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Monday, January 2, 2017

HAPPY 2017!

Yay for a new year!!!

So excited for this turn of the calendar and feeling like it will be a fantastic year. On the sewing front I honestly haven't given a ton of thought to what's next but that's okay...it doesn't have to be a big 'thing'.

Patterns:
I have a lot of patterns. I have a lot of space to store patterns. Therefore, I will not stress myself out over the number that I own. I do think I can do a bit of culling. I have patterns in stash that I tried before and basically think are the devil in paper form (Looking at you Burda 6910). Why keep them? And others that I look at and wonder why I bought them as I don't really think they are my style.

I have tried to purchase more thoughtfully and will continue that.

My Burda sub has been renewed. People have commented on the January and February issues being lighter on patterns. The January issue has 21 unique patterns, excluding the kids' costumes. There is no petite pattern and one tall pattern. There was no petite pattern in the December issue either and that one also had about 20ish women's patterns. November had closer to 30 but a lot of the extras were pretty much variations in length. . I think I would rather have fewer patterns with true variations than to have them show the same thing 3-4 times with some small change in detail like color blocking or pockets.

I have one more Ottobre coming and I will decide if I want to renew or not. I may just buy those on a per magazine basis. I almost always like the autumn/winter issue and am a bit meh on the spring/summer.

Fabric:
I love buying fabric! I have a big stash and that's okay with me. But right now it feels out of control and not well contained. I need to cull there too. I have a whole bin that I almost always overlook. I dig through and 'meh' all the choices. And since I rarely muslin, again, Why hang on to it?

I am resolving to spend $500, max, on fabric in 2017. That does NOT include lining or interfacing.

Budget:
So, $500 on fabric! LOL! I plan to spend less overall this year and that includes sewing. I have tried and just cannot with JoAnn. I will go there in an absolute pinch and for those rare 70% off notions events, but there is no attempt to improve the store and I don't like giving them my money.

**I understand some people have great local stores but I don't. So please, no need to defend your store or why you visit them. (sorry, not sorry).**

I will continue to buy BMV online through my membership. I don't buy a ton of Simplicity patterns anymore, but we will see how that goes when there is something I "must" have. I will continue to buy notions and zippers from Wawak and other online stores.

Lastly I want to start saving for a cover stitch. I sew a ton of knits and I would love one in my arsenal. I also know I want a Pfaff but as you all know I have a college student and a soon to be HS senior and my life is EXPENSIVE right now. So that may be my "In 2018 I'm done *raising* kids" gift to myself. Or a 40th birthday gift. Who knows :)

What do I want to sew? What do I want to achieve?
I have tackled a few pieces of outerwear but since I am such an instant-gratification person I find it hard to start them.  This isn't a sewing issue; it's just my personality so it's much harder to combat!

But I have to 1) because I DO have some longer term/"Bigger" projects I want to sew and 2) I actually can't continue my current output but I need to sew most of the time! Again, I don't mind having a larger wardrobe -  I always have, even when I was strictly RTW. But I have a LOT of clothes right now.

Well...fall/winter. I can still stand some serious work on my summer wardrobe. And spring barely exists here.

1) A blazer. I REALLY WANT THIS!! As mentioned before I have a couple from J.Crew that fit decent but not perfect and I love blazers.

2) MOARRRRR coats. I love outerwear. I've always had a TON of coats.
  • I plan to sew the Closet Case Files Clare relatively soon. 
  • I need another casual coat - I love my Minoru but it is a linen blend and has quite a limited span of time it can be worn here. I need something warmer but just as sporty but not as BIG(!) as my down coat. I *think* I can make the Minoru from a wool. I know some of the areas can get bulky but thinking lighter weight wool + silk lining = warm jacket. We shall see.  
  • Trench coat. I have a RTW that I've owned for forever but it's made from some very lightweight cotton that is so damned wrinkly all the time! ALL THE TIME!!! Plus I have this sweet vintage Simplicity and a buy-the-yard khaki colored fabric I scored from FM so I just have to.

3) I have to finish my daughter's quilt. I feel so bad that I never got it done. I have to see how many blocks I have but I can't make anymore blocks. I can't. I cannot cut up any more tiny squares. (I'm shaking my head rapidly from side to side saying, "no! no! NO!!!!! No more!")

