Top 5 Goals for 2014

The last couple of New Years I made plans and set goals for the coming year.  Then I carried out those plans and achieved those goals.  This focus is relatively new to me.  Historically I have always been a dreamer not a doer.  This coming year has some exciting plans.  It's going to be a year of big changes and adventure.

1.  Learn!  I'm going back to school in 2014.  I received an early offer for the course I applied and interviewed for last year.  So for the next two years I will be a full time student of Applied Fashion Design and Technology!   I am incredibly excited about expanding my skills and learning new things.  My goal is to accept the challenges, do my best work and take advantage of the knowledge and skills of my teachers.

2.  Complete Darron's 12 outfits.  His outfits have gotten off to a great start so I want to keep up the momentum and continue to dress my wonderful husband in handmade.

3.  New fabrics!  There are many fabrics I want to work with this year that I haven't played with before.  To start with there's chiffon.  I've got three chiffon dresses to make this year and I want to get familiar with the fabric before I start because they're important frocks.  I also want to work with leather, heavy wool coating, more lace and silk.  

4.  New shapes.  I tend to always go for similar cuts and silhouettes for the garments I make for myself.  My goal this year is to try some new shapes.  There are loads out there that I love, it's time to step outside my comfort zone and find some new favourites. 

5.  The first specific sewing goal of the year is swimwear.  I want to sew at least two suits this month. The first is the final part of my summer wardrobe, and the second is the main piece of the final of my 12 outfits. I've never sewn swimmers before so it will be an adventure!  One will be a one-piece and the other a high waisted bikini.  Both will have a vintage feel.  There may be another seventies style swimsuit in the mix as well.  It's becoming difficult to make a final decision so I may end up with all three, and then there are the bikini top options!  Perhaps my first goal is to actually make a decision!

Honorable mention:  My final goal for this year is to keep bloggong!  Now that I've found my groove, I want to keep sharing.  It may be challenging, I'll have so much on my plate, but so much to talk about too!

Here's to a new year filled with new experiences!

13 in 13

At the start of last year I made a commitment to knit from stash as much as possible.  To complete 13 knits from stash in 2013.  I am happy to report that I did in fact finish 13 knits, in fact I finished 16!  

My yarn stash was not huge to start with, but I did have a couple of jumper lots which helped immensely when planning outfits.  My yarn purchases this year were also modest, but they are already fitting into my knitting plans for 2014!  As my life will include a train commute four days a week for the next couple of years I'd like to take advantage of that prime knitting time and get stuck into some big projects.  So I'm looking at 14 in 14!

Have a safe and happy new year my friends.  Thank you for your company on my journey in making stuff this year, I look forward to sharing more plans and adventures with you through 2014!

Jen xx

Top 5 Inspirations of 2013

Next in line for the Top 5 extravaganza is my inspirations!  These are the big ones from this year, the people and things that got my brain ticking and my creativity running.

1.  My own stash of old patterns.  It seems like I bring home piles of old patterns whenever I go out.  I have patterns from the 1950s through to the 1990s.  There have been many occasions this year when I've pulled out these patterns and flicked through them for inspiration.  The 1970s skirts, the 80s tops, early 1960s frocks, rompers and blazers and pantsuits oh my!  Entire outfits, garments or just an interesting feature, there are ideas in abundance in these little packages.

A sample of the collection!  I really need to get onto a proper filing system for these.

2.  The excellent menswear pattern company Thread Theory.  When I started looking for patterns for Darron their Parklands collection of patterns covered so many of my needs.  Their great patterns are a wonderful starting point for making mens clothing, great versatile customisable basic pieces.  Their blog is an excellent source of inspiration as they gather together projects made using their patterns.  The Jedediah sew along helped me so much in building my trouser confidence.  I can't wait for their pea coat pattern to be released, it's already got me inspired!

3.  Twitter.  I have so many great friends on the tweeter, some I know in the real world, some live on the other side of the world.  All the talented fibre artists, the knitters, spinners, weavers, the quilters, embroiderers, sewcialists, the shoppers, stylists and writers.  I love the little insights into your projects and lives.  I love the inspiring conversations and the answers to my dilemmas.

4.  Gillian at Crafting a Rainbow, the wonderful mind behind these Top 5 lists, has been a big inspiration to me this year.  I first 'met' Gillian through Me Made May this year, her warm personality shines through her online presence.  Her blog and her colour palette theory has helped me so much in figuring out the colours I love to wear and use for my 12 outfits and my summer capsule wardrobe.  Thanks Gillian!  I hug you through the internet!

5.  My very best friend, the lovely Emma Louise Wilson.

Emma is a very talented stunt person and actress.  I am so proud of what she has achieved this year.  She is following her bliss and doing what she always wanted to do.  She has committed to her dreams and works hard to make them happen.  This has been a huge inspiration to me.  Seeing someone close to me making their passions work made me realise that with commitment and work I can do exactly what I want too.  On top of being part of my family and a great support to me this year, Emma has been one of my biggest inspirations.

