The best laid plans of...

After dreaming big about many lovely designer fabrics to be found on the internets, I went shopping at JoAnn.  Which was kind of a big deal, because I did have to drive over 1500 km to get there.  I had contemplated visiting Anchorage quilting shops, but too much Big City Driving would have interfered with my desire for a relaxing holiday.  So JoAnn it was, and it was fun.  I was able to get all those handy-dandy notions like elastic and thread that you can't get here in Dawson, and of course picked out some pretty fabrics.

The polka dots at the top is a light corduroy, and the other two are quilting weight cottons.  I also picked up some muslin for linings (if needed) and some sky blue cording to jazz up the polka dots (because multi-coloured polka dots are in need of jazzing up?).

After getting everything washed and ironed last Sunday, it took me until today to actually cut into something and start getting pantless.  Using a helpful copy of Sew What! Skirts, I whipped up this drawstring number:

I'm not really sure what it looks like on me--no full length mirror in my cabin--but my attempts at self portraits out in the yard look alright (except that I will have to watch out to gather the fabric evenly around the drawstring and prevent things like the weird crease seen below).

Not that it was easy to line myself up properly.

It ended up plenty big--I worked with lots of ease, figuring that too big was better than too small.  I could trim away some of the excess, but I did such a neat job of finishing my seams that I don't have the heart to do any of it over.  I am definitely happy with my craftsmanship on this one.

But it won't be work wear...  Before I started my new job on Tuesday, I had visions of myself sitting at a desk all day long, looking cute in skirts and high heels (like the blue ones at left, a treat from the delightful ShuzyQ in Anchorage).  But I only wore the heels to work once (on my second day) before my boss suggested that I dress more casually--as though I could have to "jump into a helicopter at any moment."  And he was right: besides spending two dirty days in the hangar doing inventory, on Friday one of the pilots asked me to "help" him with a power check, and we were up in the air before I could even grab my camera, never mind changing clothes if it had been necessary.  But giving up a classy work look for the occasional helicopter ride is a worthy sacrifice.  Plenty of time to wear skirts out of work, and lots of awesome Threadless tees to match.