Winter Ginger

I didn't do the things I'd planned to do over the weekend, and I did do the things I'd planned not to do!  I did a whole lot of sewing, and a little bit of knitting.  I finished this:

Colette Ginger skirt

I couldn't get a good photo of it, but I'm really happy with this skirt.  It fills a gap in my wardrobe; although I do have another charcoal skirt, it sits lower on the waist.  This one I can wear with some of my handknit tops that are more cropped, so I'm very happy about that.

The fabric is a piece of gabardine I found in my stash box when I went looking for pieces to use for clutch lining.  I have no recollection of where or why I bought it, but I must have used it for something; I could see that pattern pieces had been cut out of it!  I was happy that the piece was large enough to cut this skirt.  It's a very deep charcoal grey and has fantastic drape and heft.  I'm not sure what the fiber content is, but it made it through the washer and dryer just fine, and I'm able to steam iron it on the wool setting with no ill effects, so I'm thinking it may be rayon.

I also did a little work on the Jasmine blouse I started about a week ago.  The fabric is a polyester chiffon; I'm finding it very difficult to work with, but I just love the print!  And it goes great with the new skirt!

Because this fabric is so slippery, it makes me tense (muscularly speaking) to work on it for very long, so I've been taking my time.  I've got the body and the collar assembled:

 
So I'd say I'm about half way done.  I still have to make the sleeves and attach them,  attach the collar and facing and do the hem.  I'm considering this one as my muslin, since the fabric was quite inexpensive, but if it turns out nicely, I'd love to do one in silk.  It's such a great design.

As for the knitting, Betty is progressing but is on hold while I wait for one more ball of yarn to come in the mail.  So in the meantime, I started something new.  But that will have to be tomorrow's post!