Special mention: It goes without saying that my family inspire me, but I'll take this opportunity to mention them anyway!  My parents are creative supportive people who understand the importance of doing something you love.  The believe in me and that I can accomplish and that inspires me.
My Husband is amazing!  Really I wouldn't make an entire 12 outfits for someone who wasn't!  He inspires and encourages me daily.
My kids inspire me every minute of every day.  Their outlook on life, their enthusiasm and imagination are infectious and wonderful.  They inspire me to do what brings me joy, because as a whole and happy person I can be the mother they need and deserve.

Well, that went down a more emotional route than anticipated!  ~sniff~  I am really lucky to be surrounded by inspirations!

Top 5 Misses and Top 5 Reflections of 2013

I feel like these two go well together.  So many of the reflections and learning experiences are related to the misses so I'm doing both lists in one post.

We'll start with the misses:

1. It's interesting that some of these misses are from the same outfit as a member of the hits list.  First miss is the top from my March outfit.

I really like this top.  It's cute, fits well and I never, ever wear it.  It doesn't even cross my mind when I'm trying to come up with something to wear.  I'm not ready to get rid of it just yet though.  I'm dragging it to the front of the wardrobe to see if it grabs me in the next couple of months.  If not, it will be going.

2. The trousers from April's outfit.  I was (and still am) pretty inexperienced in the mystical art of fitting pants.  These were unsuccessful at first, improved with alteration, but still not to a standard that I'm happy with.

3. May's shirt.  I knew that I would be making several sleeveless shirts this year.  This was the first and by far the least successful.  The armhole facings flip out constantly, I prefer bias binding facings for casual shirts now.  The collar band hasn't caught the facing so that bunches and flips out at the neck too.  These are things that are relatively easy to fix, but the fact that I haven't bothered tells me that I'm not in love with it.

4. The jeans I made for July.  Learned some big lessons on these ones.  Denim too stretchy, pattern a bit dodgy, finishing a bit rushed.  The fit is a little off, but nothing too bad, until they've been worn half a day and they sag like crazy.  I also botched the trimming of the zipper and live in fear that I'll zip up too enthusiastically and it will come away.

5. The most recent fail is due once again to the wrong fabric.  The fabric I used for the coral bodysuit in the summer wardrobe is not stretchy enough so it sits all wrong in many places.  I am hopeful of salvaging this one, it has potential to work as a tee so I could still turn this miss into a hit.


On to the reflective portion of the post.  I've learned so much this year about myself and my skills, and I have spent a long time considering how I can best use my skills and my passions to shape my future.  It's been a reflective year.

1. On the sewing front, I learned so much about fabric choice.  All those things that people tell you and information you read gets thrown out the wind in a rush of enthusiasm to start a new garment.  These wrong fabric choices are the only way I learn really.  I'm like a teenager, I have to make my own mistakes to learn.  To much stretch, not enough stretch, too much slink, not enough drape, I've had them all, and have only made the same mistake several times with each type of fabric before it's sunk in!

2.  SLOW DOWN!  I've been talking about this all year.  It was one of my goals for the year but it still took a long time to walk the talk.  When I slow down and focus on each process the end result is better finished quality garments.  Included in this is to do the same for myself as I do for others.   I take so much care and time making garments for other people because I want that garment to be lasting quality piece that they can be proud of.  It has taken nearly the whole 12 outfits to be doing the same for myself because really, I deserve well made clothes too!

3.  On a personal front, managing my mental health became an important part of my year.  I suppose the most important part of that for me is talking about it.  The more people I talk to about my struggles this year, the more support I have, and the more I learn about how other people are coping with their challenges.  The black dog won't beat us if we stick together and take care of ourselves and each other.

4.  One of my big goals for the year was to sew.  All the time.  I wanted to get some decent sewing miles in my hands.  I wanted to make a variety of garments, try new things and devote the majority of my down time to being productive.  I wanted to sew like it was my job.  This is exactly what I did!  The time I spent at the machine has paid off nicely.  The simple act of doing some sewing every day has done wonders for my work.  Like any pursuit really, the more you do the better you get, the easier it becomes, and the more you can do!

5.  Linked in to that last point is the biggest realisation for the year for me.  Through all the sewing, the challenge of 12 outfits for me and then for Darron as well, from sewing through the good times and the challenging times, there has not been a moment when it felt like a chore.  Every stitch, even the frustrating, disappointing mistakes have been filled with joy as well.  I love this.  This is what I need to be doing.  I always knew that I loved to make things, it just took me until this year to understand that I can actually make a career from this.  This has lead me to apply to return to school to expand my skills and learn a whole bunch of new ones so that making beautiful things can be a productive and viable career for me.   I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up!   I can't wait for the day when my business cards read Designer and Custom Dressmaker.

