THAT project

So, its a proven fact that every major social group has a "THAT guy." Since the library has very short lending times on TV series, forcing me to watch vast amounts of "How I Met Your Mother" in a few days, let's use Barney as an example of "THAT guy." He's rude, crude, and generally obnoxious, probably lovable, and the type of person that makes you go "really? those people really exist?" Well, yes they do, and you meet a ton of them in college. So, along with my lovely piece of paper that proclaims I'm a professional (literally, my degree is professional writing), I graduated with some experience with the "THAT guys."

And, unfortunately, that phenomena also occurs in the crafting world. Meet my "THAT project."

Yes, its lovely now, but throughout its creation it was incredibly rude, crude, and generally obnoxious. It started out lovely. I found this lovely embroidered linen lying on a table at a favorite quilting store's sidewalk sale. It was cheap, unique, and I knew it would be a lovely skirt. Then, a month later, I picked up a pattern (McCall's M5631)for a lovely, full skirt with cute contrast waistband and sash at a dollar pattern sale (never pay full price for a pattern, they go on sale at least monthly).

Then I discovered the project's true nature. First off, the fabric wasn't wide enough to cut the pieces on the fold (making a one piece front and back). No big deal, I'll cut four pieces slightly bigger and seam them -- its black fabric, no one will know the difference. So I cut everything out and started pinning the pleats. And then it got buried.

At least a year passed, and I rediscovered the skirt. I was in college at this point so I thought "oh, its already pinned, so it will be a quick project that won't take up so much time its an inefficient procrastination method."

Oh how wrong I was. For you see, I either lost the two back pieces, or never cut them. Well, I couldn't be sewing all night, I had a paper to do. So it went back into the pile, and proceded to weigh down my sewing to-do lists.

Finally, about a week ago, I girded my loins and pulled the skirt pieces, now several years old, out of the pile. I cut the missing pieces, pinned the missing pleats, and proceeded to make the skirt. Then I found out the lining for the waistband was gone, and the lovely contrast red linen was nowhere to be found. So I forced the remaining black fabric to make new facing pieces. No sooner had I done that then I discovered the missing facings, leaving me with two fairly useless pieces of black embroidered linen. However, I persevered, finished the skirt, hemmed what seemed to be miles of black linen, and put in the zipper ironically easily.

And I have a new skirt and a burden off my to-do lists.

 (obligatory spinning shot)

Gold Star to those who know the joy of finally tackling "THAT project."