Clearing the slate

Although I have to confess that I was in such a sewing frenzy at the end of last year I neglected to total anything up...I really don't know how many yards I donated from the stash for costuming efforts (at least 6) Or how many yards I bought and sewed up for costuming efforts (at least ...lord have mercy, I don't have a clue.  I didn't turn in receipts...they disappeared....) Or even how many yards I bought with INTENTION to sew and then ran out of time (8?  Maybe?)

So...these fabric in/fabric out totals are Before Christmas Costuming Started. reflecting the fabric left in the stash at the end of the year...as best I can run it down, anyway, lol.  I dug through the fabric that was left and matched it up to emailed receipts...I at least wanted to account for the stuff I DIDN'T sew...

Fabric In: 87.35 yds
Fabric Out: 46.125 yds
Last fabric added:  who knows, lol
Garments made for me: 20
Accessories:0
Garments made for other family members: 0
Home Dec Items: 0
Wadders, er, Unintentional muslins: 0
"Donations" : 0
Muslins: 2

Misc. Church Sewing:

armbands/ yellow stars for Holocaust Remembrance dramatization

Pants, tops and tabbards for two Angel costumes

7 tiny sheep toppers

One black under-robe

I think.

I am not even sure I recorded everything I did...it just got crazy at the end.  So I'm wiping the board and starting fresh. 

And hoping to actually get my 'December Outfit' sewn up this weekend. 

Laundry and sewing is the plan for tomorrow....

2018: A dismal year for sewing

The stats from the year:

Fabric In:52.75 yds
Fabric Out: 24.875yds
Last fabric added: 12/29/18
Garments made for me: 12
Accessories:0
Garments made for other family members: 0
Home Dec Items: 1
Wadders, er, Unintentional muslins: 0
"Donations" : 1
Muslins:0

Misc. Church Sewing:

'Reserved' Chair sashes...team effort 

Well...at least I averaged one garment per month, lol.

I looked back over the year's projects to see if there were any that were remarkable in any way; probably the most outstanding of the mediocrity was the Arcadia Green top and the adventures in dyeing that I took to get  that minty shade of green:

I will say that I have worn that top quite a bit; it's a cheerful color and the cotton knit is substantial enough for an Alabama winter. But, really, that's as exciting as it got around here.  I didn't even manage to average one blog post per week, since I discontinued the choir wardrobe posts.

But,  I did keep the 'fabric in' yardage down, even if I still only managed to sew up about half the amount of yardage I purchased.  That percentage seems pretty consistent....but I'm choosing to look at the total yards in.  Yes, I did better.  LOL.

I only bought TWO new patterns last year.  That is a DEFINITE improvement.

But, then, that may be because the friendly neighborhood Hancock's store, with their 1.99 pattern sales, is also a thing of the past.  Removing the temptation...

But...2019 is a new season, and I have a wardrobe plan to execute.  I'll probably  have some church costuming to write about. So hopefully I'll be hitting the 'publish' button a little more often.  

Here's to more sewing and more blogging in 2019! :-D

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 little delayed...

So tomorrow's the last day of January.

Guess I need to clear the annual stats, especially as I have had some fabric arrive today so I need to get the 2017 Counts going.

Last year's statistics:

Fabric In: 82.875 yds
Fabric Out: 71.375yds
Last fabric added:12/28/16
Garments made for me: 31
Home Dec Items: 2
Misc. Church Sewing: 7 accent pillows covered

So close to parity...that's the best I've done in a long, long time, and if I hadn't bought fabric for costumes that didn't happen, I'd've been there.

But the costumes will happen, if not this year then certainly next year, so I'm not going to sweat it too much.

And I didn't carry any 2016 projects over into 2017.  One of the 2015 projects is currently going through the machines...slowly...so maybe I'll actually get some work done on the UFO pile.

But, since I haven't posted a picture of Fabric In in forEVER...new fabric...

Going from right to left....
black Telio rayon/nylon/lycra ponte, teal green organic cotton jersey, navy blue Telio rayon/nylon/lycra ponte, gray bamboo/lycra jersey and, although I usually NEVER buy polyester knits, an ITY jersey that I think I got just because I could not resist the colors.  I'll blame it on short gloomy January days.