Outfit Eleven: December

Wow!  I can't believe I only have one outfit left to make and I will have finished 12 outfits in 12 months!

This outfit was a bit of a trouble maker!  I had decided on a particular skirt in a particular fabric right at the very beginning of this adventure, only to have it turn out unwearable because the stripes strobe and give me a blaring headache.  As luck would have it, the search for a replacement skirt that would also fit into my summer capsule wardrobe brought me to a pattern I had traced last year and forgotten about.  So here it is:

The skirt is stretch drill I bought several years ago.  I had about a million metres of it and recently used some for a little 'off plan' sewing so it was sitting out and I noticed that it was the right colour for my summer wardrobe.  It was that fabric decision that brought me to the pattern, Burda 05/2012 118.  

I didn't make the skirt quite as short as the pattern, and I left off the back welt pockets.

I love the a-line shape from the back and pleated fullness at the front.  Since making Darron's trousers  I've become far more comfortable sewing a zip fly.  It's lovely to be able to ignore the exceptionally vague Burda instructions and just do it.  The pattern has buttons on the inside of the wide waistband, but I prefer the buttons on the outside, so I used a pair of jeans buttons instead.

The plain white tee is the Elise Tee from Fine Motor Skills.  A great freebie pattern with relaxed versatile style.

With a wide scoop neckline and capped shoulders it sits just right for me, it shows enough skin without having to be hauled back onto my shoulders every five minutes.

I like how it works tucked or untucked.  The scooped he line is a great finishing touch and one of my favourite design features for tops at the moment.  I think I'll make a few more of these in different colours.  I'd love one in a stretchy sequinned fabric too, because sparkles!

So that's my December!  The skirt has become my Green December project too.  I had planned to make a green swimsuit but my injury set all my December projects back a couple of weeks so there will be a couple of swimmers coming up in January!

Top 5 Hits of 2013

It turns out that these Top 5 lists are about as productive as I'm going to be this week.  As clumsy as I am, it's surprising things like this don't happen more often.

My kitchen knives are sharp, I should pay attention when using them lest my finger get sliced along with tandoori lamb.  The brilliant nurses at our local hospital (extremely local, just around the corner) stuck me back together, bandaged me up and sent me home all in just over half an hour.  Sewing will have to wait until everything I touch stops causing immense pain, it's going to be a close call as to whether or not I can get the Christmas baking done in time. One thing I can manage one handed is typing, so lists are well timed!

Here are my top five hits from the last year:

1. My black floral skirt from my March outfit.

This skirt gets worn a lot.  Dressed up, dressed down, with layers, with heels, flats, boots and tights.  No matter how I wear it, I always feel good when I do.

2. The critter blazer from April's outfit.

This is another one that has seen a lot of action.  It's great over plain tees and jeans and I love wearing it with my grey jersey mini dress.  It attracts a lot of attention too.  This is probably the garment that gets the most admiration from strangers.

3. Trackies!  The track pants I made for the June outfit.

These probably get the most wear of all.  They're so comfy, I love them deeply.

4. I am rather pleased with the sleeveless chambray shirt I made as part of my summer capsule wardrobe.  There will be photos coming as soon as I finish the final couple of garments.  The shirt has great details, fits beautifully and has quickly become a wardrobe staple.

There's a glimpse of it there on the left.

5. The final and most recent hit of the year is Darron's November outfit.

I love this outfit.  Darron loves this outfit.  It was fun to make, the colours and prints are fun and summery, and it makes me grin like an idiot whenever he wears it and tells everyone with great pride that his wife made the whole lot!

So those are the top 5 hits!  Coming up will be the misses, and there have been plenty, let me tell you!  I also managed to get my December outfit finished and photographed before my unfortunate injury, so that is coming up soon too.

Top 5 of 2013

Thanks to Gillian at Crafting a Rainbow, it's time to take a look back at a year's worth of making stuff and decide on some Top Fives.

Here are the categories I'll be looking at over the next couple of weeks as the year winds to close:

• Top 5 Hits: Favourite Creations, most worn or most loved
• Top 5 Misses: Sewing Fails, UFOs, worn once, or complete disasters
• Top 5 Reflections: What did you learn about yourself or sewing this year? 
• Top 5 Inspirations: What books, people, blogs, trends etc motivated you this year?
• Top 5 Goals for the New Year

This year had been huge.  I've sewn more this year than any before, I committed to big long term projects and followed them through, I hit my lowest point in a long time, learned once again to manage my mental health, I've cared for and been cared for by my husband and children as we've battled illness left right and centre, I've made big decisions about my future and actually took the first steps to make that future happen. These five lists will be an interesting reflection on a crazy big year!