In which I try to sew a skirt the day before I leave on vacation...

Yesterday, actually, the night before yesterday...oh my I don't know when. I'll start from the beginning. What better way to do that, then to start from right now & work backwards.

Today is Saturday. I leave early in the morning on Sunday, which means I pretend I leave tonight so that I am ready to walk out the door in the morning and don't have to pack in the wee hours. I am going on a wonderful trip to the east coast, which in my mind is like entering a different world. I am very Alaskan. I can wear floor length black to the symphony and know that there might be a man next to me in Carharts. And I roll with it. That man might even be my husband (heaven forbid I let him escort me in such an outfit, but I can't always control the man.) But I have this sense that the East Coast is not so forgiving. For 1/5th of my trip I will be staying at a lovely place with a wee bit of a dress code. The dress code did not scare me too much until I read what was NOT allowed. All of my wardrobe. No denim, shorts, casual sandals, athletic clothes...you get the picture. Now, this is not a bad thing. This is a chance for me to elevate my wardrobe. It needs to be elevated--I lost 25lbs and look like a waif in most of my clothes. (mind you, this is the ONLY time I look waif-like.) But in my initial panic I decided I needed new clothes BEFORE I left so I would be ready. This sudden energetic idea got me out of bed at 6:30 am on Thursday.

3 days and counting.

I went online to my favorite clothing store--Anthropologie. I usually just try to knock off their knitted sweaters, but this time I needed to research style & skirts. I found this lovely skirt and decided I needed something like it.

I happen to have lots of eyelet cotton in my fabric stash from an eyelet phase I went through some time ago. I think it was intended as curtains for yet another crappy apartment.
Psychoanalysis Moment: This is why my house that I love has no curtains. Every crappy apartment we lived in I sewed new curtains and now putting up curtains makes me feel like I don't like where I live. Go Figure.

I whip out the fabric, find some lovely white silk to line it with. Yes, also in my stash. Maybe I should sew more? Looked at my paltry collection of patterns. Decided, yes, I need a pattern. No I do not own one that will work. Hemline? No idea. Make emergency call to friends who are required to be ready at a moment's notice to analyze, opionionate and decide on any wardrobe glitch a friend might have. I then race off to town. Meet with friends & try on every potential piece of my traveling wardrobe and pick the ideal hem length. Buy a zipper & pattern. Return home. Get distracted until late at night after the kids are in bed.

Now, just because I don't sew many clothes now, doesn't mean I haven't sewn a lot of clothes in the past. The problem arises in that I was sewing clothes for the stage and the nearest audience member is rarely closer than 20 feet or so & there was a LOT of fudging in my sewing. Dress making is VERY different.

I lay out the fabric, the pattern, the skirt to match length...and realize a problem. The pattern I picked has a curved hem. Eyelet is straight with a finished edge. The two do not mesh. At all.
I stare at it for a long time. I know what I would do if it was a costume, but it isn't & I don't want any funkiness. I chose the "call a friend" lifeline. While well meaning & probably good advice if I had an iota of sense in me. It didn't really help. Clearly, I was going to have to call in the big guns.

I called my mom.

"Please, mom, could you come out & show me how to sew this eyelet skirt?"

2 days & counting...

SAVED!! She not only sewed the skirt & the lining. She modified 2 patterns, combined them, adjusted things not even present on the pattern, fitted it perfectly & finished in less than a day!!

I now have a new skirt. Almost, just like the one in Anthropologie. For the price of a zipper, pattern & forever indebtedness to my mother.

1 day & counting...

On the left is the Anthro skirt. Below right is my new skirt.
Far below is a closeup of the eyelet cotton of the skirt. Please forgive the unpressed state of the skirt. I unpacked it to take the picture. I realize now there are a few more pleats in the Anthro skirt making it a bit more full, but I don't need fullness around my body, so I like mine how it is.



And yes, since you asked, that is a bear in the background. He is a foam archery target that we use to terrorize our visitors.