I will say that that ponte knit is amazing.  I ordered 4 yards of the black and got 4  1/4;  I may venture to make a Little Black Dress as well as a pair of Helix pants and I'll still have a chunk left.

But...no more purchases until this has been sewn.  Or at least mostly sewn; I may put the remnant of black away for another day.

But at the rate I'm sewing, that means I may not get to buy anything else until the summer sales hit in July.

Well, that went by fast...

Not sure how I got from Thanksgiving to Epiphany quite so fast.... and how I stayed AWOL from the blog for so long!  I took choir photos...but just did not manage to get them posted.  I wasn't terribly excited about posting them, anyway, as it was all just old stuff that  you've seen a bazillion times before.

But it's time to clean the slate and start again.

Here's the stats from  2015:

Fabric In: 72.625 yds
Fabric Out: 49 yds
Last fabric added: 7/2/15
Garments made for me: 23
Accessories:5
Garments made for other family members: 0
Home Dec Items: 8
Wadders, er, Unintentional muslins: 0
"Donations" : - 0
Muslins:4


Misc. Church Sewing:5 pink georgette scarves, 5 tiny sheep tunics/ear sets

I was really, really disappointed that I didn't even get 50 yards of fabric sewn up...I have gaps in my wardrobe that really need to be filled...but the home renovation project just completely took over the last quarter of the year and the only sewing I managed to do was to get those little sheep onstage on Christmas Eve (they were really cute...).  The 'home dec' is kind of a fudge...we still have 3 chairs to redo, but the fabric is cut so I'm going to call it out of the stash.

 I'm still sticking to my 'nothing added to stash'  resolution...which has so far meant 'no fabric purchased', since I've done precious little sewing, and the result is this is the smallest amount of fabric I've purchased in a calendar year since I started keeping track of it back in 2002.  So the stash really only increased by about 23.5 yards.  Which is just a couple of month's worth of sewing...if I were focused on crankin' it out.    I do have patterns and fabric out on the cutting table, though;  once we get past the Really Big Conference we're having at church next weekend, I'm planning to spend at least a couple hours a week  sewing.  It won't go really fast, but at least I'll get something done.

I've got a SWAP plan in the back of my head;  I dunno if I'll make any more headway this year than I have the past few years.  But my black denim jacket is calling my name; if I can just make up my mind on a pattern and get going, I think the rest would fall into line. 

So...I've got another twoish weeks of crazy busy work stuff, and then...I should have some time to be creative again.

Although I have heard rumors of an Easter production at church this year...we'll see what surfaces once we're past the leadership conference. ;-)

Looking back...

2014 Stats:

Fabric In: 89.625 yds
Fabric Out: 36.875 yds
Last fabric added: 12/10/14
Garments made for me: 15
Garments made for other family members: 1
Muslins:  2
Misc. Church Sewing:
1 Girls Only Grad stole
Mystery Christmas gifts: yes. ;-) (actually, a set of waterbed sheets.  7 yards out...)

Truly abysmal...I bought nearly 90 yards, but did not get quite 40 sewn.

The one true, redeeming factor for the year is that

I MADE AN EPIC TRENCH COAT!

I will totally absolve myself of all quantity issues...that represents 3 months of sewing and I've worn it and worn it this fall.

Wiping the stats and starting over for the year now.

I've already resisted a couple of tempting sales...just because, really, I don't need anything at the moment.  I need to sew what I already own.

I really want to do a SWAP wardrobe this year...and my plan includes several garments that were in *last* year's plan.  But we're going to be launching a new data base application for an affiliate ministry in the next few months, so once again, sewing time may be hard to come by.

But I'ma gonna try. ;-)

2013 Stats

Well, if it's time to add new stuff for this  year, maybe I'd better record last year's stats:

Fabric In: 81.5 yds
Fabric Out: 39.75 yds
Last fabric purchase: 11/27/13
Garments made for me: 12
Accessories: 2
Garments made for other family members: 1
Home Dec Items: 1
Miscellaneous Church sewing:
5 mantles/stoles for Girls Only pins
2 tote bags; plus fabric out for 4 the girls made
School Costuming:Handful of alterations for 'Mousetrap',
Poppies for 'The Wiz' - 6 skirts
1 dress refashion
Misc. repairs and alterations
Charity Sewing:4 Pillowcases

All in all, pretty dismal.  I'd feel less guilty about the lack of sewing if I had not purchased something close to 40 yards more than I sewed.  And it's not like I went horridly overboard...it averaged to about 3 pieces of fabric a month for the year.  Not crazy, but...  I'm running out of storage which IS crazy and it's got to stop.   Another reason to sew the good stuff..

