Pre- Christmas Insanity

My dress is driving me insane. i FINALLY finished the stupid skirt after about 7 hours of trying to figure out how i am going to make the tiers perfectly horizontal and balanced. i ended up cutting them off the lining and then cutting the lining up and sewing them back on the lining and blah blah blah blah i don't even want to talk about it because it was so painful to work through. I finished putting the zipper in, but the dress isn't tight enough around my waist, and i cant really take it in because of the scallops on the bodice. why did it fit so well before i put the skirt on the darn thing??

so now i am going back and forth in my head if i should even bother with finishing. NO. I wont let you not finish, Ellen! apparently, my insanity talks back to me. I have to finish this dress, even if it is slightly unwearable. I'll wear it around my house on Christmas for sure, but i don't think i can let myself wear it in public. it just isn't working. and that makes me sad because i dreamed about this dress and how wonderful it was going to be, wearing it to church and everyone oo-ing and aw-ing, and achieving every seamster's dream of being asked, "of where did you buy that dress?" and all you can say, with a smug, proud face is, "oh, haha, well, i actually made it." but right now it just looks like a deflated wedding cake. oh golly.  i had no idea the tiers and scallops would be so difficult, but i guess that's why i'm doing this whole project and torturing myself over it-- to learn. it's hard to remember that as i keep working because all i really want is to make something that i'm really proud to wear. and i have had those perfect projects before, but they are so few and far between. it's hard to keep up the stamina when nothing is given back in return by the project itself. so, should i finish the dress, or save the jeweled applique for something else???