First Quarter Wrap-Up

Yes I know the first quarter of the year has been over for a while, but I’m a little behind – so be it. I’ve always wanted to write one of these posts about what I completed monthly or quarterly, but I never completed enough projects to get it done. But this year has been different. So here it goes…

January 2018

The top picture features two Angela Wolf Patterns “Delila” tops and the Closet Case Patterns “Sasha” pants. The next picture is the Itch-to-Stitch “Idyllwild” T’s I made in different variations. I’m also happy to say that I got (and will continue to get) a lot of use out of those garments and patterns.

February 2018

Clockwise is the Burda Style twisty top (01/2018 #102), then the quilted vest using Butterick 5683, then, of course, the Closet Case Patterns Ginger jeans, and last, the Angela Wolf Patterns “Kate” skirt. Out of this group I would say that the twisty top and the Kate have become two of my favorite pieces. The jeans are by far my best fitting pair that I’ve made and they have gotten plenty of wear.

March 2018

This group features the Burda Style cargo skirt (02/2018 #115), Vogue 8766 dress, and the Morris blazer from Grainline Studio. Now that the warm weather is here, I feel like I’ll get more use out of the skirt in particular. I always find it difficult to get a good balance of spring and summer looks because the weather here usually goes from cool spring days to summer heat and humidity in just a couple of weeks.

I believe that this is probably more (or as many) items as I have previously sewn in an entire year! That being said, I have many more things that I want to accomplish this year so I’d better get back to work…

5 Ways to Get Your Creative Mojo Back

We have ALL struggled from time to time with putting out creative content. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a blog post, sewing project, or whatever the case may be. So, here are a 5 simple ways to get yourself out of that creative slump.

1. Magazines. Whether its fashion, lifestyle or home decor, read whatever inspires you and gets you excited to try something new. I would suggest not limiting yourself to the current crop of magazines. Look at some vintage (or just old) magazines for ideas. You never know what might ignite that creative spark.

2. Reading other blogs. Seeing what others have made is a great way to get inspired.

3. Periscope. If you haven’t gotten into Periscope, you should. There is an entire crafting and sewing community there whose member life stream daily/weekly. I find that I’m always getting ideas, learning new techniques, and finding out about patterns I want to try.

4. Brain dump. Whatever method you want to use, it’s always a good idea to get rid of the mental clutter.

5. Re-organize and clean the sewing room/creative space. Cleaning my sewing area and getting things re-organized always helps me. Just like brain dumping gets rid of the mental clutter, cleaning my sewing room helps get rid of the physical clutter. I have a hard time working in a disorganized space (visual clutter=mental clutter).

Until next time…

Completed garment

I finished the “skort” pattern yesterday. I can’t believe I’ve had this pattern for so long and never made it. It was very easy and only took about 3 hours to make of actual sewing time. It would have been faster, but I did have to undo a couple of mistakes. Anyway, as I said before, I made View E. Mine has the panel with the pocket on the opposite side from what the pattern envelope shows because I cut the piece out right-side down, rather than right-side up as the instructions state. I also lengthened the pattern by 2″ and shortened the crotch by 1/2″. I put the hem at about 1/4″. I wanted this to be knee-length rather than mid-thigh. I used a stretch cotton twill I bought from fabric.com in a poppy red color.

Unfortunately, this pattern is OOP, but it’s really great to have if you can get ahold of it. Like I said before, I’ve seen these in the store but they’re always so short (and I’m well past the age of wearing a mini – LOL!).