2015 Year in review

I've left it too late this year to do the top 5 makes or top 5 fails so thought I'd do a bit of a mixed review post.

This year has been full of ups and downs in both sewing and life.

I lost my beautiful little boy cat in January.

I made this in February and still wear it all the time to work. McCalls 6754

Around March/April I got diagnosed with depression and social anxiety, its under control now but I had a few months where I didn't even touch my sewing machine.

I finally started to feel like me again and started sewing regularly in the last part of the year. In September I made the Cascade duffle for the second time.
I'm pretty proud of this jacket, its one where I feel I nailed it on matching a fabric to a pattern perfectly.

October saw our daughter turn 16 and get her Learners

October also saw my worse quilting disaster. I got a homespun from Lincraft, made 2 cot quilts and when I washed them the dye ran so bad I don't think it was ever set. I used a total of 10 colour catchers which it saturated and tried 2 dylon colour run savers which didn't do anything.....I complained and made sure they removed that bolt from the store but at the end of the day I doubt I will ever buy fabric from Lincraft again.



This is a scrap of the same fabric sitting on top of the washed quilt, shows how much colour had washed out

In November the daughter went on a school camp to the Grampians. Now this is a kid who has competed in Karate for 4 years and had just returned from a student exchange overseas without a scratch. Well she managed to fall over and broke her cheekbone. Luckily it didn't need surgery and healed up really quickly.

I've been pretty busy with karate, attended 3 seminars and 2 gradings this year. Started coaching a lot more too. I had a seminar in December in Melbourne where I got to meet Jesse Enkamp (it was so hot I am barely functioning in this photo! It reached about 45 degrees celcius in the dojo...)

I also finally listened to my doctor and lost some weight this year (I have osteoarthritis in my knees and for the first time in a couple of years am not in pain). I had to do a big clean out of the wardrobe and will be madly sewing in the new year to replace a lot of basics.

We got a new rescue kitten just before Christmas, she's called Neko (Japanese for cat). She's currently sleeping on my chest as I type this!

So onwards to 2016! I have an overflowing stash I want to sew through. We have booked tickets to Tokyo in August so all available money will be going towards that instead of new fabric anyway. I'm finally starting to get a better feel for what I need and wear, it's not exciting or glamorous clothing but it gets used a lot.

Happy New Year to everyone!

2014 Year in review

It feels like I haven't done as much sewing this year as previously, my work hours have increased and I've been concentrating on karate (I achieved my black belt in early December). I have focussed a bit more on fit and what I wear so have been sewing more basics and knit garments. Fit is such a funny thing, as soon as I feel I have something nailed I pick up another adjustment that needs to be worked out!

In summary I've sewn about 35 garments and 8 of them were for other people (this doesn't include the 200 odd prem baby gowns and memory blanket sets). I've actually sewn a bit more than I thought!

My top 3 most worn,



Sewaholic Gabriola Skirt

 

Ginger Jeans

 

McCalls 6953



Thankyou for all the lovely comments on my garments for the last year and here's to another year of happy sewing!

Top 5 of 2013: Hits

I actually really like these top 5 posts (started by Gillian at Crafting a rainbow)that have been popping up lately, its a nice way to reassess what we sew and actually wear.

So the Top 5;

1.Vogue 8774: Jeans

I wear these so much!

2. StyleArc: Palazzo pants

I've actually made 2 more pairs of these in a black ponte (unblogged about) and they are my go-to work pants, comfy and smart and so easy to wash and wear!

3. Colette 1020: The seaside dress

I wore this as my Christmas dress to both my Dad's and the in-laws.

4. Cake 0144: Tiramisu Dress

The fabric has worn/pilled/stretched out a  bit now but its still such a comfortable dress, I really have to remake it once I find the right fabric!

5. The copycat dress: Newlook 6048 vs Cake 0169

I love this dress, it just all came together perfectly.

 I've sewn less this year, but made more wearable garments (still had a few wadders or garments that I just don't wear though, but I think we all get that even when you buy all your clothes). I made my first Men's coat and made a lot of quilts but most importantly I'm still really enjoying sewing!

Top 5 Most Worn in 2012

Inspired by Sew Busy Lizzy's post I thought I'd list down my most worn garments of 2012 as well.

