Top Five Goals for 2014

This one isn't going to be hard to write at all, as I've been thinking about these goals for a while!

Keep Better Notes

For the last couple years, I've been keeping notes on my sewing projects mostly in my blog posts.  As you can imagine, that makes it a little tedious when I need to go back and see what I did in a past project!

So I decided to make myself a notebook where I can keep track of what I did on each project.  This is going to be especially important for me going forward I think, as I'll probably start to make plenty of fitting changes.

I went and got myself a cute binder and some cardstock, and thought about what kind of information I'd like to keep track of.  Then I typed up a form and printed out a few copies.  I'm excited to use my new notebook!

Make Projects That Work for Me

This one is more nebulous . . . As I've been reviewing my past makes and cleaning out my closet, I've realized that there are some things I never wore because they just didn't suit my style or lifestyle.   

Some things I've made because I've seen them on other blogs and loved them on their makers, but didn't stop to consider whether they would work for me. 

I've made lots of cotton "day dresses," but find I have nothing appropriate for the few occasions when we go to "events."  But they also frequently don't work for when I go out for lunch or coffee with a girlfriend, as the weather can be pretty limiting here.  I'm not saying I won't make any more day dresses, because I know I will - even when I was still buying RTW clothes, they were my favorite thing.  But I'd like to start finding the holes in my wardrobe and working to fill those.

I've made plenty of items with fabric that is probably too "juvenile" for me, and thus I end up feeling self-conscious when I wear them.  I've got a Big Birthday coming up soon, and I've been feeling like I'd like to start creating more classic and timeless garments which will also be more age-appropriate.


Make Some Pants

As I did my Top Fives for Hits and Misses, I realized that I didn't make a single pair of pants in 2013!  Which is pretty ridiculous, because I wear pants all the time!  Now that I've gained some knowledge and lost some of the fear around fitting, I'd like to work up some trousers to fill holes in my wardrobe.

Make a Tailored Blazer

I've made simple, non-tailored blazers before, but this year I'd like to delve into making a real, honest-to-goodness classic tailored blazer.   I've got plenty of blazer patterns on hand, and I recently bought two tailoring books, so I'm ready to go.   I love tailored blazers but have never had one that fit me well.  (Now that I know how many fitting adjustments I need, I'm understanding why!)  So I'm excited to learn how to do this so I can create my own.

Do 80% of My Sewing from Stash

Last but definitely not least!  This one is so big, it's going to get its own blog post in a day or two!  Suffice it to say, I've got a LOT of fabric, but not a lot of space in which to store it, so I need to start working from that stash.

No, this is not all of it!

Last year when I wrote my list of goals for 2013, I was kind of nervous about a lot of them - I felt they would really be a stretch and wasn't sure I could accomplish them.   This year, a lot of the projects I sewed helped me accomplish those goals and at the same time, boosted my sewing confidence.  Some of next year's goals are just as challenging, if not moreso, but I don't feel intimidated by them - the last several months have made me feel like I can sew whatever I want.  It just might take some time and a bit of research to get there.  And I'm cool with that.  So come on, 2014!  I'm ready!

**UPDATE**  Lots of you seem to like my Project Notes page, so I've made it into a google doc to share.  If you'd like to download it for your own use, use this link:  Project Notes PDF

In the Jar

I'm sure a lot of you know about Karen's Sewlutions Jar.  Well, I'm in there too!  My 2013 Sewlution was to make at least one business shirt and one pair of wool pants for Hubby.

I hadn't mentioned it yet because I had a romantic notion of making these things on the sly and then presenting them to my boy with a flourish.  He does read my blog (awww! kisses, Honey!) so I decided I just wouldn't write about it until after the fact.  But last week I realized that if I want to get a really good fit, I'm going to have to take a bunch of measurements, which would pretty much let the cat out of the bag.

And getting a good fit is the whole reason for wanting to make the shirts.  (I want to make the pants just because my local fabric shop has some really lovely suiting wools, and I want to work with them!)  We ladies often bemoan the fitting struggles we have with sewing, and say, "Those boys have it so easy!"  Well, my poor boy has never had a shirt that fits him well.  He has a thick neck and broad shoulders compared to his chest and waist, and short arms - even the shortest arm lengths in RTW shirts are about an inch too long.  I swear if you met him on the street, he'd look like a normal guy ;-)

I've made him several casual shirts over the years, but have never altered the patterns for his requirements, as they were meant to be worn without a tie and with a loose fit.  I enjoy making shirts and don't find things like collars and cuffs to be especially difficult.  So my challenge here will be getting a great custom fit for him, along with adding in more details like sleeve plackets and collar stay channels.  To that end, I've ordered a book recommended by Lisa:  Shirtmaking by David Page Coffin.  I got the book on Saturday and have already read a lot of it - like Lisa, I highly recommend it if you want to make men's shirts with all the bells and whistles.

