whew. one of my toughest projects has been completed. i used "simplicity 7130," a pattern for wool pleated kilts, a pattern from 1967!
and this super plush eggplant purple cotton velvet, leftover from a velvet bible cover i once made for an ex's mom years ago.
i JUST had enough velvet to lay out the pattern pieces!! (usually i have way too much extra, which ends up in the scrap pile for ages!) 
bunks was a huge fan of this velvet. here he is roaming on it while i'm trying to sketch out pleat lines. "scoot, bunks, scoot!"
here's a close up of the pleats. i used gold thread... meaning i had to sew neatly! 
unfortunately, the velvet was so thick that in making the pleats, more material was used up than anticipated and thus the skirt didn't really have enough material to fold completely across the front... so, i decided to make this a high-waisted kilt, so that at least i could fold it 3/4 of the way across the front (if i had kept it normal, it would hardly have overlapped in the front. EEK!)
the pattern called for leather belt tabs for the sides. 1) i doubted i could find gold leather belt tabs and 2) i wanted something less conspicuous. so, i bought tiny gold d-rings and designed 2 simple belts for the sides. here's the first. not bad, right?
here's a pic of both.
ages ago, i bought something from anthropologie that had the tags attached with this big gold safety pin (isn't that rather fancy for just securing the tags?). i'd actually been saving it to use either as a simple brooch or, once i picked up sewing as a hobby, to use on a kilt! perfect isn't it? 
i sewed down the pin way at the bottom of the skirt, as you can see in the next pic. the skirt didn't need the pin to keep it shut, so i just made it a permanent decoration piece. i initially wanted to make the skirt for a broadway outing with mom in nyc. however, we all know i'm slow, so i didn't finish it until after. i wore it to work this tuesday and colleagues joined in on the photoshoot. this is david. he is REALLY tall. and also in purple. em is the photographer. 
and around back hehehehhehehe! kristin is dying of laughter.
em zoomed in so you could see the pleats. david got tired of modeling and went back to work hehe.
ironing that many skinny pleats was SOOOOO frustrating, yet the result looks pretty neat. not my favorite style of skirts, but i like the unexpectedness of the velvet!
at night, he protests my departure when i go out, climbing onto my worktable (ie my dining table hehe) to rip my patterns and chew my tracing pencils! i was an idiot last weekend and forgot to tuck in my dining chair.
as punishment, we have reduced the size of his cage to a birdy cage... 
hehe. not really. dad and i decided to get him a "carrying cage" for car rides, and it turned out that a birdy cage was JUST the right size to fit his litterbox, leaving another corner for sitting/doing his business, since he tends to nest in his box while in the car. tweet tweet!
then, with a massive tub of crisco from costco, 
i made sweet potato pie with homemade crust! i slashed it to match the burn i got on my forearm from the oven!!! (jk, i was just testing if it was done... although i do have an oven burn on my arm!)
(no worries, i didn't put ALL of the crisco in just this one pie. hehehe)
next up, sarah is getting her 1st pair of my flannel pjs. red-scarfed penguins! 
aren't they so ridiculously cute?
i was a huge dope when cutting out mom's pjs, and forgot to point the pattern ALONG the cherry trees. so, unfortunately, mom looks like she's wrapped in barbed wire. oops. at least the tie is cute, isn't it?
and lastly, jimmy got his 1st full-length pair this year! (he was the recipient of the space jams pj shorts from 2 years ago.) his flannel says woof and ruff, and has dogs and bones on it (in honor of mia of course)! 
here he is, displaying the pants hehe. that's him underneath: 
finally, i brought home a pumpkin pie that i made from scratch, for the fam. i tried to make a scalloped crust, but it looks hideous!! 
alright, i'm off to finish up a dress that i'm making for my new year's outing in nyc!! wish me luck!
em's bird flew down for a ride on bunks' back, but he was not amused! where's your holiday spirit, bunks???
1 cup of pumpkin, down. 15 cups left. AHH!!! i wrapped it nicely, didn't i? em loves purple!
"now what am i supposed to do?" she asked. 
awwww, aren't they adorbs?
by chance, i had this bluish teal wool that my great aunt had given my mom ages ago! my great aunt apparently sewed lots of clothes too!
designing scallops is no small feat, as i had to make sure i only had full scallops, which would hopefully be centered in front, back and sides. no worries, glad i have a trusty math major under my belt! here's the pattern i created for the scallops: 
here are the scallops traced onto the yoke: 
and here i have sewn over the scallops! sewing curvy lines is no fun. 
the skirt pattern was for a gigantically tall person. 
i had to trim 4 inches off the bottom! 
i debuted the skirt at school today (just ignore my calves of steel)! 
eee! i'm quite a fan of this skirt!
here, wenlan pairs it with a sweater underneath and with bellbottom wool pants. soooo cute!
back when i lived in dc, i had bought this soft, thin grey linen from "g street fabrics" for the sake of the take manhattan tunic. bunks snuggled in it while i was cutting out the fabric. he's a little grey riding hood!
the garment was pretty easy to make. it has a cowl neck with a decorative drawstring, a kangaroo pocket, and raglan sleeves. i used my new bedazzler to add silver studs to the top corners of the kangaroo pocket! here's the final result, laid out on my bed, as in the photo in the book! not bad, huh?
and here's my outfit from last friday, when i debuted the tunic at school! 
the kids at school are writing an article about me and my clothes-making, and this was the outfit for the picture in their newspaper!
crust was made from scratch, of course!
