Work In Progress Wednesday: A Not-Quite Finish, Organizing and Decluttering

This week has been just a little slower than last week, but I've been making good progress.  Progress always feels good.

See this cute dress?  I'm loving it.  I had it almost finished Monday night (just had to hand-sew the bodice lining in place) and held it up to see how it looked as a whole dress rather than pieces of one.  Then I realized something was missing.  No ties!  I totally forgot to make ties and sew them into the side seams of the bodice.  Argh!  I've decided to try something different than I had originally planned, but I haven't made a final decision yet.  

Two options I'm considering are a) making a long tie that goes all the way around, with loops on the sides to hold it in place, and possibly with some buttons on the front to keep it at the waistline, or b) sewing the ties directly onto the back, about 1/4 of the way in from the sides.  This dress definitely needs ties for some shape.  I'd appreciate feedback on what you would do for ties, other than sewing them into the side seams.  I went ahead and sewed the lining in, and I'd rather not undo it.

Here's some back detail.  I love the peek-a-boo ruffles.  If you're thinking about trying some ruffles for the first time, I recently posted a tutorial on two ways to do gathers, as well as another on how to finish the edge.  Click on my "Tutorials" button above for links.

I've got several deadlines in the next two weeks, some of which are self-imposed.  For instance, I would really like to get my larger throw-sized Dresden Wave done in time to enter it in my county fair on August 6th.  I've barely even started it (hence no pictures).  If that doesn't happen, I definitely want to get it done in time for the link-up party Sept. 1-6 at the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild.

I've really been wanting to get everything done but realized I desperately needed take a break from sewing to do some organizing.  I started by pulling out all of my batting, pillowforms, and polyfil stuffing and throwing it out in the hall outside my studio.  Yikes.  I didn't realize how much poly batting I have.  I really prefer thinner batting these days, but I think I'll use some of the poly in some of the quilts I'll be quilting for Phoenix Quilts for a little extra loft.

I'm glad that my studio is now a little easier to navigate, but the organizing is still a work in progress too.  I really need to get that done and move on with my sewing!

I'm linking up to Work In Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced today.  Go see what everyone is up to this week!