Double Deckers, Double Gussets

You wait all day for a bus and then two come along at once, or so the saying goes.
Well, I've not had much sewing lately, and then in the space of a couple of days the dining room has been taken over by fabric and projects.
A young friend needed a cool school summer dress - and the ones in the shops don't fit her proportions. What was needed was a simple sleeveless frock, which could have a white polo shirt underneath on cooler days.
Her Mum provided the gingham, and I dug out a dress pattern - this was from about 1991. Liz chose this for a party dress, in an emerald green fabric. Back then, I made the style on the right, with a longer skirt and sleeves - this week it was the shorter, sleeveless version.
It took about two hours from start to finish.
Next was altering a Disney Princess Costume. Jasmine from Aladdin. It was a little too tight for the female lead in a school play. I thought I could simply insert a gusset in each side to give a few extra centimetres of wriggle room. Only when I got the outfit on the table and prepared to cut, did I discover it is reversible. In the end, I had to put a double gusset on each side, to hide all the raw edges.
Why, oh why, when they charge so much for these outfits, do they make them out of such cheap fabric? It shreds, and frays all over the place!

My final project - and I'd been expecting this one, is to recover a set of 12 caravan cushions. They form the sofa, and dining area seating - but then can be rearranged to make mattresses for the sleeping areas.
The fabric is a lovely striped sort of deckchair ticking. I have made a good start on the simple rectangular cushions, but I am leaving the complex curved corner ones till last.
I love beavering away at the sewing machine on projects like this - but Bob did come home at one point and find me weeping, as I stood at the ironing board, pressing some seams.
Once I had recovered my composure, I explained that I had just been listening to an incredibly powerful drama on Radio 4 Extra [A Soldier's Debt] which moved me to tears. If you have 45 minutes then check it out [make your cup of tea first]  
The dining table is completely out of action - at least the weather has been fine so we can sit at the table in the garden for meals.