Skirting the Issue

My first garment sewing class is over!  I learned quite a bit.

Cutting and laying out the delicate tissue-paper pattern pieces:

Installing my very first zipper:

Darts!

It was definitely an imperfect job, with uneven stitching, but I'm very pleased that it came together into an actual skirt.  It should've fit snugly at the waist like this:

But although the proportions were technically correct, the skirt was several inches too big.  I measured  I measured myself carefully and had Todd do the measurements to make sure I was accurate.  I just don't know where I went wrong.

It's all right, though, since it was just a practice skirt.  I will just the waist of a currently-fitting skirt and use that measurement next time.  I bought a ton of retro patterns last week:

Others were modern but had the look I wanted.

I also bought enough gingham and madras to make several dresses:

Thankfully, the cats are great help with my work!

I've been making more of my healthy and quick summer meals and thought I'd post a few here with recipes attached.  Last week I made

Shrimp and Couscous Foil Packets with Avocado-Mango Salsa (my modifications:  fish and roasted asparagus over rice):

Tomato, Basil, and Fresh Mozzarella Tart (my modifications:  fresh spinach!):

Skillet Chicken with Creamy Spinach Artichoke Sauce:

All in under 30 minutes and extremely healthy.  Hope you'll give one a try.  Have a great week!