You Feel Just Like An Ice Cream Cone

Well, the weather has cooled down enough that i brought this skirt out again.  It started out life as a pair of J. Peterman Denim Wide Legged Pants.  Which were fine, but the fit was always a little short on the crotch height....which was related to the fact that they were just a little short overall.  So instead of fixing the crotch trouble, i just went all-out and turned them into a skirt (not too difficult, since the wide legs had plenty of fabric to play with).

I've always loved the line of a long, sightly tapered skirt. You can put a fancy blouse on top and feel just like a yummy ice cream cone -with sprinkles! But my legs need room to move.  A lot of room.

There's no way i'd wear a skirt as short as this slit is long (does that make sense?) in public.  But we were just headed out to Target for dental floss (hey! stop snickering! you know you do the same thing on Saturday nights. Admit it!) So i decided to give it a whirl. Okay, maybe i was just feeling too lazy to change.  One way or the other, i went out the door in this skirt.

No one fainted, or had to call the cops to quell a riot.  No one even gave me gams a second glance. It looks like my naturally prudish tendencies have been shown to be out of step with current cultural mores, once again.  Which i'm plenty happy about - i like a long denim skirt that's made for walking!

It's just occurred to me that, as much as i discuss sewing on this blog, i've yet to post any pictures of my workspace. We live in a fairly small mother-in-law apartment. Mr. E had been living here as a bachelor for a few years, and when we married i moved in.  Sadly, in all this time i have been unable to convince him to relinquish the 'office/second teeny bedroom' to me as a craft/sewing/dressing room.  (    boo-hoo   ) But since we never sit down to eat a meal together, the dining table and area are fair game (if you click on these pictures, you'll get a much better view, for those of you who're interested.  This particular blog design cuts off the sides of wide pics.):

You can spot where i take a lot of my outfit photos (i just love interacting with that chiminea - it seems to have it's own personality, like a fairytale cottage in the forest).  I put the ironing board or the chair in the doorway as a tripod and set the camera on that. This dining table is very sturdy, so it doesn't shake when the machine gets going.  It's big enough for me to lay and cut out most pattern pieces. But for pants or longer jackets i usually do that on the floor, or sometimes our queen-sized bed. It's a case by case deal. When the weather is nice, i open the back door all the way and put the ironing board across the doorway, so i can work and look out the back for any passing raccoons, deer, or turkeys.

Here you get a feel for how i am in relation to the kitchen.  Our landlord next door designed and built this house himself, and it shows all over - especially in all the windows and in this well laid out kitchen.  I listen to the radio or music when i'm sewing or cooking - you can spot the radio/CD player underneath the tiger lamp waaaay back in the corner.

My trusty Bernina machine, Ginghers, and rotary cutter with mat and ruler. I was a long time purchasing a rotary cutter .... i broke down and got the tools when i started on this quilt.  To my surprise, it turns out the rotary cutter has a million uses in garment sewing - cutting ruffles, ruches, straight facings, bias facings, material for ties, casings..... And the blades last a long time, as long as you only cut on the mat. Even if you sew strictly garments, you'll find you end up using them all the time.

When i'm not working on a project, the ironing board goes in my clothes closet, various 'accoutrements' go into my sewing storage cabinet in the kitchen, and the machine site on the floor next to the wall where no one will kick it.  It seems like it would be great to have a dedicated studio space for sewing, but i can't say since i've never had one myself. But it hasn't stopped me.  Just come up with a system that's easy to set up and then clean up when you want to use the space for another purpose. To me, the main thing is to do what you want - not having some fabulous space to do it in.

Blouse: own design
Skirt: re-purposed J. Peterman Wide-Legged Denim Pants
Shoes: Clark's Passion
Belt: vintage mystery