New Skirt!

I took the plunge and made myself a skirt!  And I LOVE it.  Probably mostly due to the fabric.  It was SO scary cutting into it, but I'm really glad it is finally being put to good use!  I also loved that even though I made a "garment," everything was cut with my rotary cutter.  Works for me!
Isn't it gorgeous?  The fabric is African Spirit by Elizabeth's Studio and I was super lucky to have won it.

I even made my own pattern!  I used THIS tutorial.  The only thing I would change is to not be quite so liberal in my measurements.  I was so afraid it would be too small, but it was definitely not too small.  I think next time I will take in the waist and not make it flare out QUITE so much (I went with slightly more than the maximum recommended - guess she really does know what she's talking about).

The skirt itself was made using THIS tutorial.  I love the ruffles. :)

I even sewed in my very first invisible zipper!  I'm not convinced I did it completely right, but it works pretty well, so I'm not complaining!
Since I was working with half yard cuts, I didn't have enough blue to go all the way around.  No worries, I just happened to have the flower print in three colorways.

I've already worn the skirt twice and I look forward to making another one someday!

This was my February goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes, so I am linking up here:



Now I think I might go get a head start on my March goal. ;)

A Lovely Year of Finishes February Goal

My goodness!  It seems like I have been posting a lot lately.  I guess that's what happens when I make lots of little things instead of one big huge thing.

I was too late to jump on the Lovely Year of Finishes bandwagon last month, but I figured I might as well join in this month.  I have a few goals for February, but of course since I had to narrow it down to just one for this link-up, I am picking the one that needs an extra boost of motivation!

Way back in 2011 I won this African Spirit fabric from Sew We Quilt.  At first glance, the Hubby told me I should make a skirt out of it.  I've been planning to ever since.  Maybe a knee length skirt using the blue or orange florals?  Or possibly the Tiki Masks if I am feeling adventurous?

Well, there you have it.  I am committed.  Among my other current projects (which feels a little strange to me - I'm not one to have several WIPs going at the same time), I am going to make myself a skirt.  Something that is definitely out of my comfort zone.  Wish me luck!

Check out what everyone else is working on this month here:

WIP: Growth Charts and Some Fabric Selecting

I finished quilting my growth charts!  I want the applique to stand out from the quilting, so I am going to add the letters and numbers last.  This is what I've got so far (times two):

Here are the backs.  I just pieced together some random leftover fabric.  Even though probably no one will ever see the backs.  :D

I quilted them with straight lines one inch apart.  I still don't have a walking foot, so I've resigned to always having wrinkles and pulls from using my regular foot to do straight line quilting.  I tell myself that it looks cool and that I did it that way on purpose - I was vigilant about making sure I changed directions with each line.  Does anyone know where to find a walking foot that fits a Bernina Activa that isn't FREAKING EXPENSIVE?!?!

We've been watching a lot of football lately, so I decided to sew the binding on by hand during games.  I've got the first one finished, now onto the second one!

I have all the applique pieces fused and cut.  The numbers will run along the skinny side, marking each foot.

And the names will run along the fat side.  I haven't decided yet if I am going to do something about the holes that are supposed to be in the Os and As and such.

ALSO.  It's almost time to get started on the stocking advent calendar I am planning to make.  I got out the fabric today and sorted it, just for fun:

I also pulled out this fabric.  I want to make some kind of skirt out of it, but I don't really know how to go about it.  Any suggestions?

I decided to go with this design for my Storm at Sea quilt.  Except some of the white spaces will be more grayish, cuz I don't have enough white.  And I'm going to add orange. :)   I'm SUPER excited to get going on this one!

And there you have it!  I actually have more than one work in progress today - even though I generally tend to only work on one project at a time.

Linking up!