Which means I have even more egg on face, because I have to own up to the first 'fabric in' batch of the year, three fabrics from Gorgeous Fabric's year end sale...

My rationale was that I wanted some shirt-weight denim or chambray with the thought that it could be used in the 2014 SWAP, should I decide to participate..and the blue/white pinpoint cotton would make a very nice shirt, as would the 3 oz denim-lycra on the right.  The dogwood  print is a fanTAStic cotton sateen, which I probably would not have ordered, except that earlier last year I ordered 2 yards of the matching silk chiffon.  I saw a summer sheath dress, with a matching scarf, and it was in the cart.

So, that's 6 5/8 yards to start off the year.  And the Flute Player, remembering the rough academic year we had last year, opted to withdraw from the musical so as to not overload herself.  So, while I could end up helping in the costuming a bit, I will not be obligated to spend weeks sewing.

The SWAP actually looks to be a possibility for this year. A very definite possibility...

2013 Top 5

Somewhere there's a button and a link for the top five, but I'm too lazy to go find em and link up.

Besides, my top 5 projects for this year were pretty much my sewing for the year...I really didn't get much done.  Hoping that scenario changes for next year...my wardrobe is in sore need of some sprucing up.

Anyway... The Numero Uno sewing project for the year has to be the Poppy Skirts that I made for the 2013 musical, The Wiz.  I'll throw the 2nd spot to the Emerald City Citizen dress I cobbled up in about 5 hours, starting with a rather plain velvet dress and funkifying it up.

After that, it gets rather blah. I dove into a huge data migration project at work, and really had no time to sew.  Or buy milk, for that matter...it's been a crazy year.  But I did squeak through a couple of things...

I'll give the 3rd spot to the Hippie Earth Mother Tiered skirt.  I would live in these skirts in the summer, I think.  This makes two that I own...I may very well make some more before too much longer.  They are just FUN to wear...



4th place would be the pillowcases for Rhonda's Pillowcase project.  There is something really powerful about giving up personal time for someone else, and I enjoyed making these pillowcases.  I hope that somewhere someone enjoys looking at them.





The fifth place spot would probably go to the Jiffy Pop Top, just because it was such a spur of the moment fun thing that perked up my sewing confidence when it was seriously beginning to lag.

As we still have our family Christmas in front of us (New Year's Day), my cutting table is currently buried under gift wrapping supplies.  Not finished wrapping yet.   I do have a couple of things cut out I can work on if I can catch a minute or two. 

2012 Stats

So, yeah...here are the plain, unaltered stats:

Fabric In: 97.875 yds
Fabric Out: 37.375 yds
Last fabric purchase: 11/29/12
Garments made for me: 17
Garments made for other family members: 4
Home Dec Items: 1
Wadders, er, Unintentional muslins: 1
"Donations" : - 0
Muslins: - 1
Miscellaneous Church sewing:
10 metallic mesh knit 'Chain mail' hoods
2 Blousey laced-front linen shirts
Team effort: Um, 10? Bias-bound tabbards

I did a bit of volunteer sewing, so I guess that adds up to more than the  fabric out total shows, but still...that's sad.

So, basically, I am putting myself on a fabric buying freeze for a while.  There's no sense in buying more to put in bins; the bins are full. 

Unless, of course, I manage to crank out some garments and make some room.  Then...well, we'll see...

But I've already got 3 yards in for this year.  I won three yards of a lovely light grey wool crepe from the lovely, talented and very generous Rhonda Buss  .  Actually, I'm fudging just a bit, because the package actually arrived late in the day on Dec. 31st.  I just didn't let myself open it until the first, so it is on this year's tally instead of last year's.

I know, I know...pitiful, right?  But I did maintain 'under 100 yards in' last year.  Barely.  By fudging just a wee.

