Sew Much Fun!

I finished my skirt this Sat. for the "Sew? I Knit!" sew-along, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out! This is a bad self portrait, but I had to hurry and take it on my way out the door. (Please ignore all the junk in the background.) It took me about 4 hours in total, so not too bad.

Project Specs
Pattern: Simplicity 5503, size 14 so it would sit lower on my waist.
Materials: Light Medium Weight Denim, Cotton Thread, 7" zipper (lapped zipper), hook & eye
Notes: I used the blind hem function on my machine for the first time and am so excited to have this feature! I didn't want an obvious hem line on it, plus I didn't have a lot of extra to turn up since I have a super high waist and wanted it to be below my knees still. The blind hem function was easy to use and worked well. I just hope it will be strong enough for the heaviness of the fabric. I don't think it would hold up in washing very well. I washed the fabric before cutting to compensate for shrinkage, but since I will probably only wear this once a month, unless I spill something I don't think I'll need to wash it very much at all. The zipper was a little tricky to install, and I wish I would have done an invisible zipper, but I got it in and it looks good, all on the first try.
I like the fit of the skirt and might try it again in a lighter weight cotton for summer. It's full but not too full.

They were having a fabric sale at my Wal-Mart this Sat. so I added to the stash. There are a couple more skirts in my future now, a brown corduroy and some great large prints. I'm thinking a simple a-line or pencil skirt with the corduroy and pleats with the prints.

Also, I got into the Block-Swap and so I'll be working on that this month, and I have a goal to finish quilting "Charm School". After looking through the quilt book, I've been playing around sketching what designs I want to do for the top. I think it'd be fun to use a colored thread on the back and invisible thread on the top. I'm going to play around and see what works best.