1. Juniper pants

I wasn't that excited by these after I made them but I have been living in them, they are so unbelievably comfortable and go with anything!

2. Macaron Dress: Christmas version

I love this dress so much!

3. McCalls 6408

While my black version fits better I've ended up wearing this more (I don't wear much black these days) . Its the combo of the tie belt and the ponte which makes it so flattering and comfy.

4. McCalls 5525: Violet trench coat

 

I still consider this the best jacket I've made, in how it fits and the design lines on the back

5. NewLook 6007: cape

I've worn this down to the movies a few times and out to my mums. It might be a bit sad but my inner geek just loves the fact that I'm wearing a cape, lol


Unselfish sewing;

a couple of mentions here. I've made a few quilts but the time and effort involved in the Mario quilt ranks it at number 1. (Is it bad to mention that at the moment its on my bed not my sons though!)

Mum's Velveteen jacket. I really enjoyed recycling an old jacket and want to do this again next year

Daughters red Burdastyle jacket. I love this, its such a classic shape and material and one of the only things I've made the daughter that she doesn't whinge about and actually wears (teenagers!)

I started out sewing with a miniscule wardrobe, literally one pair of jeans and a top that fit other than trackpants ( It was a combo of suddenly gaining weight and having no decent clothes shops locally/lack of money) In the last year I had the idea that I should be sewing everything that I wear and honestly it started to suck the fun out of sewing for me recently. I've finally gotten to the point where I feel like I can slow down and spend more time on the design and fit and I suppose, play a bit more. So next year is all about fun sewing :)


Thankyou for all the lovely comments, I do read and appreciate every one of them (and usually share them all with my husband/kids/mum!) I started my blog as a way to catalogue my projects (which is a lifesaver seeing as my laptops harddrive crashed last weekend and at this stage I've lost all my photos.....hopefully they can rescue them but I'm not holding my breath so everyone please backup your pictures!!). I've been a part of a few online communities over the years and without a doubt the sewing community is made up of the most supportive, lovely people around. On to 2013!

A year of Sewing

Simplicity 2601

Garments made in 2011
10 Skirts
15 Pants
13 Jackets
18 Dresses
14 Tops
8 bits and pieces

Total: 78!

McCalls 5936

I started seriously sewing around the end of January 2011, mostly because of sewing blogs. I discovered The Sew Weekly and Gerties Blog for Better Sewing while researching 1950's style clothing for a theme birthday party. The blogs made sewing seem so easy, just take it one step at a time, and the quality of the garments sewn was unfathomable to me then! Before that I had made the occasional bit of clothing for the kids, but I didn't have the patience or the access to help so it all seemed like it was way too hard and the stuff I made looked homemade not handmade.

NewLook 6058

So things I have learned;

• 
  
  Slow down! The way I used to sew is best described as Kamikaze sewing - smash the pedal flat and scream!



• 
  
  The weight, stretch and pattern on the fabric makes a massive difference as does the interfacing to the finished project



• 
  
  Lots of ironing - I don't iron in normal life except for when I sew, and I still can't believe the difference in finish quality.



• 
  
  Just because fabrics are cheap or pretty doesn't mean they will make a nice garment - most likely they'll end up in my stash gathering dust


• 
  
  
  Fit to me is the most important thing and is sometimes so hard to get right

Lekala 5927

Goals for this year;

• 
  
  Think before buying fabric - I want better quality fabric bought with a garment in mind



• 
  
  Learn more about tailoring, things like pad stitching, using sew in interfacing like hair canvas and bound buttonholes/welt pockets - there's an upcoming Craftsy course with Gertie for a suit jacket that I'm really looking forward too!



• 
  
  Have a go at a more couture garment, I've just signed up for the Craftsy course with Susan Khaljie on sewing a couture dress - I'll be posting more about this soon!



• 
  
  Keep on working on the perfect fit

Simplicity 4070

I still can't believe how much I love sewing. It's my escape and way to calm down. If I don't sew for a couple of days I start getting twitchy! Because of sewing I have a lot more confidence in myself which has a lot to do with having a range of well fitting clothing. Before I had a very small selection and could never seem to find anything that fitted right in rtw so its a real pleasure to have things for the first time in my adult life like a well fitted jacket and pants.

Simplicity 2176

So onwards 2012!