Anyway, My Dear Darling Sweet Baboo gave me a sewing gift for Christmas:  a copy of Elizabeth Allemong's European Cut manual.  I've skimmed through it already...wow.  Even if I never take all 38 measurements and do the graphing-style pattern draft, it has already opened my eyes to some fitting tweaks...and I love that the illustrations for the measuring instructions use a figure that is not a size 00. I'd really like to draft slopers from the instructions but...yeah, that time thing.

Oh, my manual is even autographed,  and came with a letter of encouragement.  I really hope I get to work on it.

Off to bring the sidebars up to date...Happy New Year, everyone! 

Thag You Very Buch

Once again, no choir post today, as our otherwise excellent visit to the homefolk for the holiday netted me a most miserable respiratory virus.  Like Bilbo at Laketown, all I can manage is a stuffy croak.  Staying home and drinking many cups of various liquids to try and keep things loose and draining...you know the routine.  We normally have our Christmas gift exchange on New Year's Day, but that is still a question as I'm not sure I'm going to be up to a party on Tuesday, but we'll see.

But I did want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for hanging with me in my most non-sewing year in recent memory; you all have stuck with me as I've just photographed stuff that I've had hanging about in the closet for ages and ages, which no longer fits as it did and is beginning to look rather ratty and worn.

And I have visited your blogs and seen lovely, inspiring things that have kept the flame alive, even when I couldn't fan it myself.  Thank you all for taking the time to photograph and document your creations for all to see and share; I've truly enjoyed seeing what others have made, even when I felt a twinge of jealousy that I couldn't seem to get to my sewing machine.

I may or may not get my 'end of the year' stats posted and reviewed, pitiful as they are (no finished garments since September!  If I felt better, I'd wing a quick knit top just to have SOMETHING to show for the final quarter of the year besides more stashed fabric, but that's not likely to happen).   Perhaps by the end of the week I'll feel up to moving the current numbers to a post and clearing the sidebar for a fresh start.

Here's to a great start to 2013, and more sewing time for all of us!

2011 Stats

Wow.  If I needed evidence there is a shift happening in my life, this would certainly be the telling of it:

Fabric In: 148.375 yds

Fabric Out: 56.375 yds

Last fabric purchase:11/30/11

Garments made for me: 25

Garments made for other people in my family: 7

Home Dec items: 2

'Donations': 1

Muslins: 2

Things made for friends: 1

Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:

Team Effort: 5 baptismal robes 

I barely sewed one third of the fabric I purchased, which happens to be the highest yearly fabric acquisition since 2007  --  nearly twice what I bought in 2010 -- coupled with my lowest cumulative production since I started tracking this stuff back in '03.

Not sure why I felt so compelled to purchase so much fabric when I wasn't sewing that much; I don't know if I haven't really gotten my brain around the fact that my available sewing time has cut dramatically with the part time job (which I've been on for 3 years now; it's about time my subconscious got a clue) or if I was just caught up in dreaming.  Still, 74% of my sewing was from new purchases, so I did work at sewing what was coming in.  I just had way more coming in than I could keep up with.

And, part of the issue was, of course, the weight thing that made fitting a challenge.  TNTs suddenly weren't very True any more, and I didn't have time available to redraft and retest.

Hence the large number of knit garments in last years 'finished' list.

So...what about the new year?
In my heart, I know I can NOT purchase fabric at the rate I was buying last year.  And if my sewing doesn't increase, I really don't need to purchase any fabric for the next 24 months.


Can I just say...not realistic? as she laughs just a little hysterically...

So, I made a deal with myself.  I will allow myself to purchase up to the amount I sewed *this* year, providing I *need* the fabric made up immediately.


Oh, that will be hard.  But, in all honesty, I have a large stash of VERY lovely fabric.  Aside from something unforseen (such as a new color for church choir), I should be able to sew pretty much from stash.


And make some pretty things.  Especially knits...at least for the first few months.  Who knows...I may yet figure out a SWAP wardrobe...

2010 in the Rear View Mirror

2010 was not a stellar year for me, sewing-wise. But one brightish thought is that, while I was 21 yards short of sewing parity, I did manage to curtail my shopping to only 78.5 yards...just 28 pieces of fabric...which is the lowest my annual intake has been since I started keeping rack of it 6 years ago. Maybe I'm learning self control?

