I don't think I've ever been ready for a trip or event earlier than the night before. I have IDEAS for months, but those ideas don't come to fruition until the looming deadline of "if they don't trick or treat now, they don't trick or treat until next year" or "if you don't leave now, the airplane will leave without you" forces my hand and my sewing machine.
I had IDEAS for our mother-daughter Walt Disney World trip for such a long time - if you look in my phone pictures, you'll see I started screencapping costumes, inspiration, and more by about four months ago. I started sewing the week of the trip.
Luckily my sewing room is full of the tools that make everything go FAST.
Listen, I'm just a regular idiot that has to look up in the book each time I thread my serger (and the little air-threading magic thrills me EVERY time that it's so easy and fast). I'm not a super expert like Marcia, Suzie, or Joy that knows EVERYTHING and makes it all look so easy. When I have to do something I haven't done in a minute, I'm following step by step in the book or going back to my mastery videos online.
Even then, this magic L890 makes clothing like a breeze! Idiot and all, I was able to put our dresses together lickety-split (seriously, three full dresses in one afternoon because measuring is for smart people, and those who guess instead of measure are forced to make a second dress when the first one doesn't fit their kid).
I was able to follow the simple instructions and switch quickly to coverstitch for some hems of my dreams.
And before you know it, Chip and Dale were born. Were the dresses perfect? No. But were they super cute and fun and comfy and unique for the Halloween Party? Heck yeah they were! 
But did I sleep? That night before our flight left when packing needed to be done and sleeping would have really helped things? Also no. Because who can sleep when you have a princess to create? 
With a quick switcheroo (following the instructions in the manual, of course!), I was able to rolled hem miles and miles of organza, piece together the knit back and satin front & skirt, clean up the inside seams to get rid of any loosey goosey itchy stitchies, and generally rock out a Rapunzel designed entirely by the recipient in the blink of an eye.
She thought she was designing it and choosing fabrics for another child whose parent gave me free reign on the design, but was surprised in the fitting room of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique with her own dream dress. She's about to age out of the experience (you can only get the princess makeovers there until you're 12), so L890 and I made some magic for this last magical castle makeover. At 11:14pm the night before we left. As you do.
You definitely don't need to be a sewing superstar to make the magic. I feel like I am always saying how things don't need to be perfect to be perfect, but it's true! Make the thing! Try the magical serger, use the organza you bought for curtains and whip up a princess when you're supposed to be sleeping. It'll be great.
(Seriously, though. Try the magical L890 serger. If you've not tried it, the smoothness and ease of use is unlike any serger I have ever used before. It's like butter. And even I can't screw it up. That's saying something.)
xo, Keely, Last Minute Mom
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