UFO revisited

Remember this jacket? It's been worn by my dress form for months now as you can see here, but I took a look at it again on Saturday morning. Yes, I've gained back all the weight I lost last year, so I won't be able to button it, but aside from that, it still looks decent enough to wear. I had put in shoulder pads, which remedied my sloping shoulder issue a little.

So... I decided I wanted to put patch pockets on underneath the otherwise useless flaps. This meant re-opening the lining, which I did. That's accomplished, so the next steps are to close off the lining opening, do some topstitching, and add the buttons and buttonholes. I'm determined to wear it this fall. Hopefully will have pictures before the weekend.

"Skirting" the issue

A skirt is easy to make, you just need two measurements, right? WRONG. VERY WRONG!
Maybe that's true for some people, but definitely not for those who have curves in all dimensions. Case in point - consider my skirt muslin:
See how that side seam is crooked and the skirt hikes up in the back? This is a problem I have with all RTW skirts - and why I hardly ever wear them anymore. So you can see, if I can conquer the fit, I can fill a HUGE void in my wardrobe. I'm especially frustrated with this because I'm going home to visit my parents next month, and it's still more socially acceptable to wear skirts there. At this rate, however, I won't have a single skirt to take back with me.

I know the problems. I have a protruding stomach and protruding rear end. I also don't have enough "hippage" to match the curve of the side seam from waist to hip - something I have no clue how to remedy, and is an issue on the pants pattern I'm working with as well.
See?
I don't look too amused do I? Honestly, I'm so frustrated, I feel like ripping the muslin to shreds. I have this same problem with A-line skirts. A long time ago I made two, and I just made the seam dip lower in the back so it "looked" level from far away. However, like this one, the side seam was angled backwards.
Okay, talking about it has made me upset again. I want to cry because I have soooo much fabric just waiting for me to crack the fitting code. I have so many garments in my mind, but reality is just too cruel.

More on my next dilemma - the evasive pants pattern - later.

Brian Sews

Gold, Tanya, Sherril, Aminat:
Thank you SO much for your encouragement! You're right, I should dust myself off and work on something easy to build my confidence back up. I'm thinking of pulling Simplicity 3789 back out and creating another top or two. It will be a while, as I have a busy few evenings ahead and will probably not be able to sew until Sunday.

In other news...
I'd like to introduce Brian. Some of you know him as RocketBoy (now BrianSews) from PatternReview. I recently discovered that BRIAN HAS A BLOG! On it he shares a lot of great information, video demos, great machines, and a refreshing perspective on sewing. I find his blog especially fun to read because he's one of the few people who fearlessly approached (and conquered) sewing denim jeans! He is planning to start a weekly sewing show on his blog. Please check him out if you have a chance.

Off to sleep for me now...

Sigh...

Nothing new to show. Not that I haven't been sewing - on the contrary I've produced two skirt muslins and one pair of shorts. None of them fit properly. I'm despairing because it takes me so long just to work up a muslin...
So, I'm discouraged. I'll eventually post pictures of my non-fitting items, but right now am feeling too miserable to do so.
Huge sigh... where to go from here?