Finally, a finish!

For the first time in quite a while, I have a finish to show!

Unfortunately, it's not one of the items on my huge list from earlier in the week, but it is something that I'm really proud of because it's a big first for me.

I've been to a two week long class at Raystitch in Islington,  their First Steps into Dressmaking class where we made an A-line skirt. I learnt so much in the 6 hours of lessons, and really enjoyed having a good chat with the teacher and the other two participants as well as lots of attention.  Apparently I've picked up some very bad habits through being mostly self taught! The wine and brownies were also *amazing*

The pattern is Amy Butler's Barcelona skirt, and the fabric was from the Washi collection. The bright pink lining was a bit of a spur of the moment thing, but I'm glad that I chose it.

We're off to a Christening and various other occasions in the next few months, so hopefully this will get lots of wear. I've made even more plans now for other skirts, so that's one more thing that'll stop me getting on with making all these quilts :-)

PS - please ignore the pink t-shirt, I don't think I'll be wearing it as a part of the final outfit.....

Here's a quick peek at A's quilt, see if you can spot why I've not finished quilting it yet - oops!

If anyone has any suggestions of how to make quilting this easier, I'd very much appreciate it. I've got a walking foot on, but it's turning into a mammoth task.I'm thinking about leaving the machine-quilted lines just on the middle section, and hand quilting around each block in the two outer columns. Thoughts?

Linking up to TGIFF at Mama Loves Quilts, even though this isn't a hugely quilty post sorry.