Project 20: Colette Beignet skirt

Phew, it's been a fun weekend!  I'm definitely not ready to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm feeling good about this week, y'all.  Let's put that positive energy out there, okay?

I didn't plan on making the Beignet next, but yesterday was Quilters Take Manhattan in New York (duh) and I wanted something new to wear.  Something that would make my $6 Target tank much more fashionable.  I know that sounds impossible, because how could that become even better?, but regardless, I love a challenge.  The Beignet has been on my to-do list forever but I've always been really nervous about it.  I'm so short-waisted, and definitely not thin, that I thought it would look dumpy.  I've seen some versions that make me question the maker's cognitive skills, and I didn't want that.

Okay, okay, I'll get into the review, so you can find out what I really thought!

Action shot!

Pattern Description

High-waisted paneled skirt with twelve front buttons as the closure

Pattern Sizing

0-18.  This is a 10, but I think I could've cut an 8 in the waist and graded for the hips.

Did it look like the drawing on the envelope when you were done with it?

Yep!

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Surprisingly, yes.  For an intermediate pattern, I was thrilled that it went so quickly.  I suppose it was rated that for the lining and buttons, but neither of those are new to me, so it was easier than I expected.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Hmm...I love the lining.  It looks so great inside.  Besides that, I felt pretty even-keel toward everything.  Nothing was frustrating, but I also didn't make stupid mistakes because I wasn't paying attention, which happens when things are too easy.

Another action shot!  This is one of my favorite Denyse Schmidt quilts.

Fabric used

The shell is wool corduroy from Denver Fabrics.  I bought it last fall when I planned on making a lot of skirts.  I love it as a skirt, but it was a beast to work with: it frayed, shed, and linted (is that a verb?) everywhere.  What a mess.  The lining is just poly lining from JoAnn's-nothing special there.

Pattern alterations or design changes made

I left off the belt loops and the belt.  This comes up way too high for me to tuck anything in, so a belt was unnecessary.

Would you sew it again?

I'm not sure!  Maybe something fun in twill for the summer would be cute, and I did like the cut, but the waist is just so high!

Conclusion

I like it!  I'm looking forward to wearing it with tights when it gets a bit chillier.

We had a great time in New York Saturday, and it made me forget all about my sewing machine pissing me off on Friday night.  I met Denyse Schmidt and just about died--I'm sure I made a fool of myself.  Liesl Gibson sat behind us and I regret not saying hi, but I feel bad approaching these "celebrities" (to us), you know?  Also, my blood sugar had bottomed out and all I wanted was some cookies before I flipped a table.

I'm going to have my full recap of the event on Squaring Up tomorrow morning, if you're interested!  Next month, we're venturing to Palmyra, Virginia, for a fall festival and By Hand magazine launch party (and pig roast!  Mmm).  After that, who knows!

How was your weekend?  What'd you sew?? 

Some Film Photos

Yes, I still use film.  It is outdated, you're right, but I like the patience it instills: I have to trust myself that the picture came out, because I'm not going to see it for a while (almost a year, in some cases).  Plus, with expired film, you get a dreamy, vintage feel, which is something I can get behind.  Give me detail when it comes to tutorials or textbooks; otherwise, I want art.

Here are some pictures I recently got back from the developer.  All were taken with expired slide film in New York.  (I got back some from the South and from here in DC, but Blogger can only handle so much.)  Unfortunately, my slide scanner gives everything a slightly reddish tint, so in order to get it back to the original I had to retouch with my computer (using Mac Preview!  Hardly a photo finishing software).  Sorry--this is a picture-heavy post--just a heads up!

New York City

I'm trying to come up with a way to start this post--how do you say something about New York that hasn't already been said?!--but because I'm all out of creativity, I'll say this: everything I know about New York City, I learned as a (very young, impressionable) teenager, watching Sex and the City as if it was my televised church.  Now that I'm older, I realize people, especially in today's mindset, don't really live like that.  Or, at least, the average person doesn't.  So on that level, New York was a letdown.

On every other level, though, it was fantastic.

Wednesday's Thoughts

I like this blog much more when it's just rambling.  Who has time for discussions anymore?  Not this girl, that's for sure.

• Due to a very old Fresh Air interview with Jay-Z on the Metro this morning (I was in a non-music mood) and reading Nat the Fat Rat's archives in my downtime, I have this newfound urge to move to New York.  I've never even been there!  And from what I hear, it's cold, smelly, dirty, and filled with crazies.  But I want to go!
• My boyfriend just messaged me to say he can't wait until Dogfish Head 120 Minute comes out this/next week, and it will be $30 for a four-pack.  This is my world.
• After seeing an incredibly large, naked, pregnant stomach, I've officially closed up shop in my uterus.  That just simply isn't going to be my thing.
• Still no closer to discovering who I am.  How must it feel to just know, in your bones, that you're meant to be a mother, or a lawyer, or a doctor, or a writer?  Because I don't have that feeling, and I'd love to know where I'm going.
• Why don't people pick up their feet when they walk?  Stop shuffling around.  (Said Betsy.)
• It's only Wednesday?  Really?



Source

Oh yeah.  And all I can think about is Christmas.