. I was really looking forward to wearing it and thought it would be a great piece to add to my wardrobe for wearing with boots for the winter and into the spring. I stopped working on it when I just had the hem to do! Why?

Well, for a start I was not too happy with the shape. The pattern picture looks much slimmer than the skirt is and I didn't think to check that beyond making sure it fitted round the waist and hips - and I had topstitched all the seams before I realised.

Also, I had a horrible 'bulge' at the bottom of my zip - seriously, I looked like a guy in drag! It was that bad! Now, after agonising over the instructions for the facing and fly (I knew I could do it my way but was determined to follow the pattern! Perverse, I know) I was so p****d off I almost threw it in the bin.

I had made the pockets and decided I wouldn't put them on because they weren't flattering on my substantial behind, and all in all the skirt was very plain and boring! What a waste of time!

However...today I decided to see if I could save it and at least wear it for a few months (I am on a weight loss programme so hope it will be too big in a few months anyway :-)). I spent an age unpicking my carefully sewn in zip - complete with bar tacks! - and taking off the facing. I found this silver funky zipper in my drawer and decided to make it a feature in the front, in an effort to make it a bit less 'plain'. After inspecting a friends denim skirt (that had cost her a fortune) I took note that it had just been zig-zagged at the hem and waist (no facing), so I whizzed round the waist on my overlocker that was threaded with cream thread from L's dress, and then decided to do the same with the hem.

When I had finished and was pressing it I decided to stitch one of the pockets on after all - at the hem!

At the end of the day I am glad I saved this skirt, I hate to have to give up on a project. I am hesitant to make another one of these - shame.