It's a beautiful new day here, but regardless of how enthusiastic I feel about a new beginning, I still feel a bit awkward for waking up late. It is my very first time waking up at 7am, and we all know the bad signals waking up late can give.

I am already behind schedule in lots of stuff, making me feel like this day won't be a fulfilled one, but sometimes we don't have to beat ourselves too much over the things we cannot change. I had a long and sleepless night as the weather is gradually changing and the heat level is rising. Getting enough sleep is a challenge during the summer.

Let's do away with the negative vibe of waking up late to show you this beautiful dress I have just sewn.

I made this for my neighbors who have a wedding ceremony to attend next weekend. She is one of the few who never trusted my sewing skills, as she was there when I started learning and was damaging clothes then; she never believed that my skills would get better and never trusted me with her clothes.

Since I never gave up on sewing and kept practicing, I was surprised to see her finally find her way to my house to assist her with not just any sewing but a dress for a special occasion.

Prior to yesterday, she had taken the dress to another tailor to help her with it, but the tailor asked her to pay $10 for his services. She can't afford that amount just to sew a dress in this economy; hence, she was looking for someone who will help her out and with a lesser amount.

My elder sister will also be attending the same wedding and has given me her own fabric to help her with it. My sister has been one of my greatest supporters ever since I started learning; even though I damaged some of her fabrics while practicing, she had had that faith in me that someday I will make her better clothes and my skills will be perfected. Now my sister wears my design with pride and showcases some of the clothes I make for her to her friends.

I almost rejected making my neighbors outfits since she is among those who never give people support or an opportunity to grow, but there is no need to keep such against her; after all, we are still friends and she must have learnt her lessons.

We then searched the internet for style inspiration and came up with ideas of our own.

Then I cut out an A-line dress here.

I bought a sequence fabric to embellish and lighten it up.

Having cut the sequence, I added some stay to prevent it from overstretching while sewing on the dress.

I equally bought this fringed for $0.3, and I think it looks good attached to the dress as well.

Then I had cut a straight sleeve and will be attaching it, but I will like her to try it on first before that in case there is a need for an adjustment before I close up the stitches.

I hope she finds this beautiful and fitting enough since it is often difficult to satisfy some people. I made this with just $4 as against the $10 her other seamstress demanded for. At least this will save her some money too.