The valleys are low...but the mountains are high

Two steps forward, one step back. I have now put the 22 inch invisible zip into my Colette Truffle FOUR times. Four. Yes. Twice today.

#1 I managed to put the teeth in the wrong way but notice before I have done too much. OK, quick unpick about 8 inches. Not too bad.

#2 Get the zip in OK on both sides but the waist seam doesn't quite match - it's just out. I sew up the seam anyway THEN decide I really ought to try again. Out it all comes.

#3 Get the zip in great. I take my time and even baste it in to try to get the waist seam to match. It's still a little out but I decide I can live with that. I sew the facing in and finish the seam, Then zip it all up to admire the finished article. That's when I notice - the shoulder strap is twisted. See pic above. My heart sinks. Swear a bit. Make a cup of tea. Rip it all out.

#4 I think it's right this time! The middle vertical seam is the zip. The horizontal seam is the waist. I am very proud.

Should I have left it alone after the second time? This time last year I would have been thrilled just to get the zip in let alone have anything line up. Am I getting too fussy? What do you do when you mess up?

Full circle skirt with a twist

And the twist is: it isn't a full circle skirt, it's a Meringue from the Colette Sewing Handbook. But it is a full circle, because the first thing I made this year was for a http://www.sewweekly.com/ challenge. And it was a skirt. So I start and end my year with a skirt.

This skirt is my end of year celebration piece for sewweekly. OK, so it was going to be my "free for all" piece for last week's challenge. I didn't finish it. (Special note for my sweet friend Judy I am trying to do a one hip thrust out look especially for you. See, I look arthritic not alluring!)

This is what happens when we try to take photos, by the way - a pitch invasion:

The skirt took ages to make. Ages. And ages. In theory it should have taken one evening or so but I seem to have a special skill in making stuff take a long time. I did do some extras:

The rouleau pocket was completed a couple of weeks ago and was inspired by this tutorial on the Colette Patterns website.

Then I was persuaded by the ever optimistic Kate (my weekly sewing teacher at the Design Studio) that I should do something called "bagging it out" to the skirt. This makes the inside look lovely and was a great suggestion if I hadn't manage to make a right hash of it and have to unpick it before getting it right the second time. Still, here's the inside of my skirt:

I also fitted my first ever invisible zip (ironically my first ever zip went into that first skirt) which was a revelation.

I topstitched the scalloped edgeand there it was: my back to the beginning skirt. I had such fun this year. Hope you did too xxx