Temporary insanity

I am mad at myself. I just wasted four perfectly good sewing days trying to reinvent the wheel. Notice I said trying because I didn't actually end up with a usable pattern. All I have to show for my effort is a hacked up stitched and ripped muslin mock-up of a sleeveless sheath. Why do I even bother when I have a TNT pattern?

I made this dress last year. It fits really well. So why can't I just take that pattern and make more dresses? Why did I think that I could/should morph other patterns in order to arrive at this same result? Is this a character flaw or am I just deficient somehow?

The poor red crepe and Ambiance have been ready for cutting since Friday.

Now that my temporary insanity is over, I dug out the old TNT pattern (self-drafted, thank you) and copied it, lengthening it by 2" in the process. I'll cut tomorrow.