I like the word 'innocuous'

Sorry I sounded so emo the last post. I really hate feeling sorry for myself especially since I think I have so much to be happy about, but it happens, I guess.

At any rate, I realized Nicholas was right, I totally do have a hobby. So I channeled my anxiety into organizing my fabric. I went through each piece, cut a 2" by 2" square, wrote the yardage amount on the swatch in permanent marker, and clipped each piece to a book ring. Now I know exactly how much of what fabric I own. It turns out that even though I own a lot of fabric (a lot) I have less than a yard of most of them, which would be fine if I didn't like making clothes.

But a couple of weeks ago I bought this pattern so I could start making my wardrobe look more like Emma Pillsbury's (if you're not watching Glee, you should be.)



I wanted to make view C, which is the pink one in the upper left hand corner.

Em-spiration (aargh, Anthony's rubbing off on me!)

At first glance, it seems innocuous enough. Cute pink skirt, right? It has pockets and the hem is relatively straight. It maybe a little short though.

And from the back, it's still okay. My very first lapped zipper doesn't look completely horrible. I actually ironed the whole thing. But then I put it on.

Yeah, kinda short.
And note the pulling around the hips (Also, first and last time I post a full length picture of myself. I wonder if I look this disproportionate in real life?)

And that's my ass (also the first and last time I show my underwear.) It won't zip!

See, I'm a ready-to-wear size 14, which means I can walk into most department stores, pick up a 14, and just wear it as is. So I figured in pattern land, I'd just go up to a 16 since I thought it looked fitted on the model and I'd be fine. Too bad pattern land is graded differently. Always go by the finished measurements provided on the pattern envelope. According to the finished measurements, I'd actually be a size 20.

The good news is, this skirt only took up a yard of fabric, it was on sale for $2.00 a yard, and I got 2 yards, so maybe I can squeeze a bigger one out of the leftovers.

But I was still bored and restless, so instead of packing so I can move this weekend, I decided to make a present for my best friend, Bailey!

And before you ask, no, she's not 5. She's 17, and she likes dinosaurs.

I got the pattern for three dinosaurs (T-Rex, triceratops, and stegosaurus) from a thrift store for 2 bucks.
I had both fabrics in my stash, one was leftover from some hoodie I made, and the blue actually has dinosaurs printed on it in red, green, and yellow. The ribbon was from some gift wrap.

Dino love! And this is what my hair looks like when I try to look like Thandie Newton and skip washing it for a week. But the good news is, I haven't gotten a relaxer yet! Still debating going natural; I'm definitely leaning more and more towards it every day, but I'm not sure how I feel about cutting it all off. I don't care if it's just dead protein, it's warm and mine.

At least I now feel accomplished in addition to anxious. I'm off to pack now!