New Years Resolutions

My 2013 goals for the year kind of fell flat.

I didn't manage to make a statement coat, leggings, a shirt dress, a knee length black skirt, a sewaholic garment, a bag, a summer dress or a cosplay outfit. My seven new items are all nice but they're a bit random. I don't know if I'd have bought any of them in the shops but four were intended as wearable muslins and I never buy scarves.

Ironically, I think the first one I made was my favorite. My lovely red top that I made with my granny. I bought the fabric specifically for the project and it doesn't require any kind of fitting. I'll just have to up my game in 2014.

I do have goals for the new year but they're a bit more vague this time.

1) Do some sewing related work every day when it's feasible. Trace something or sew something together or do some embroidery. I stopped trying to do something everyday during 2013 and almost stopped sewing completely after my boyfriend moved in.

2) Make a garment every month. It's not that much but it'll keep me on course.

3) Stop buying cheap fabric. Given how slowly I sew I might as well save up and get nicer fabric. At least stuff I really like. Once I've used up or gotten rid of my stash I can make a wardrobe of clothing I can truly be proud of.

4) Start making adjustments to patterns that need it. Most clothing patterns were made for people who were medium height to tall and a standard B cup, whereas I'm built like a hobbit wench. I'm not complaining, I've gotten used to it by now, but it means that most clothing won't fit straight out of the packet.

5) Try to sew birthday/christmas presents and give them to people on time. I've never been very good with gift giving. I leave it too late then get overwhelmed with the task.

6) Have fun! This is supposed to be a hobby!

Holiday!

Tomorrow I get to go home to my parents place and spend ten days sleeping in the dining room on a futon. I'm looking forward to playing board games, staying in a heated house and slogging books that I won't get around to reading there and back.

 But what about my sewing and this blog? Well, even though my mum has three sewing machines I don't know how many of them are working at the moment and I'm concentrating on knits anyway. I'll just have to wait till I get back home to my overlocker.

Also, I just wanted to point out that the stuff in the picture isn't all of my stretch odds and sods collection. It's about half of it, but the rest is just more velvet in a huge range of colours I don't wear at the moment.

I can, however, get on with copying off some of the patterns I haven't tried yet. I just have to find out if I'll have to bring my iron with me.

If I just fill this blog with pictures of the copied off patterns then it's going to get a bit boring, so I'll try to carry on with the (hopefully) interesting musing on various sort of related subjects.

I'm also going to take the opportunity to get measurements for my family so I can make muslins if I feel like it and bring them home the next time I'm going. (I might move back to the town before I get around to it but that's beside the point.)

Hope you guys have a fun Christmas!

My absence

I've been away from my blog for a bit, and for that I'm sorry.

It's been hard for me to find the space to work in my horrible, messy house and even harder to find the mental and emotional energy. All my bills arrived at the same time and my relationship's hit a couple of bumps.

I did find something else to do that took a lot less space. I've been doing Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) that are 3.5 x 2.5 inch pieces of artwork that you can swap online.

I'm going to try and get back to sewing this week.

Fabric Patterns And A New Posting Schedule

The blog needs a bit of a revamp. I'm not changing the template or the layout that much because I'm pretty happy with them but you can expect to see some changes in the content.

Firstly, I'm planning on putting up a tutorial or two. I'll probably only do them when things come up organically but as I explore the world of sewing and fashion more and more things should come to the surface.

Secondly, as much as I love writing every day and it helps me keep motivated, I think I can produce better posts if I have a longer run up time. I'm just changing to posting on even days at the moment, and I'll have two days to work on things at the end of 31 day months instead of switching or doing two in a row. I hope it works out.

On to my other subject!

Have you heard of fabric printing services like Spoonflower? I love the idea! Just imagine, a pretty dress or shirt made of fabric you designed yourself! Or you can browse the ones that are already there by popularity or a colour you like. You can even buy a printed pillow that you sew together yourself like the one below, available here.

I've always liked scribbling patterns and playing with colours in my notebooks and it would be cool to upload them. They might sell if I do them with Paint Shop Pro and it would be cool if someone liked them enough to pay for them but I mostly just want to put a personal spin on my own clothes

On a random note, it's apparently 'Different Colored Eyes Day'. The combination of that and meeting someone at work who had one blue, one hazel eye sort of inspired me to doodle a pattern. It's not as creepy as it could have been.