This pink fabric is the lining for my coat, which I've started on!

I've acquired a lot of sewing books over the last several months, and this is one of the best I have.  Very readable.  I'll be honest:  a lot of sewing books, while containing great information, are a little on the dry side and often put me to sleep, which is why it takes me so long to get through them!  But this one is positively riveting!  Mr. Coffin has some very definite ideas about what a men's shirt should be, but the technical information is presented in an engaging way, almost as if you're sitting down with a friend and having a discussion on the topic.  I really appreciate that he explains the reasons for why things are done the way they are.

So there you have it.  My plan is to read the entire book before getting started.  There's no rush on this project, but I am really, really looking forward to making some custom shirts for my honey, so I'm hoping to get started sooner rather than later.

Oh yeah - and I ordered a felling foot too :-)

Yet More Burda!

You were on tenterhooks, right?!  Here is the other pattern:

Burda 7072

Gah!  Look at that coat!  I die!  Here, take a closer look:

This is the version I'll be making.

Here are the line drawings:

Of course, there's a back story.

Over the summer, I came across this coat* on Burda Style and decided I must make one like it.  The pattern was in a back issue of Burda magazine, December 2011.  I checked around on eBay until I found it - my copy came all the way from Israel. 

Here's the picture from the magazine.

And the line drawing.

Then the fall got busy, and before I knew it the weather appropriate for a coat like this had passed, so I put the project on a back burner.  I was thinking of making a version in springtime fabric, but then when this new pattern came out, I changed my mind!  So now my plan is to make the 7072 for spring, and consider making this one early next fall.  Aside from loving the style of the new pattern, I also feel like I want to get started on my 2013 goal of making a coat earlier rather than later.

I was thinking I'd like to make the coat in a pale pink sateen (how original!), but while I was looking around online for it, I came across this:

Anna Maria Horner cotton sateen "Turn of Events" in Blush

And it was on sale.  Done and done!  The roses are quite large:

I'm really looking forward to making this as my first coat project.  I'm planning to make this my February project, so something to look forward to!

* I'm a huge fan of this girl's work - I love everything she makes and just her style in general.  I wish I could read her blog:  it's all in Polish!

Goal Bustin'

I've been slowly working toward accomplishing one of this year's goals*:  finally making my Anouk dress.

The weekend before last, I taped my trimmed copies together and traced out all my pattern pieces.  I had thought I would start the dress last weekend, but as we now know, Bag Frenzy took hold and I made a little detour.

On Wednesday I had some free time, so I used it to cut out, mark and interface all my pieces.  And today I finally started sewing.

Somehow, I'm happy to be working on this in bits and pieces, rather than try to finish the whole thing in a day or two.  I'm starting to suspect that this would be my preferred way of working, but I'm hindered by not having a sewing room.  (I know, I keep harping on that!)  Because I have to haul everything from the guest room upstairs to the dining room downstairs every time I want to sew, I always feel like I need big chunks of time and maximum output.  But with this project I'm happily taking my time.  That could also have to do with the fact that it will be months before I can wear this, as I'm doing the sleeveless version, so I don't feel any great urgency.

One of the factors that put me off starting this dress over and over is all the small bits:  the pieced bodice front, the pintucks, the gathering.  You know - all the details that make this design what it is!  I always had another project on tap that would be quicker or easier.  Lately though, and thanks to quilting I think,  I'm finding these details a lot of fun to execute.  I had never done pintucks before, and I really enjoyed them - I was a little sad when I finished them all!  And it was really fun moving my pattern pieces around on my printed fabric to find just the spot for making the chevron.  I'm really happy with how that turned out.

I looked back at my account on Fabric.com where I bought all the materials for this dress.  The print is Anna Maria Horner's Mixed Signals Striking voile from her Innocent Crush line.  I ordered it on February 6 of last year.  I ordered the magenta chambray and the black voile I'm using for the upper bodice a week later.  My plan is to get this done before this UFO becomes one year old - very doable, even at a slow pace.

*To keep my goals in front of me, I transfered them from the original post to a page up top.