I think I have 11- 14"x14" blocks. If so I'll make a 12th one I have 14 blocks and am unsure if a 3x5 center will work. It may look too disproportioned. If it's okay I'll move forward...if not I'll take it back to 12. and then build up the rest of the quilt with borders. Yes, I still have to cut up and reassemble fabrics but not tiny squares that become triangles and all that. :shudder:

See? No more tiny pieces. No more. I am no longer able.

And there goes my career as a quilter. If my son really wants a quilt he will get a jelly roll race quilt. That was fine. That I can do. My annoyance with that came with the actual quilting. And I have watched so many YouTube vids and read so many blogs but my brain is unable to miter corners.  But I can pay someone to quilt and bind it!

4) Bodice.Sloper.!!! I want to do this. Well, no I don't want to; it doesn't sound fun...but it sounds necessary. 

Personal:
Grrrr. I didn't lose a ton of weight but I'd lost some in 2015 (~12-15 lbs) and nearly all of my knee pain disappeared. Right around that time I'd found an article in a medical journal that said for people who suffer OA of the knee, every pound of weight loss reduces the force on the knees by 4 lbs. And I was ecstatic that I wasn't suffering constantly. 

Well the weight is back and so is the pain. It hurts a lot. Everyday, no matter the activity, and my scale says I weigh 189 and my rheumatologist wants me to lose 30 lbs. So I need to do it. I won't set a hard/fast number for weight loss. E.g., if I lose like 26 lbs I'm calling it good. Because I don't actually dislike my almost 190 lb body but my knees and hips hurt so it's too much. 

Professionally I'm gunning for some big moves! I have a certification to prep for and I need to get my behind in gear. My exam window is 5/1 - 7/15 and I have a lot of studying to do!

Personally I have a lot to leave behind in 2016 and sure this may sound a little hokey, but I have to let a lot of negativity go. I was a poster on GOMI, and no, it isn't all personal attacks and meanness. But it DOES go there and it's really not nice when it's against someone you consider a friend (hey, our sewing friendships are so important even when we've never met irl!). So I felt complicit in a way, even though I didn't participate in those discussions and defended as I saw fit. So I'm done there. 

Pattern Review. Grr. I almost deleted my account at one point. It's like 2016 was the year of the crazies over there. But I had to remember how much I enjoyed that site when I first learned to sew and to be a participant in a way that works for me. So helpful posts, pattern discussions, writing reviews, etc...and leaving all the crazy making stuff alone.

Wait - I'm not talking about putting on those rose-colored-everything is fine and positive and totally uplifting in the sewing blog community-glasses. I'm talking about not bogging myself down with people and things who are nasty and take up mental space that they certainly don't deserve.

My local sewing group has decided to keep a set date/time for meeting up and then whoever makes it can make it. So I am happy to have that to look forward to now most months. I am truly a home body and if not for my kids I would be holed up in my house a lot. I'm really going to try to be a bit more social in 2017.  Right now it's pretty much automatically a hard no on doing anything during the week after work. Which may sound normal (lol) but I get off work at 4:30 and am usually home 20 minutes later. And yes I go to bed early but I can still get out occasionally and do more socially.

Social Media. I deactivated Facebook back in September, and got back on temporarily last month.  I have deactivated again as I just can't.  And I am *this* close to leaving Instagram. FB owns it now and I dislike the changes they are making. However, I do feel like interacting on IG in the sewing realm has been a bit different than IG as a whole. The problem is that I don't get to live in my sewing bubble anymore because of their stupid algorithms and suggested content. And I dislike the 'liking' of comments on posts. So I am finding myself annoyed/irritated a lot of the time when I'm on there.

Recap of 2017 goals and sewing plans:

1) Buy patterns thoughtfully; cull at some point (early) this year.
2) Continue my Burda challenge (okay fine I didn't mention this but I'm totally doing it again). I will sew a Burda a month from that particular month; but from any year.
3) Consider dropping Ottobre depending on how spring/summer looks
4) Buy fabric thoughtfully. Limit fabric purchases to $500 for the year; excluding lining and interfacing.
5) Sew a fitted, lined blazer
6) Sew 3 new outerwear pieces
7) Finish my daughter's quilt
8) Create a bodice sloper
9) Lose the danged 30 (ish) pounds
10) Be more positive
11) Be more social in real life