Fall skirt, and happy Thanksgiving!

Do you have fabric stashed that you consider "too special" to use on just any project?  Is it sitting in your stash area just waiting for that perfect pattern or idea to come along?  Has it been there for years??  Me too!

Last year for my birthday, my Great Aunt Barbra (who just celebrated her 93rd birthday this year!) gave me a couple of large bags of fabrics she would never use.  Some were remnants, some whole pieces.  

There were 2 lovely Challis', one deep blue with scattered golden flowers (untouched, about 3 yards), and the brightest fall colored piece, also about 3 yards.  I loved the colors of the fall piece; flowers in yellows, golds, oranges and reds all on a black background with paisley here and there to accent.  I was thinking about a dress, but then my wonderful father gave me boots for my birthday (he called them my wicked witch boots, lol), and now I have something to wear skirts in fall with!  I recently found McCall's 6799, and the line drawing as well as the model picture showed such a lovely drape, I just had to try it, even with no previous reviews to guide me.  I plowed on, and am glad I did!

Mark my words, this will change my wardrobe. :)

I originally intended to make an entire Thanksgiving outfit, appliqueing the remnants to my own black long sleeved tee, but I just couldn't find time before the holiday arrived.  Still, I am thrilled with the skirt alone, and I think I will get a lot of wear out of it, hopefully for may autumns to come.  

I've always been a fan of maxi dresses and maxi skirts, and the flow of this one is amazing.  This is the first project I've ever cut on the bias, and it really makes a difference in how it fits, hangs, and moves.  I love it!  It was a little trickier to cut, and much trickier to hem, but not too bad really.  And well worth it!  I also love the yoke, which hides the tummy pooch....

The back has a slight tacky spot, but I don't think it is noticeable unless you know what to look for.

I hope no one finds it inappropriate, I was just having fun showing off my boots, and got kind of a old time teaser shot on accident.  I thought it was kind of cute.  Looks like I'm about to do the can-can!  lol.

I wore this all day Thanksgiving while cooking the turkey, potatoes, casseroles, etc, and it was comfortable and I felt lovely dressed up, but not too much.  

I hope those of you that celebrate it had a wonderful turkey day!  And that like me, you find the right pattern for those "special" fabrics in our stash!

Liz's little suit

I made these pants for Liz for her Girl Scout uniform (I wanted her uniform complete for the Veterans Day Parade), so I bought a few yards of this soft, faux suede (khaki is the official color...close enough!).
I had enough left over material to make this little jacket, as long as I made the facing from a different material.

 I let Liz pick a fabric from my stash for the facing. :)  Thanks dad, and my dads friend Jay for this lovely found fabric!

Here you can see the facing is not a full lining, just partial.

The back of the jacket has a set of ruffles on it, I made them in the same contrasting fabric as the facing.

The pants are such a great fit!  The darts in the front and back, and the partial elastic waistband make for a very nice fitting yet comfy pant for an active kid!