And now for something completely different.

The skirt:

To wit, a navy blue twill skirt that is almost precisely the same as all the other twill skirts I've made in the past couple of years.  I almost didn't show these photos, they are so boring.

Except, this one was plagued with problems from the get-go.  First, is that fabric.com seriously stiffed me on the yardage.  I ordered a yard and a half and received a scant yard.  A fact I only discovered when I had cut out the main parts of the skirt and was getting ready to cut the pockets and waistband.  I was not.happy.  I called fabric.com and they sent me the extra half yard right away, but I had lost a lot of momentum on the project by the time it arrived.  

The second problem is that I decided to line this skirt with rayon bemberg from the stash, and I made a tragic cutting error in the back pieces on both the lining and the main fabric that shaved a large triangle off the corner of one side.  I was tired and not in a great frame of mind when I started cutting and realizing the yardage was too short really messed with me and I got sloppy.  I almost cried at that point, as it looked like I'd have to either junk the whole project or order more fabric, which I did not want to do.

I decided to persevere, however, and see if I could salvage it.  I made my seam allowances very small (the original ones are huge because I've been grading this pattern down over the past few years) and to eliminate one set of back darts.  I made it up with some trepidation, and then realized that I needed to put the second set of back darts in after all so I had to unpick a bit part of the waist band and redo it.

I also couldn't get the skirt length where I wanted it.  First it was too long, and now I think it is probably 1/2" shorter than is ideal, but I just can't stand to fiddle with this skirt any more.  It doesn't fit as well as I'd like and tends to shift around on my body a lot, so I'm sort of annoyed about it.  I guess it looks okay (better from the front than the back), but I didn't even keep this outfit on for the day when I took these photos.  I ended up changing into a dress instead.

I'm just not really into my separates right now, mostly because I can't stand the feedback from my clothing around my waist, especially in the heat, so I guess it is okay.  I also realized that I need to put darts back into my beloved feedsack blouse so it looks less like an oversize box on me.  (I had taken them out a few summers ago when my weight was ballooning and my middle was expanding and contracting constantly).  I still really like the blouse, and I actually prefer to wear it untucked with the skirt, but until I get the darts back into it, it just looks frumpy and big (believe me, it looks worse in person than in the photo):

I mean, I'll probably wear it at some point this summer, but I'm realizing I need to focus on dresses instead of separates.  I'm also not eager to make stuff that may or may not fit in a few months, as I'm still trying to lose weight.  My dresses are more forgiving in that way.  I'm reevaluating my fall sewing plans as a result.

Just the facts:

Midnight twill skirt: Robert Kaufman Hampton Twill in midnight, Anne Adams 9481 (heavy mods), zip, dress slide, snap, embroidered folk ribbon for hem tape, rayon bemberg lining, petersham interfacing for waistband

Feedsack blouse: me-made about 4 years ago

earrings: etsy

Shoes: chaste ballet by hush puppies, via ebay