"Skirting" around the issue....

...the issue being that my yoga class has made me feel old and achy so I've been laying on the couch since I got home.

The gals over at crafterhours (crazy cool blog with loads of fun tutorials--check it out) are hosting Skirt Week 2010.  Rae, over at Made By Rae, recently hosted Spring Top Week.  If everyone sewed tops like I do she would have had to rename the contest "Spring Mess of Fabric That Fits Weird Week." Seriously--I have a tough time with shirts, and I'm not so hot at alterations, so I let that one pass me by.  I was uber-jealous of some of them.  There are some super-talented sewists out there.  Anyway, Skirt Week is a spin-off of that venture, and one I can totally get behind.  Because I can sew skirts that are halfway decent and that I can wear out of the house.  I entered two of the skirts I've made for myself over the past two years.

Here are a few shots of what I entered tonight (yes, my legs are really that pale...I think even paler...what can I say? My dad is of German and Scandinavian descent):

Body shot and a close-up--I love color and this skirt is giddy with it.

I was pretty pleased with this skirt when I made it a few years ago (contest rules stated ANY skirt you EVER made, so I didn't have to get too busy to take part).  It's the first skirt I ever made--down to the zipper, which was near perfect.  I think the fabric came from Wal-mart but I'm not sure.  I do remember it was on sale.  This skirt has such a nice flow to it--it doesn't inch up your legs when you walk and it has a nice swishy twirly effect.  I wear it to work with sandals, but it would be cute with flip flops too.  It's definitely my favorite summer skirt.

And here is my second entry:

Obviously I'm still working out my photo-editing issues...

This skirt is the Anna Maria Horner Study Hall Skirt.  My original idea was to buy square-dance themed fabric and cowboy boots to wear with it.  Then I realized that even I would feel a bit odd wearing that to work...and I don't really have anywhere Western-themed to go, so I thought something a bit more muted might serve me better.  The fabric is just plain cotton that I ordered online from Fabric.com.  The box pleats gave me some heartburn whilst trying to figure them out, but it came out just dandy.  It was my very first experience with installing an invisible zipper.  Back in the fall I wore this with a black sweater and some knee-high boots, and it looked fierce.  But it's hot and humid here, so I went with flats and a basic tee.

I have two more skirts I made for my sister that I'd like to enter, but I have to figure out how to bribe her to let me take photos of her in them.

So basically what I've accomplished this evening is posting some pictures in the contest photo pool and writing about it here.  Oh, and I watched NCIS.  What is Tuesday evening without (very) Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo?