Sewing projects: finishing one and starting another

I just finished my wool skirt - first pattern ever attempted! I still have to sew backing onto the waistband but it's essentially done. I already see what I could have done differently, but I really like the end result

Next up, another vintage skirt pattern! Emmy Muller is creating a line which she's going to debut at the end of this month, and she asked me to do the headpieces (details to come!). I'm so honored and excited. Now I just need to find something to wear...

I want something vintage, but I haven't found the right piece just yet. Today, I got this fabric at SewLow Discount Fabrics in East Cambridge. If you live in the area, and you haven't been to this shop yet, go! I wanted to do a day version of this skirt too, but haven't found the fabric I have pictured in my mind. For now, I'm going to tackle this simple skirt - wish me luck!

New sewing project = new clothes!

As someone with a large waist to hip ratio, I love my shape even as I work on overall downsizing. The frustrating part of having an exaggerated "hourglass" figure is that clothes often gape at the waist if they fit in the hip, or are too tight in hip when they fit at the waist... tailoring is the answer, but it can be difficult for a novice seamstress to get good results when altering a waist by 2 sizes. With Fall around the corner and my dislike for most of my wardrobe, I decided to try making a few of my own pieces.

I bought some patterns on Etsy, and I'm starting with this one from VintageCorePatterns:

I'm planning on making the brown skirt (pictured fig 2) and was hoping to find a mustard colored blended wool but there wasn't a huge selection at the local fabric store (choice of store is surprisingly limited in the Boston area, especially when you don't have a car!). I ended up picking this material (if you can see it, I think it looks better in person), along with some new tools so I can do this right:

(with flash)

(ambient light, no flash)

I'm hoping to get started soon, and I've invited my friend Seana to work on a skirt of her own from this pattern. Wish me luck!