Skirting My Time

I'm finally halfway finished with my green batik leftovers dress I started way back on February 24! I finished the machine embroidery on the skirt over the weekend, and I finished the sleeve insets and machine embroidery last night!

One of the reasons this project took so long is I've been making a lot of masks. I didn't really like changing the bobbin and top spool every single time I sat down to sew, so I didn't work on the dress every chance I got. It was easier to keep the mask thread loaded, and I'd be ready next time someone requested a mask.


Running out of solid green thread for the bobbins was another hurdle. I ordered more thread before Shelter in Place, and thank heavens, the thread arrived at my work a day or so before I wasn't allowed to go into the office anymore. I have a Missouri Star Quilt Company package there waiting for me when I do get to go back, and that will be sort of like Christmas!


I ordered giant spools of solid green thread I can use with the longarm, not thinking about how I would wind it onto bobbins for the domestic sewing machine. With a little bit of patience and ingenuity after Shelter in Place, I realized I could use the longarm bobbin winder to hold the big spool while I wound a bobbin on the domestic machine. Then I realized I could also use the giant spool as top thread by keeping the longarm bobbin winder right behind the domestic machine. That's when my sewing projects really began moving. I really didn't like winding bobbins from a giant spool on a knitting needle I held in my left hand while operating the domestic machine with my right hand.

I didn't have to buy anything extra, and I didn't have to build anything to hold thread spools in place. And the longarm bobbin winder gets a little bit more use than it's been getting in the long months of no quilting activity.

Now I'm ready to begin the bodice and sleeves (and the pockets), which I initially had planned to do in green hand-dyes (not my own hand-dyes) but then thought perhaps purple would be prettier.


I went through my fabric stash last night, and there is only one purple with enough fabric for the bodice and sleeves, shown above. I was pretty bummed. The lavenderish hand-dye doesn't look that complimentary to me. I had thought a darker shade would be just perfect. I have just a small piece of the purple below.


For a fleeting moment, I thought perhaps I could order another yard of purple hand-dye. I even have a Hoffman color chart to make sure I get just the right shade.


This is a leftovers dress. It sort of defeats the purpose of using up leftovers, in my mind, if I buy more fabric to finish it. So I'm going to try to use something from the stash.

But which one?!? Too many choices!!!




I have enough of three different blues, and against the sleeve insets, I was almost convinced to go with the blue-green.




I auditioned one of the batiks I have enough of... because I liked it so much, I accidentally bought it twice. If I go with the batik, I will have to change the applique I want to make for the front of the bodice. I'm not sure I want to do that. Plus, to me, this looks a little too busy.




There is enough of five different green hand-dyes, as well as a handful of solid greens. Now I guess the next most difficult part of finishing this dress will be picking which one I like best. I think I'm leaning toward the sour apple Kona solid. Ironically, I had trouble making a choice when I picked a border color for the main quilt I made with all these green batiks before I began crafting projects from the leftovers.




















Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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