30 by 30, #16: Sew matching dresses / skirts for my girls.

In case you aren't familiar with the 30 by 30 Project, here is the original post, with the big fat list.

This project was a long time in coming. It wasn't terribly hard, just time consuming. I decided to make these darling twirly skirts, and then I picked out some awesome fabric, and then I realized how many little strips I'd have to cut out, and that I don't really know how to gather, and I sort of sat on it for a while. Then I asked my friend Mindy for help, which was the best move I could possibly make. First, she has a rotary cutter and self healing mat, which saved me oodles of time. Second, we got to have sewing playdates, wherein we sewed and our kids happily played together. Third, she showed me how easy gathering is. And fourth, I had an excuse to sit down and actually sew the things.

It took way longer than it should have (I thought they'd be done by Easter, and then I thought they'd be done in time for our family pictures, but no, I think I finally finished them on June 30), and they certainly don't look professional (seriously, don't look too close), but from a distance, I think they turned out pretty cute.

Uh, do you know how hard it is to take a decent picture of 2 kids? Pretty hard. This shadowy thing is the best I got. But it gives you the idea.