In a less hectic time, I would've easily sewn 80 yards up in a year; this has just been a crazy year.

I suppose the high point of my sewing was the project I did in the early part of the year in which I tried to make 12 garments in 12 weeks. I didn't *quite* make the time line but I did get twelve new garments for the Flute Player and myself that were needed in the wardrobe.

So, here are the final stats:
Fabric In: 78.5 yds
Fabric Out: 57.5 yds
Last fabric purchase: 10/4/10
Garments made for me: 24
Garments made for other people in my family: 7
Home Dec items: 1
Muslins: 3

Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:
Six Black/white liturgical stoles

Team Effort:
3 baptismal robes

I still have a few baptismal robes in the bin under my desk at work that need to be finished out; I *think* all they need are side seams and hems.

Maybe that'll be the first 'As soon as I'm done with the church directory photo scheduling' project, just to get it off my conscience ;). We have one more weekend of photography this week, to make up for a day we lost last month due to freezing rain, and then that portion of our directory project is DONE. The next step...editing the directory info itself... should not be so time consuming. I hope, anyway.

'Cause I have total chaos in evidence just about everywhere and somehow I need to get dug out of it. So my sewing plans for 2011 are rather on hold; all I know for sure is that I'll be doing some wedding sewing. Still don't know exactly what...but I should have an idea soon.

I hope. ;)

2009 Wrap Up

These numbers aren't what I'd like...but, well, that's the way the year went.

Actually, I think my 'yards in' is a little lower than it should be; I have some leftover fabric I purchased for costuming that will go into the stash (I only turned in receipts for what I actually *used* for the costumes), but I haven't measured it or swatched it or even put it away.... So, well, yeah.
Anyway, the stats:

Fabric In:124.625 yds
Fabric Out:42.5 yds
Last fabric purchase:12/29/09
Garments made for me:19
Garments made for other people in my family: 5
Accessories: 3
Things made for friends: 1
Muslins: 1
No Wadders in '09!

PROJECTS COMPLETED:
Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:
black linen '18th century preacher' coat
white linen '18th century' men's shirt
6 tasseled liturgical scarves

School Costuming:
'08-'09 Musical, Aida:
Lots of pattern altering/fabric cutting before sewing anything!
4 simple shift a-line pullover dresses
5 poly matte jersey halter dresses
A bunch of partial projects, alterations and accessories...

Fall '09 School Tour skit, The Happy Scarecrow:
One Jester costume, w/hat

'09-'10 Musical, White Christmas:
drafted, then constructed the muslin of a frankenpattern for a pouffy skirted tap-dance dress
sparkly red Simplicity 3878 formal dress....started w/ a partly assembled bodice

Lengthened men's suit jacket sleeves

Fall '09 One-Act Competition play, The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged (Abridged):
One teeny tomato print poufy long skirt, which was later replaced
two plaid 'Scottish wraps'
green leggings and poufy knickers
orange leggings and poufy knickers
weird cape from two actual pleated-top drapes
purple leggings and poufy knickers
green calico poufy long skirt (the replacement)
green calico poufy doll skirt
black moleskin Simplicity 4059 jerkin

Middle school production of A Christmas Carol:
burgundy 'antique satin' Dickens skirt

Just plain sewin':
Well, I started listing all the regular projects, and, you know, the list was just getting way too long. Nobody's gonna read it, and I've got it recorded in Excel; the totals on the projects are in the stats...that's good enough!

But, in all honesty, my sewing production was WAY down this year. Partly due to the costume sewing and partly due to the part time job...I just didn't have a chance to get into the sewing room for myself.

Hence the elevated 'fabric in' totals. It's a well-noted phenomenon that when a sewing enthusiast is denied the opportunity to sew, her fabric purchases go up. It doesn't make sense; you'd think I wouldn't buy it if I weren't sewing it. But the purchasing becomes the outlet for the creative urge; I can't make the garments for real, but I dream 'em up and buy the goods.

