Happy New Year all! I hope that you had a relaxing and enjoyable time over the festive period. As usual, my motto of life seems to be 'Better Late Than Never'; so as it's January 5th, the Twelfth Night of Christmas, this is my last chance to talk about last year.
2014 was a brilliant, scary, roller coaster of a year for me. One of the wonderful things about it was that it finally saw me sewing for myself again. For those of you not in the know, I have a BA in costume making and work as a costumier in the theatre. It can be difficult to separate work and play when your hobby is somewhat similar to your day job. But after 5 years, in 2014 I finally managed to disassociate sewing from deadlines and stress. I made a few things for myself, and a few things for others.
My linen cycling trousers, inspired by a Japanese pattern, and in my gloriously summery garden
Unfinished projects from 2014
Continuing to sew on the kitchen table…
- Velvet 1970s-esque miniskirt
- Grey shirt for F.
- French knickers
- & The Queensized Quilt of Doom
Stashbusting projects from 2014
And of course, there's all the fabric that I acquired in 2014 that never even got cut out. Here's what I hope to have to write about over the next few months, in a vague sort of order of what might be ready first!
- Burgundy cropped sailor trousers, 1930s-esque
- Cream period shirt for F.
- Red crepe shift dress
- Black floral 1970s-esque suspender skirt
- Wax relief shirt for F.
- Yellow elephants 1950s summer dress
- Zingy foliage 1930s beach pyjamas
Plans & dreams for 2015…
I will make my dream coat!
Of course, I have even more projects planned! My aim for 2015 is to try to use my time more efficiently. I'm trying to improve my diet, so that I don't feel so tired all the time. With the extra energy levels I'm longing to gain I plan to be more creative overall, and not let my free time be dominated by leftover stresses from the day.
- Continue to use the large pattern resources that I've gathered, from vintage patterns to modern Japanese sewing books
- Take the plunge and re-make some of my beloved vintage clothes that have fallen to pieces.
- Get back into menswear, and practise tailoring again!
- Finish a queensized quilt!
Phew, that sounds like a lot!
What about you - do you have many sewing plans for this year? What do you hope to accomplish or learn?