is it middle age spread?

Well, I'm a little confused, because the brown linen/rayon skirt I made from a pattern I've used 3 times before just wouldn't do up over my hips/waist. The odd thing is that previously when I made this pattern I weighed more than I do now.

I have 3kg 4kg hormone bloat, but unless that is all concentrated on my belly then that doesn't explain it. I'm going to cut my losses and chop off @ 3" from the top of the skirt and reattach the waistband. Having a skirt I can wear is more important than vanity over sizing.

I've definitely got a PCOS belly, which is funny cos otherwise I don't have the visible markers that tend to go with it. Thanks to a hefty input from both sides of the gene pool. One grandparent's family came with a massive chest and another grandmother's family that came with the genetic androgen disorder - both got enthusiastically grabbed from the pool.

My current waist/hip is the reason there isn't a photo of me in the blue UFO skirt I finished a few weeks ago. It has the same issue, and for that skirt as it's a shorter skirt already I can't just lift it until it fits. So, well I'll insert a panel down one side to sort that out.

This may be TMI but I had the blood test to see if I was perimenopausal late last year after 5 months of crazy hormones, and sadly it's not. Surely I must be close though!