Projects in the works

Here's what I'll be up to for the next month or so:

For me:
Keyboard skirt:

making a plain black a-line skirt (poly-cotton blend twill)

Then, using some Michael Miller novelty fabric I'm going to cut it so along the line of the pattern to make a border, and then applique individual keys falling from the waist, down the right leg, and into the "pile" at the hem.

Still deciding on the length, but it's just as well as I don't have the keyboard fabric in yet.

New gym bag... for when I bother to join the gym again. Made from a thick canvas in a color they're calling "mushroom" but which seems to be a almost-charcoal shade of deep green. Trim is still up for debate.

A couple basic skirts which will really just be a way to try out some hand embroidery.

For others:

I'm making three long a-line skirts for a very tall friend. She wants ankle length, and even "tall" sized RTW isn't ankle length on her. She wanted elastic or drawstring, but I convinced her to go with a hybrid between either of the two and a zipper, to minimize bulk at the waist but still give some freedom in size for "bloat" days or whatever. This is the sort of project that makes me feel like a designer of sorts, since it's all pure drafting and sewing. No pattern, other than the one I'll create.

Another skirt for a different friend, a circle skirt in a rayon/linen blend. For circle skirts I almost always go with a gored or "donut" construction, since I think you have to be all but underweight to have that kind of gathering around your waist and not look puffy from it.

A few basic alterations- suit jacket sleeves being let out, a pair of dress slacks being rehemmed (one of those "you really want to pay me for this!?" things... not adjusted, not shortened or lengthened, just resewn where the manufacturer's stitching has fallen!).

Two halter tops, for two different people. One will be in PVC, one in an Alexander Henry cotton print.

So yeah, that's my September so far.