Skirting the Issue

It never fails. Whenever exams season hits, I'm liable to start hunting for all sundry activities to occupy my time. I've probably cooked more consistently than I have in the past month. All of a sudden all those crafting projects I was too uninspired to tackle suddenly seem very bright and shiny and, most importantly, manageable. My exercise routine is never so good as when it is exams season.

Out on a walk, one of many walks, many long, long walks. No kidding, New England foliage is a sight to behold.

Of course, I wish I could say that my procrastination energy extended to cleaning up the apartment. No such luck. I think cleaning is something that will never come naturally to me, though on very special occasions I find it the most therapeutic activity known to mankind. Very sporadic, very special occasions. So despite my 11PM efforts to scrub the kitchen floor Friday night, the place is still a mess. *Carefully averts eye from small dust bunny under couch. I'll deal with it when it grows up some more.*

Ah, so here's a skirt I've been procrastinating blogging about [how ironic]. And of course, now that it's getting to be too cold to wear it, blog, meet Skirt #7, a.k.a. Self-Drafted Pattern #6. I don't seem to have much of a track record with patterns, do I? Anyways. This was my first attempt at a full-on refashion, in that I've never actually taken a piece of clothing and reworked it into something else. Old linens, yes, clothing, haven't been that adventurous yet. But inspired by a 2 month stint over at the fantabulous Wardrobe Refashion and all the genius that goes on there [and I should figure out how to do those button things but I'm too lazy. Don't worry. I plan to re-pledge so maybe next time around I'll figure it out], I finally picked up some skirts at the thrift shop with the intent of reworking them to my own aims.

Before:


As you can see, it moderately fit at the waist but was super long. I loved the weight and feel and color of the denim, though. I had originally intended to carbon copy ... I mean highly flatter through sheer mimicry ... this great skirt I saw on the Nordstrom's clearance rack back when I was still in CA [ah, but it was one size too big and twice as expensive as I would've liked]. Except my brain cannot handle simple arithmetic, apparently, so I had to swap out my original pleats for this design instead.

I do love the fabric-covered buttons though [my first time with them! And man, why haven't I discovered these already???], and the top-stitched waistband. I love being able to add in these details, just because. It makes handmade go from everyday to something special [well handmade is special as it is, but uber special]. The back has the pleats as well, which makes for a kindof interesting silhouette but I kindof have no butt to speak of, so luckily that one turned out OK. Now if it were the hips on the other hand ... but it's not.

And I have to say that unlike some of my prior posted skirt attempts, I am rather fond of this skirt. So hurray for lucky number 7.

And! My apologies for the awkward mirror shot but I possess exactly one mirror in this apartment, so expect to become well-acquainted with my shower rod + curtain in the coming months. I must say, this also makes for rather interesting outfits sometimes, as I often cannot be bothered to climb onto the toilet seat to figure out if what I'm wearing actually matches the fuzzy "inspiration" image in my head. And it goes without saying that the personal grooming is as nonexistant as it ever was.