A DIY which was a Bad Idea

A couple of days before Christmas (literally, the day I handed in my last paper for the semester, so the 21st) the gumption insisted that I make her Christmas dress.
I laughed.
She did not.
I stared down my nose at her and said "JuJu! Do you know how much work it is to make a dress?"
She said, "Mommy, you must make my Christmas dress."
I fell into a little heap and said "okay"

Now, making JuJu's Christmas dress is on my "life list" but if I'm really honest with myself, I never thought it would happen, and I was okay with that.

But, like the obedient mother that I am, I went and bought the fabric and trim and a pattern (a real pattern! I don't even know how to READ a pattern! I had to call my mom.)

I sewed and sewed and sewed, seriously, up until about thirty minutes before the Christmas Eve service started.  It was supposed to have poofy three-quarter length sleeves, because I'm an avid believer that dresses that are to be worn in the winter should have sleeves.  I made the sleeves.  And then I tried to attach them to the bodice and well, then I had to go find my scrap fabric and cut more bodice pieces and start all over.  So! No sleeves! Instead, a cute cardigan which covers up 85% of the sewing that I had to do. Go figure.

I know it looks simple enough, but good heavens!
I actually had to READ THE DIRECTIONS.

Now that I've sewn a dress for my daughter, I can proudly cross it off my life list.  And then proudly tell you I will never do that again.

But at least she is happy as a lark.