The Dismal 2017 Stats...

Finally clearing the slate for a new year.

I just didn't manage to get to the sewing machines much last year.  Partly blaming the on-line Master's degree, which pretty much consumed the first 5 months of the year, but I can only partly blame that.

To be honest, I think the current jammed-up, cluttered sewing room is as much to blame as anything. That, and re-gaining the weight I lost in 2016 kinda killed my sewing motivation altogether.

But, as they say it's a new year and a new day.  Cleaning the sewing room is on my radar...after I get a few other things caught up...(and I'm making progress there) so maybe I can post not-so-dismal stats this time next year...

Fabric In: 74.875 yds
Fabric Out: 31.625 yds
Last fabric added: 11/15?/17
Garments made for me: 15
Garments made for other family members: 2
Home Dec Items: 1
Muslins:1
Misc. Church Sewing: 12? 14? Nine-patch squares for table decor;

Still, the fabric-in total was the 3rd lowest for the year since I started keeping records of such things back in 2004; and it was just 3/8ths of a yard over the 2nd lowest total, which was in 2010 (in 2015 my yearly total was 72.625 yards; that's the most disciplined I've managed to be... but that year I sewed over 62 yards, so I only added about 10 yards to the stash.  I'm way off of that this year).

I'm not going to totally restrict myself from buying ANY fabric...there are some gaps in the stash, and if I need Brussels Washer Linen I'm going to buy some, but it's gonna have to be something I NEED and will SEW when I get it.

Back to the old paradigm that I lived with until something like 1990...buy the fabric when you're going to sew it.

I can hardly remember what that was like...the excitement of going to the fabric store, coming home with the new fabric that I could hardly stand to wait to run it through the washer/dryer before slapping the pattern down and attacking it with the scissors.

Now, of course, that kind of immediate gratification just doesn't happen.   I had a good 4 or 5 stores a short drive a way then...that had things like cotton and linen and silk...now there's just Jo-Ann's World of Quilting, Polyester and Crafts.  But I digress...

So, this year I intend to Shop the Stash.  I might make things for choir...or I might make things I'll never get to wear in choir.  I might make aprons and tote bags.  I might come up with a SWAP plan.  Who knows.

But I want to get my sewing room cleaned out and somewhat organized.

Then I can have some fun.  Shop the stash...slap on the pattern...make something new...

A New Paradigm...I hope...

I looked, and do you know, I ran some form of a Choir Wardrobe post for nearly ten years?  With a break here and there...

Hard to believe I've been blogging that long, but it was 12 years last fall, so...well, time flies.

So I've been contemplating my sewing. The choir wardrobe has literally driven my sewing choices for who knows how long; yet I have been accumulating fabric in all sorts of styles all that time that has languished (note to self:  next post, do the dismal 2017 stats...lol).

Fabric dot com sent an email to me (actually, more than one), saying they were worried about my stash...afraid I was going to run out of fabric.

(laughs hysterically)

I posted on Facebook that they should be afraid I would open a competing fabric business, based on the stash.

But you know, the stash has been weighing on me.  So many unfulfilled dreams.  Those lovely blouses, awesome jackets,  sharp dresses...that have never been made.

So my goal for 2018 is to dare to sew pretty things from the stash.

Also on my goal for 2018 is to have fun sewing; I'm going to try to sew without deadlines.

But first up...my sewing room is a disaster.

A DIS.AS.TER.

No, I'm not posting a photo now.  I'll take a 'before'...and, when it's clean, I'll post it with the 'after'.

I may not get much sewing done for the next month; it may take that long to clean it out.

'Specially as I haven't started yet.  Got some other urgent household business to take care of first.

Regarding choir; I'm going to give it a go and see if I can use what I have, with possible minor accessory purchases, for the entire year.  Unless something changes radically, or some previously unknown color shows up in the mix, I should be good...even if I just go in all black or all brown or whatever the neutral is for the month.

So...here's to shopping the stash in 2018! :-D

Choir Wardrobe 12.31.17

In the interest of not having a bodaciously long and rambling post, I'm going to stick to the Choir Wardrobe for today and save other stuff for another day.

Burgundy, black and gray were the colors for December, and since we had 5 Sundays in the month I actually did get to wear the new stretch lace top. 

Worn with the ancient Vogue cardi-wrap I wore last week and the black-denim-look ponte Sewing Workshop Helix Pants, because I didn't have any dressier pants that 1) fit or 2) were clean.  There's a charcoal gray Jalie 965 tank under it, because, yeah.  Stretch lace.

Looking at the photo, I'm wishing I'd made the top about 2" longer....which would have been the original length of the pattern.  What looked frumpy in rayon knit would have looked fine in the stretch lace.  It looks a little skimpy to me, but that may be partially because of the knit pants.  Drapey straight-leg pants w/o a topper would probably have worked better.

The topper was because it was cold Sunday...even here in the South. I'm not complaining; this Hoosier-born gal needs a bit of cold around the holidays for it to even feel right.    Now I want one 3 -4 inch snow and we can call it winter and go to spring. LOL.


AND...with that post, I'm going to retire the Choir Wardrobe...it may come back again or it may not, but I'm feeling really ambivalent about posting the same ol stuff over and over (I know, there's a new top this week, but in general...it's all old...).

But I want to refocus my sewing priority, and I think the paradigm shift on the blog will help.  In all honesty, I started the choir wardrobe series back in the day as a challenge to myself to see if I could wear something me-made every Sunday for a year.   I met that challenge...over and over and over again.  Now it's rare that I DON'T wear something I've made.

So now I need a new challenge. 

And I'm thinking.  I'm thinking....

:-)  Thanks to everyone who has followed the series all these years!