So, I have a pile of sewing to do in twenty-ten. Not only do I need to whittle down the tower of fabric I have from '09's purchases, but I need to regularly scratch the sewing itch so I don't buy more... ;)

And, for those of you who have stuck with me this far, I'm starting off 2010 with a three-week Internet fast. I'll explain that a little better on the other blog, but, well, I need some time. The third week of January would be my regularly scheduled break anyway; I'm just adding two weeks to it. Hopefully, I will get my house into something close to presentable (with all that crunch sewing, some nuisance medical stuff that I didn't blog about, and the holiday scramble, my house is a MESS!).

And, who knows, if I stay off the Internet, I might get something sewn... ;)

Anyway, happy New Year to all my blogging buddies, and I'll see you in three weeks!

2008 stats

Fabric In:89.25 yds
Fabric Out:86.875 yds

Garments made for me: 35
Garments made for other people in my family: 9

'Donations': 1

Things made for friends:1 set flannel waterbed sheets

Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:
1 Loes Hinse Weekender Bag for missions fundraiser
24 chair back slipcovers

Church-related Costuming:
2 pairs black linen ratty 'pirate pants'
1 swashbuckling linen coat
2 rayon/linen pull-over shirts
1 longish multi-buttoned waistcoat vest
1 truly hideous Coat of Many Colors
1 Men's Bible costume
2 Women's Bible Costumes
mending of multiple costume pieces!

Costuming for the 2008 High School Musical, Pippin:
6 silver lame' pull-over shirts
6 gold lame' pull-over shirts
1 full-length metallic print/velvet trimmed vest
1 knit mock turtleneck metallic print stretch velvet top
Team Effort:
19? (I lost count) hooded robes
14? (I didn't count) pairs doe suede pull-on pants
6 pairs metallic-on-black-stretch velvet pull on pants(that were later struck)
Long lady's vest w/metallic print godets
1 set leg flounces (dunno what else to call them)


I didn't get anything at all productive done yesterday; the black tops are still on the 'to do' list. But I did, at least, finish everything I started in '08...with the exception of a few costume pieces that just got put on a back burner. They are, however, cut out, and when the timing is right I'll pull 'em out and sew 'em up.

So I was 2 3/8 yards short of parity. I've pulled the index cards for three very cheap pieces of knit that I will fetch out of the bins and cheerfully put in the donate bag and probably never miss...it'll add up to 5 7/8 yards out. So I'll actually finish lower than I started, which is good. We'll see how I do this year.

One of the things that surprised me was that I bought considerably less fabric this year than I have for a long time (when I label 89.5 yards of fabric 'considerably less', you know stash accumulation has been an issue!). It's the first time since I began keeping records of my purchases, back in 2004, that I purchased less than 100 yards. So perhaps I am finally learning some constraint! Not to mention I ran out of places to put it...


Anyway, I'm off to clean my slate for a new year!

Lessons from '07

Ah! All that's left of the holidays now is a little down time, a little (snort!) cleanup, a not-so-little Discover bill and some memories. So it's time to glean from last year's lessons and move forward.

Here's what I accomplished last year:
Fabric In: 157.93 yds
Fabric Out: 159.458 yds
Garments made for me: 52
Garments made for other people in my family: 17
Home Dec items: 2 tablecloths, 1 set flannel waterbed sheets
Accessories: Weekender tote bag
'Donations': 1
Things made for friends: 7 Weekender Bags, 1 Tamari Apron
Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:
4 Ladies Bible Costumes
3 Guys Bible Costumes
Green panne Medieval Dress
5 altar blankets
red drape for interpretive dance
6 tasseled stoles
4 swaggy-pennant drapes
Team Effort:
12 soldier tunics/shorts/capes, 4 soldier 'armor' tabbards
15 ladies' Bible costumes
2 priestly Bible costumes
12 guys' Bible costumes
6 kids' Bible costumes


For the third year in a row, I told myself at the start of the year I would make parity (sew at least as much fabric yardage as I purchase). In 2005, I was less than 10 yards from parity, but in 2006 I really didn't discipline myself and I ended up almost 34 yards over. That shocked me into deciding I *would* really stay on it in 2007, and I did pretty well until one fateful day in May when we went up to Sir's Fabrics in Fayetteville, Tn. Sir's is a fabric outlet, and they'd recently purchased all the inventory of an unnamed store in New York's Garment District, and I bought almost 50 yards of fabric.

