My First Attempt at Skirts and a Big Thank You!

I have been wanting to try my hand at sewing a skirt for some time, now. My wardrobe consists almost entirely of sweatpants, t-shirts, and skirts. I love the vintage-y prints and fun silhouettes of the skirts from Anthropologie, but can't afford to splurge on them too often. For my first skirt, I thought it best to use a pattern. So, I found a Simplicity 4236 which has a full-circle, half-circle, and a straight skirt pattern. Of course, I had to complicate matters by wanting to use a directional print...Altering the pattern was a must. I made the half circle pattern a little less full, so it would fit on a single width of 44"W fabric. (It doesn't really look much different in fullness than the picture on the pattern, though). And I also wanted a contrasting band at the bottom, so that was added as well.I used a combination of Heather Bailey fabrics for one and Amy Butler fabrics for the other. These are really just practice for the skirt I ultimately want to make using the awesome pink and red Art Nouveau print by Anna Marie Horner. I also have some vintage border prints that are just BEGGING to be made into skirts. I still have to hem the peachy one and add the hook and eye, but all in all, I think it went together pretty well. (The zipper wasn't near as difficult as I was imaging it to be.)

I also want to send a big THANK YOU to sweet Jerusalem of My Little Life. She held a giveaway on her blog recently and I was the winner! Yea!
I received a beautiful Cath Kidston Home Project Journal. Exactly what I need to organized all of the projects I want to get done on this house of mine! And she also included a number of extra goodies...a catalog, stamped gift tags, music sheets, and lovely polka dot ribbon.
Be sure to stop by her lovely website and her fun blog to see all of her creative pursuits.
Thank you again, Jerusalem!