Catching up, pottering about and my H&M skirt revamped

Post Halloween/Victorian Costume is a very quiet affair... I hardly know what to do with myself (she says smiling broadly!)  The beginning of the week, I looked at the boyf in mild panic asking "What shall I do next?" and the look on his poor face said it all!  And I have plenty for me to do (there's a certain naked Dolly looking at me very hopefully), it's just that the next big project may just have to wait a while so that we can enjoy the simple things, like our dining room being an actual dining room...  So I have promised not to take it over for just a while, projects will be short and sweet or "handsewn?" ;o)

Its proving rather useful: on Monday we made Godfrey (still no replacement for Gareth the Cow, but the 10yr old is not willing to part with him just yet); Tuesday... no, not so productive, Tuesday; yesterday I made a damn fine fire and worked on some Christmas related design work for work (I am so not yet in the mood for Christmas, but thankfully in my world, Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass Band are a year round treat!); and today, with an afternoon at home, I have finally finished a skirt revamp that I have been contemplating for ages now, have costed up the Victorian Costume, ordered my calendar for next year (instead of waiting till the end of December and panicking), sorted out the "stuff" wardrobe (the hoover attachments can finally stop hitting me on the head as I put my sewing machine back in; its in there, behind the ironing board somewhere) and am back to trying to find a little more Christmas spirit...

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My Favourite Skirt, Revamped

Its only cotton, from H&M, but it's lined, it suits me and it has huge sentimental value as it's the first skirt I bought after the boyf convinced me that I had legs worth baring!  It got torn ages ago and the repair did not look good so it languished in the cupboard until tonight. Following on from the LBD, I am having a bit of a love affair with broad two-tone hems and this afternoon I pulled out more of the leftover taffeta and recovered the bottom 10" of the skirt.  There wasn't quite enough taffeta to do a complete lap of the hem so I added a 4" wide decorative insert with a ribbon trim.  I love it!  It's pretty and a little dressy and I can wear my favourite skirt again, yay!

It's just annoying that black never photographs clearly...

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The Victorian Costume Costings

When I started looking for inspiration for the Victorian Costume I came across a blog where a lady had spent $3500 on a similar outfit!  I immediately decided that my budget would be 1/10th of that, in pounds, and I am very pleased to say that my final spend was £269.71 - for everything, corset, chemise, both skirt parts and the jacket.  Add in the bloomers and the petticoat and I would still have £30 to spare.  You can see the breakdown here.