In years past, I'd've written off parity at that point and just tried to be very disciplined in my buying for the rest of the year, but not this year. This year, I wanted to prove to myself that I *could* be disciplined enough to sew as much as I bought. So I went on a fabric fast and, as soon as I had a chunk of time available (it was the last two weeks in July before I got the chance), I lined up a number of projects and cut fabric until I had enough cut out to get back to parity. Then I started sewing. The only fabric I bought from that point until I got back to the balance point was a chunk of extra-wide flannel, which became waterbed sheets very quickly.

I sewed as fast and as efficiently as I could, sorting the queue into like colors so I could sew as much as possible without changing thread. And I had some wardrobe needs arise (ok, one or two were simply for my mental health) that I added to the queue, so that, even though I made parity, I still have a few things left from that cutting spree that are not sewn. At times, I chafed at the restrictions...it wasn't always my idea of fun. By and large, I was sewing with my inexpensive (yeah, some of it was cheap, too) fabric, not the Nice Stuff. But it was kind of encouraging to see the garments take shape and get crossed off the list...and I did make some things that had been on the 'someday' list. However, it took a lot longer to get back to parity than I expected when I was throwing fabric into the cart back in May.

I learned a lot about myself and my fabric addiction buying. Most importantly, I learned that I tend to buy to satisfy my imagination, not my wardrobe needs. That's not smart in any case, whether one is sewing or just buying RTW. So my number one behavior change will be to purchase fabric that reflects what I really wear, not just fabric that will make a smashing (whatever). I also need to let my buying reflect my sewing capacity. 10 - 12 yards at a time, to take advantage of a special opportunity (the sewing expo, road trips, unbelievable sales, etc) is not unreasonable from any perspective; I can sew that in a month or two. But I can't do three 12 yard purchases in six weeks' time. I need to plan what I'm purchasing so I can take advantage of those opportunities without overwhelming my actual ability to sew it.

And I need to shop the stash. Which means I need to Let Go of yesterday's visions. Fabrics that I purchased to make a specific garment which didn't get made when the inspiration was on me need to be released from that vision so that they can become inspirations for new visions. I think that is going to be the most fun/rewarding part of this whole revelation: I get to be inspired by some beautiful fabrics all over again.

And that, in a nutshell is my direction for 2008.

Farewell '06

Am I late or what?

We're back in town now for a good, long while, I do believe, so it's time to catch up.

Firstly, the last project for '06, the 2nd draft of the Cadeau T:



Ok, technically it wasn't wearable until Jan 1...I finished it on Dec 31, then put it on and found that the very lightweight matte jersey didn't drape like the original slinky muslin...to be blunt, it cupped under my tum and bum and looked like a maternity top. Not a look for me these days. But, after throwing it in a heap and forgetting it for the rest of the night, I had an idea on New Year's Day, took the band off the bottom, cut 3" off the bottom edge of the top and put the band back on. I think it's wearable now, although the neckline is still too wide. I believe I moved it in 1" at the shoulders; I could probably move it in another inch or so to get it where I could wear normal straps under it. But 21 YO DD thought it was cute...and that's saying something. I'll probably update the review tomorrow.

Secondly, Totals for 2006:
Fabric In: 161.975 yds
Fabric Out: 128 yds
Last fabric purchase: 12/11/06
Garments made for me: 41
Garments made for other people in my family: 18
Home Dec projects: 1 tablecloth; 3 sets waterbed sheets/pillowcases; 1 Kids' throw pillow
Wadders (er...unintentional muslins): 1

Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:
6 Roman Soldier tunics and shorts, 18 Bible robes and 9 vests, 22 altar blankets, 2 kid's tunics, 1 medieval dress, 12 stage drapes, 1 kids' sized Grim Reaper Robe

Team Effort: 4 Baptismal Robes, 15 Bible Robes,6 Vests


I really blew it w/regard to fabric parity...naughty, naughty. No more bundles for me. This year I will instigate the 'Guaranteed Parity Plan' -- if I buy more than I sew, the difference must be given away the first week of '08.

That threat ought to help a little, no?

One final image: DS and his converted sweatshirt:


Despite the amateur photog's red eyes, can't you just see how tickled he was with his new pillow?

That was some bonus points for Mom, that was... ;)