Losing Weight

I am working through my UFO's.  It is killing me!  I want to sew something new.  This is like being on a sewing diet and I do not like it, Sam I Am.

The latest thing is this skirt:

Which came from this pattern:

Please note that it's a little girls pattern in a size 7-10.  Since I'm also on a food diet, it is imperative that the fact that I can fit into a little girls size 10 is loudly proclaimed from every rooftop.

I had already cut the 10.

Here's the backstory -- when Emma was in 4th or 5th grade, I told her I would make her some things.  One of them was this skirt.  She and I traced off the pattern, and she cut it out.  Then I set it aside -- 

FOR 11 YEARS.  

It seemed big for a size 10 little girl, but I decided to put it together anyway.  She hadn't wanted the large ruffle at the bottom, and it was just a little elastic waist skirt.  I decided to go ahead and see if she wanted it, and give it away if she didn't.

So I put most of it together just as it was.  Emma, now 21, said she'd never wear it.  So I looked at it, decided that I do love the print, and I'd just finish it up for me.  I couldn't get over how big it was.  I guess it's because it's just a little elastic-waist skirt . . . anyway, I added pockets, cut off the long hem and made a little ruffle, and then turned down the top and made it a drawstring/paper bag waist.  I can't get over how cute it is!  Who knew?

I'm also finishing up another little girl's dress from -- GASP! -- 17 years ago!  Holy cow!  Makenna and Mia affectionately called it "The Doll Dress," because the print on it is paper dolls.  

I know now why I never did finish it.  It has MILES of gathering.  See?

It's a tiered skirt.  These are the last two tiers.  And that's probably 15 feet of ruffle.  As of this moment, I have the longer piece gathered into the blue one, and I'm trying to get the blue one gathered into the other two endless ruffled layers I did a few days ago.  Then I just need to attach it to the bodice.  

At least I found it with the bodice done and sleeves attached.  I may have given up altogether had those not been done.

It really is such a darling dress -- and I know this because I already made one all those years ago!  I always made 2 of each dress because I had twins.  But this one . . . well, it was a lot of work, and I had a lot of little kids at the time.  I'm pretty sure I still have the other dress, so maybe I'll just give it one to the twins to give to their own kids.  Which may not be that far off in the future at this point, although they'll probably all have boys. Murphy's law.  We'll see.

I will post photos when it's done.  After that, it's just a black sundress and then I'm home free.  I have a pair of shorts to do for Makaela, and then I want a robe, and Jenna wants more sundresses, and Makenna wants dresses, and I have a couple of YouTube tutorials in the works . . . 

The moral of this story?  FINISH YOUR UFO'S.  They will come back to haunt you!