In the dark for awhile now

 I've been knitting. A lot. I have 3 projects started and not one finished. I knit like a snail. If a snail had hands. Or arms. And knew how to knit. In other words....I knit slowly. All that snail knitting makes me anxious for something finished and I knew that I needed to get up off the couch and sew something but I just couldn't find the energy to do it. No sewing mojo.

 On black friday I finally picked up Gertie's book and read it cover to cover. It made me want to go get lots of tattoos. And cut my bangs super short and be as gorgeous and cool as Gertie. And it made me want to go hand sew an entire garment. No, not really (to the sewing not to the ripping off of Gertie's style). What I really wanted to do was go make something and make it well. Enter New Look 6107

 

 I love houndstooth. So awesome. It can be kind of professional and then totally punk. I haven't been able to find fabric that has a huge houndstooth print on it so I settled for a mini one. It looks more business than party which is pretty impractical for my life. Just like these shoes. Gorgeous but so stupid. But seriously,  sometimes I just want to feel like I'm some sexy business lady that gets to get all dressed up every morning and not a stay at home, homeschooling mom who sometimes doesn't take her pajamas off...is that so bad?
 
    Yes, I do realize that this combination of black and white and red kind of makes me look like a vampire. I'm pale. Oh well.

 

 I cut a straight size 12 with no alterations. The fit is fine but I think I need to start doing a slight sway back adjustment because I always have a rumple of fabric on top of my tush and maybe a full tummy adjustment. I'm not sure if that's the proper name for it but I do have a little bit (ok, a LOT) of baby belly left over from my 4 kids and the fabric stretches weird across that area. Which draws attention to it and that is the LAST area I want people to notice. Because of the style of skirt, my ass also looks massive. Not in these pictures because I chose flattering pics where I'm kind of sucking everything in and standing just so. But really, in person, it looks quite um...large. Note to self...wear spanks with this skirt.
 

 

 I lined the whole skirt in lipstick red lining fabric. The waist facing is hand stitched and I also slipstitched the hem with this rayon hemtape I bought from Sunni recently. I installed a lap zipper using one of my vintage zippers. I've done a lapped zipper a couple of times but I think this is my best one yet. For the first time I actually understood why I was doing the steps instead of blindly following them and I think that allowed me to get it just right. And look at all that matched up houndstooth! Go me! My only critisism is this particular view did not have a kick pleat and I think it could have used one. It's hard to take long strides in this thing. Which makes me look kind of derp. 

 

 

Look how well it all matched up! Go me!

Blurry, but look a lapped zipper and matched up pattern!

  In conclusion, aside from the monster ass issue, I love this skirt. It looks and feels like something more expensive than what it is. After this skirt I finished another project and I'm already half way finished with a third. Yay for sewing mojo!