2018 Sewing Goals and January Recap

Happy Monday folks! I realized after I started writing again in this space that I never wrote out my goals for 2018. I have them in a super cute little sewing notebook, but if I actually put them here, it might be some additional motivation to stay the course.

Love this vintage pattern cover notebook - perfect for all of my sewing lists for 2018

My biggest goal for this year was to join the 2018 Ready To Wear Fast that is hosted by Goodbye Valentino.

What is the Ready To Wear Fast? Great question! I, along with hundreds of others have pledged to not purchase any clothing for 2018 - if I want or need it, I need to make it myself. Kind of crazy, right?! Exceptions include undergarments, shoes, bags, jewelry. The reality is that the second half of 2017 was already trending in this direction for me anyways, but this is a great challenge to really stretch my sewing skills and examine my shopping habits. We're almost 1.5 months in and while I haven't been tempted, I have learned a lot about myself already. More on that later.

In addition to the 2018 RTW Fast, I am also participating in the 2018 Make Nine Challenge. Basically, choose 9 garments/sewing projects you'd like to complete in 2018. I keep lists throughout the year for my sewing, so it was kind of weird to just choose 9 things I really wanted to make, so I tried to stretch myself a bit for these. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Bathing suit 
2. Men's Raglan
3. Men's Basic t-shirt
4. Casual pants for my boys
5. Jeans
6. M4M Darcey Cardigan
7. Woven shorts
8. Woven blouse
9. Workout leggings

This list was influenced heavily by the RTW Fast Challenge - we have a couple of trips on the schedule that will require shorts and a swimsuit and I would like to at least try to make myself a pair of jeans since I won't be buying any this year. Eeeeek! I have already tackled 2 of the above with some success and will cover them more in the next couple of weeks.

I'd also like to try at least 1 new to me pattern per month. I LOVE sewing TNT patterns because they are my closet workhorses and always give me a great fit, but if I don't continually try new things, I won't find other patterns that I love.

January 2018 Recap
I had a really strong start to the beginning of the year! Not only do I sew garments for myself, but I also tend to sew quite a bit for my sons and also a fair number of gifts throughout the year. The number of garments I create each month are fairly high and I realized within a couple of weeks of restarting this blog that there is no way I can photograph and blog every single thing I make. Instead, I'll do monthly recaps and individual blog posts for the most interesting garments, pattern tests or the things that have a good story attached to them. Even that will be a challenge, but at least it will narrow down what I feel compelled to share in detail here in this space. Also, I'll post pics of new garments on Instagram (see my feed on the right) as much as possible, even if they don't have a blog post attached to them.


Now let's talk numbers. I made 20 (!) garments in January. A good chunk of that was what I consider utility sewing - basics for me and for my boys that sew up incredibly quickly and are closet staples. They break down as such:

• Gifts - 2: a workout tank (P4P Essential Tank afflink) and cardigan (P4P Cocoon Cardigan afflink) for my friend and fitness mentor (the white top was actually sewn and counted at the end of 2017)

• Husband -2: yes, I finally sewed my first garments for my husband!! only took 8 years, but here we are. More on this in a separate post.
• Boys - 5: all long sleeve t-shirts (P4P Jolly Roger Raglan and P4P YoHo Henley afflinks) that they needed to make it through the rest of winter and into spring.

•  Me - 11: One pair of casual wear joggers, 3 hoodies, 3 tops for a pattern test and 4 basic tops 

I also tried 2 new to me patterns - a pattern test (George + Ginger RuLo Top and Dress) and a pattern that I had purchased last year for my husband (Cole's Creations Jerry's Raglan).

Needless to say, it was a good month and a great start to 2018. What are your goals for this month or for 2018? Drop me a line and let me know what you're working on!

SAHM Style and how I found my way back to sewing

After having my first son in 2011, I decided to stay home with him permanently. Even with a very rough newborn + infant period, it has been a great decision for our family and I'm so blessed to have been given this much dedicated time with my boys. My wardrobe, however, needed to change to reflect being home instead of sitting in an office. 

I didn't sew all that much for myself after having my oldest, mostly due to time, but also not finding the kinds of easy, but stylish knitwear patterns I wanted to make. While I had some great skirt and dress patterns that were perfect for the office, I needed easy separates that could look put together, but made sense at the park, parent group, etc. I wanted to sew basic t-shirts, tank tops, tunics, cardigans - things that were cute and comfy, but I just wasn't excited about the patterns I was finding. I did make a couple of knit maxis that I liked, but that was about the extent of sewing for myself. 

Self-drafted maxi from a Target skirt

McCalls 6567 (fit pre and post pregnancy)

After having my second son, I sewed a few things for them here and there, but in the summer of 2016 I really felt the urge to start sewing for myself again. Frankly, I missed it. 

I tried a couple of Kwik Sew top patterns because I had good success with their knit dress patterns, but they were just meh. Even after fiddling with them, I wasn't happy with the finished garment. I had never really found shirt patterns that I liked, even after trying several from different pattern companies and I was pretty frustrated. 

Around the same time, I discovered the world of custom knit fabric - holy moly! - and was re-introduced to PDF pattern designers. Indie pattern companies were just starting to take hold when I stopped sewing much in 2011 so this was quite a new thing for me. I kept seeing Patterns for Pirates (afflink) mentioned on the Facebook sewing groups I had joined and decided to check them out. I started with their Slim Fit Raglan (afflink) pattern with really low expectations. I graded to my measurements, dug out some knits that had been in my stash for months and sewed it up. 

Y'ALL. It. Was. A. Perfect. Fit.

I was completely gobsmacked! I had finally found a basic t-shirt pattern that I loved. I made a couple more because I still couldn't believe the pattern fit me so well and then started to look at their other basic shirt patterns. Suddenly, I had a whole bunch of me-made shirts in my closet that I loved, that fit me well, that made me feel good. It was the kick that I needed to start sewing again regularly and it's why P4P will forever have a special place in my heart.

Raglan in bamboo knit (and some silly children)

Raglan in cotton french terry

At the beginning of 2017, I was like a woman on a mission! LOL I had at least one pattern company that was designing the types of silhouettes I wanted to sew and I was excited to really jump into the world of PDF patterns. Little did I know that I would continue to refine my SAHM style and my sewing hobby would kind of explode.

Happy New Year!

Tap tap - is this thing still on? So, it's been a minute since I've updated this blog of mine. A new year brings all sorts of new goals and resolutions and 2018 feels like the year to revive this space. Since it's been almost 5 years (wow!) since I last posted, I thought I'd give a very fast update on what has been going on:

• My oldest son is now 6 (!), in Kindergarten and just lost his first tooth. He is my mini-me through and through. He is a great kid, talks our ear off and wants to learn about everything.
• I had another son in fall of 2014 who is now 3. He just loves life and attacks it with vigor! He started preschool this September and loves school and his teachers.
 
My "babies" in mama-made shirts 
• My husband and I celebrated 12 years of marriage in September (17 years together) and still really like one another! Lol With the help of some very generous grandparents, we still get out to Vegas 2x a year for some couple time and it's a great way to still feel like adults while raising young children.
   
  Christmas 2017 (in me-made shirt/skirt)
  
• My sewing hobby took a backseat for a couple of years because having babies is not for the faint of heart, but I started sewing again with some purpose in summer 2016 and my sewing hobby completely exploded in 2017. More on that in a future post. ;)

So, I'm back!! I'm going to mostly keep this sewing related though I'm sure my family and other life stuff will bleed over from time to time, too. I'm geared up for an excellent 2018 and I hope you are, too!